Heard of this? Topical iodine absorption to detect iodine deficiency?

[slim gym]

This is from a post from the coconut oil yahoo group from today:



Hi everyone With all of the interactions of soy and thyroid and the
resulting negative effect on metabolism, I would like to share a simple little home test I found 3 days ago in Dr. Rowan's newsletter. It is about Iodine and whether or not you are deficient in it. To say the least, I was excited to learn about it.

All you have to do is get a bottle of 2% tincture of Iodine--available for about $1.00 for an ounce bottle at any
grocery, drug or dept. store. Paint a 2 inch square on your abdomen or inner thigh. If it is absorbed in under 24 hours, it indicates an Iodine deficiency. You will know if it absorbed as there will be no stain left on your skin. If it takes the full 24 hours, you are OK. It is a simple little tool. He also suggests that if you ARE deficient, that you keep doing the test until it does take the full 24 hours for the stain to disappear. By doing this your are correcting the deficiency. I flunked mine flat--it has taken only 12 hours for my stain to disappear for 3 days
in a row.



Has anyone come across this in their review of information regarding the thyroid?

[doreen T]

I've never heard of this until I read your post here .. then checked my copy of Thin For Good, by Fred Pescatore M.D. and he mentions this as well. But there's no elaboration.

I can't comment on the validity of it or not .. but I would imagine you'd want to make sure of the following : you're using tincture of pure elemental iodine NOT synthetic iodine such as Povidone or Betadine

You protect the spot with a light gauze covering or something to prevent the stain from rubbing off on clothing or due to perspirationIt's worth noting that tincture of iodine AND synthetic iodine can cause allergic reactions ... such as redness, rash, severe itching.

Doreen

[slim gym]

Thanks for the reply and suggestions, Doreen.

I have not tried this yet. If I do, I will post the outcome here. I may also check the web for additional information on this topic.

[Texastwin]

The thyroid has to have iodine to function. I have heard of this before, however, I can't remember it's meaning.

A T3 w/uptake is a scan that is done after patient takes iodine and images are done over a time period to see how much the thyroid absorbs so sounds like this may be for the same purpose

[philophant]

Yes, I heard of this about 3 weeks ago and started the topical application. My painted spot disappeared within a few hours. I reapplied whenever it disappeared or after a bath. Now I only need to apply it once every other day or so. I am pretty healthy anyways and have not noticed any physical changes. Today I started applying iodine to a few pre cancerous sun spots to see what happens with them. I have been spraying 3% H2O2 on them for about 4 months and they have really changed just with this.

[Nancy LC]

It's nonsense. Your skin absorbs stuff based on your skin, not whether you lack iodine or not. Google on it, add the word "myth" to your search.

[philophant]

Thought you might find this interesting as well.

"Radioisotopes of I pose an important health risk to man in nuclear accidents associated with electric power generation due to their uptake by the thyroid glands. Topical application of tincture of I or povidone-iodine to the skin of rats has been found to be as effective as oral administration of potassium iodide in blocking thyroid uptake of parenterally administered 131I. If the same effectiveness can be demonstrated in humans, this may be an attractive alternative method of mass protection from radioisotopes of I following nuclear accidents."

[philophant]

To Nancy, how about google it and put in scientific based research

[amergin]

I just googled it and found no research.
So until I hear otherwise, there is no supporting evidence.
That is, it's what Karl Popper would call "a myth".

[Neanderpam]

98% of all cases of hypothyroidism in women in the USA are autoimmune. Meaning even if you HAD iodine, the thyroid is being killed off by the antibodies, unable to USE any iodine to do anything.

Iodine can 'excite' the level of TPO antibodies in some with Hashimoto's (autoimmune hypothyroidism).

It would be a good thing to test for TPO AB and your iodine levels before resorting to using any iodine.