Saturday, March 12, 2011

Where NOT to buy potassium iodide


They are not available at CVS or Rite-Aid.

Update 1: GNC has a multi-vitamin that contains potassium iodide.  However, the salesman told me that the amount is very, very small.

Update 2: My source at another nationwide pharmacy chain says its two distributors do not have any available either.

*It goes without saying, but consult with a trusted medical professional before you do anything.

3 comments:

Palooka's Revenge said...

hey... found you doing a search for nuc plants in cal. good info here my friend. 'specially that map you posted yesterday. glad i found you.

ya, tabs are hard to find in local stores. find em online. or... here's a comment on a do-it-yourself folk remedy posted at http://troutclancampfire.blogspot.com/ where i hang out...

"A word of caution: Five reactors in Japan are leaking radiation. This will spread all over the globe. some of the very dangerous items are radioactive isotopes of iodine. Your body absorbs iodine from the environment when it needs it. Most people are deficient in iodine and are constantly absorbing iodine. Well you don't want to absorb the radioactive isotopes. The gov generally gives out potassium iodine tablets to people in fall out areas. Until the gov provides the potassium iodine tablets you can get a bottle of tincture of iodine from any drugstore. With the plastic wand that comes with the tincture of iodine, write your name on your arm. Your body will begin to absorb it right away. In 30 minutes if you cant see your name, write your name again, and again until your body takes 3 hrs to absorb the iodine. Do this for yourself and any kids you have. tincture of iodine is harmless and will provide the iodine your body with the iodine it needs. This is an old Ukrainian trick, learned from the Chernobyl mess."

thought i'd share it with you. pass the word. and come on over. sit by the fire with us and take a turn with the talking stick... palooka

Anonymous said...

you can also buy the orally safe nontoxic Nascent Diatomic Iodine at any high-qual health store, about $50 per 1oz bottle.

Anonymous said...

Hi there:
Thanks for the blog. Just wanted to share one thing I just learned. I about the tips about tincture of iodine... I thought it was good neat advice UNTIL I researched it and found this .. (so far potassium iodine tablets are sold out everywhere I look :O) please be aware -
CAUTION RE: Tincture of Iodine - cut/pasted from
http://www.ki4u.com/

Regarding ingesting (drinking/swallowing) iodine, iodine tablets (widely sold for water purification), tincture of iodine, or Povidone-iodine solutions (like the Betadine� brand solution): Cresson H. Kearny, the author of Nuclear War Survival Skills, Original Edition Published September, 1979, by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a Facility of the U.S. Department of Energy (Updated and Expanded 1987 Edition) states on page 115:


Elemental (free) iodine is poisonous, except in the very small amounts in water disinfected with iodine tablets or a few drops of tincture of iodine. Furthermore, elemental iodine supplied by iodine tablets and released by tincture of iodine dropped into water is not effective as a blocking agent to prevent thyroid damage. If you do not have any potassium iodide, DO NOT TAKE IODINE TABLETS OR TINCTURE OF IODINE.
Iodine is normally used in doses of 8 PPM to treat clear water for a 10 minute contact time. The effectiveness and safety of this dose has been shown in numerous studies. As far back as 1953 in the study "Test of chronic toxicity of iodine as related to the purification of water". U.S. Armed Forces medical journal, 1953, 4:725-728 Morgan DP, Karpen RJ., it was shown that:

"No adverse health effects were reported in men who drank water providing iodide at doses of 0.17-0.27 mg/kg of body weight per day for 26 weeks"
That works out to a reported safe ingestion of elemental iodine via treated water of between 14 and 22 mg per day for an 180 lb adult. To attempt to achieve a thyroid-blocking dose of nearly 100 mg of iodine (the iodine content of a 130 mg KI tablet) would thus require exceeding that proven safe level by a factor of at least four to seven times for an 180 lb adult. And, this would be with potentially poisonous elemental free iodine that is also claimed above by Cresson H. Kearny to be "...not effective as a blocking agent to prevent thyroid damage."
Additionally, USP tincture of iodine contains 2% iodine and 2.4% sodium iodide dissolved in 50% ethyl alcohol and according to the National Academy of Sciences in Drinking Water and Health. Vol. 3. Washington, DC, National Academy Press, 1980.


Doses of 30-250 ml of tincture of iodine (about 16-130 mg of total iodine per kg of body weight) have been reported to be fatal.
The small typical one ounce bottle of tincture of iodine contains about two tablespoons or approximately 30 ml of fluid. (The larger pint bottles contain 473 ml.) To a small child, ingesting the small 1 ounce bottle, even if well diluted to make it palatable, could prove fatal.

Everyone needs to understand that all 'tincture of iodine' bottles are clearly marked "POISON" for a very good reason. Ingesting elemental free iodine, such as 'tincture of iodine', in quantities sufficient to attempt thyroid-blocking in a nuclear emergency is not a safe, nor an effective, alternative.