For the first time, except for the DMSA, we have found that
potassium iodide (KI) and chlorophyll (Chl), which could be used as food additives in daily diet, appear to have fewer side-effects and appear to be more effective in alleviating lead accumulation.
Anyone, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, can take the tablets as long as they are not allergic to
potassium iodide.
Ingestion of
potassium iodide tablets is a proven strategy to reduce the risk associated with exposure to radioactive iodine.
(8) "
Potassium Iodide (KI)," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 March 2012, <http://www.bt.cdc.gov /radiation/ki.asp>, accessed on 6 September 2012.
Iran's Red Crescent Society (IRCS) plans to send a shipment of 50,000
potassium iodide pills to Japan upon a request from Tokyo, IRCS official Fardin Balouchi told FNA.
A joint statement from The Endocrine Society, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the American Thyroid Association, and the Society of Nuclear Medicine emphasizes that
potassium iodide (KI) should not be taken unless there is a clear risk of exposure to high levels of radioactive iodine.
"I think it's just as important for them to be getting a vitamin tablet every day as it is to be taking
potassium iodide." (ANI)
FEARS of radiation sickness stemming from the unfolding nuclear crisis in Japan have prompted a surge in US sales of
potassium iodide.
The company's
potassium iodide tablets are sold in a few markets in Europe.
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in Cambridge cautioned against "scaremongering" over the effects of the explosions at the Fukushima nuclear plant as drug stores in the US report a surge in people buying
potassium iodide tablets.
But Americans who have rushed out to buy
potassium iodide tablets as protection against the effects of radiation have wasted their money.