Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the thyroid gland and what does it do?
The thyroid is a small gland located at the base of the throat. It has the only cells in the body capable of absorbing iodine. A functioning thyroid gland concentrates iodine from a person's blood, obtained through food, iodized salt, or supplements, and combines that iodine with the amino acid tyrosine. The thyroid then converts the iodine/tyrosine combination into the hormones that control a person's metabolism and growth rate.

2. What is Potassium Iodide, the "Big Family Pack"?
Our Potassium Iodide (KI) capsules are used to protect your thyroid gland against radioactive iodine released during a nuclear emergency. It does this by flooding the thyroid with stable, safe iodine, which blocks the absorption of dangerous radioactive iodine.

3. What is the risk to human health during a radiation emergency?
During a nuclear emergency, radioactive iodine is released and is swallowed or inhaled by human beings. It will then be absorbed into the thyroid gland. Even very small amounts of radioactive iodine will eventually deliver a large radiation dose to thyroid cells resulting in various abnormalities later in life including loss of thyroid functions, nodules in the thyroid or thyroid cancer. Children whose thyroids are especially active, are extremely susceptible to it. Four years after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, the observed cases of thyroid cancer among children aged 0-4 years at the time of the accident in Belarus and Ukraine exceeded the expected number of cases by 30-60 fold. During the ensuing years, in the most heavily affected areas, incidence of thyroid cancer is as much as 100-fold compared to pre-Chernobyl rates. However, in Poland, where over 18 million doses of Potassium Iodide (KI) were administered to 97% of the children, there has been no increase in thyroid cancer.

4. Why should we take Potassium Iodide in a radiological accident?
The effectiveness of KI as a specific blocker of thyroid radioiodine uptake is well established. When administered in the recommended dose, the potassium iodide in is absorbed by the thyroid gland, which will effectively saturate the gland (the receptor sites) in such a way that inhaled or ingested radioactive iodines will not be accumulated in the thyroid gland. Therefore the risk of thyroid cancer in individuals or populations is reduced.

5. How safe is Potassium Iodide?
As reported in the American Journal of Medicine (Volume 94, P.524-532, May, 1993) the incidence of side effects in Poland among the roughly 18 million who took KI after the Chernobyl accident is very small. Approximately 3% suffered some form of stomach upset (due, in part, to the fact that a liquid KI was used instead of a tablet or capsule), 1% had a mild skin rash, and 1% suffered other mild symptoms. Only 2 cases of more serious side effects were noted, and both of these occurred among people with known allergies to iodide who had been warned not to take KI—but did so anyway (preferring to suffer an allergic respiratory problem to the possibility of thyroid cancer.)

6. Should pregnant women take Potassium Iodide?
According to the FDA, pregnant women should be given KI for their own protection and for that of the fetus, as iodine (whether stable or radioactive) readily crosses the placenta. However, because of the risk of blocking fetal thyroid function with excess stable iodine, repeat dosing with KI of pregnant women should be avoided.

7. Who should not take Potassium Iodide or have restricted use?
According to the FDA, persons with known iodine sensitivity should avoid taking Potassium Iodide, as should individuals with dermatitis herpetiformis and hypocomplementemic vasculitis, extremely rare conditions associated with an increased risk of iodine hypersensitivity. Individuals with multinodular goiter, Graves' disease, and autoimmune thyroiditis should be treated with caution—especially if dosing extends beyond a few days.

8. Why are there 100 mgs. of Potassium Iodide in each capsule?
The FDA Guideline suggests: "For the sake of logistical simplicity in the dispensing and administration of KI to children, FDA recommends a 65-mg. dose as standard for all school-age children while allowing for the adult dose (up to 130 mg) in adolescents approaching adult size." The capsule can be opened and a portion of the Potassium Iodide powder can be disolved in water or used on food as 'salt' to fine-tune the required amount.

9. When should one take Potassium Iodide?
Potassium Iodide should be taken as soon as possible after an alert from public health officials tell you, preferably a half an hour before the 'cloud' reaches your area. If health officials instruct you to repeat the dose, you should take one dose every 24 hours. Do not take any KI product unless instructed to do so by local health authorities.

10. How is our Potassium Iodide for small children?
One of the major advantages of our Potassium Iodide capsules is that the capsules contain an evenly distributed potassium iodide powder, making it easily portioned, after the capsule is opened, to satisfy the graded dose requirement, as recommended by the FDA Guideline (see below).

Age Group: Children ages 3 through 18 yrs.
KI Dose: 65mg
 The actual dose should depend on the weight of the child, even so the 'official FDA' dose mentions 65mg. Naturally, a 3 year old child might require only 40mg while a 18 year old could even get the 100mg, given to adults.

Age Group: Children over 1 month through 3 years
KI Dose: 32mg
 The actual dose should depend on the weight of the child. The 'official range' can be about 16mg to 65mg. Use proper judgement.

Age Group: Children under 1 month
KI Dose: 16mg
 The actual dose should depend on the weight of the child. Use proper judgement.

Tablets can cause a major problem in an emergency for those small children (and adults) who cannot swallow the tablets with water.  This is another reason why we prefer the capsules over the tablets.  The capsules can be opened and the content dissolved in water or other liquids preferable to drink.

11. Will delayed administration of Potassium Iodide flush radioactive iodine out of the thyroid gland?
Radioactive iodine, once bound in the thyroid, cannot be flushed out by subsequent administration of nonradioactive iodine. Therefore, any delay in saturating your thyroid with Potassium Iodide is a serious risk to be aggressively avoided, especially for your children. It is highly recommended that you should have a supply of Potassium Iodide on hand now.

MUST BE REALLY ON HAND!
Potassium Iodide (KI) must be taken at least a half an hour before (or soon after) exposure of radiation from nuclear fallout in order to be effective, therefore, Potassium Iodide must be readily on-hand. In the event of a nuclear emergency there simply will not be time to protect your family with potassium iodide if you do not have it already. Ideally, you should keep a bottle of Potassium Iodide at home and another one in your car.  These two bottles of Potassium Iodide are investments that can protect you and your loved ones from this very real threat.

FACT: Children are the most vulnerable group of people to thyroid injury due to radioactive fallout.
The vast majority of cancers from the Chernobyl accident are presenting in people who were between the ages of 0 and 14 at the time of the disaster.

A population of about 2.3 million children living in southern Belarus, northern Ukraine and the most easterly regions of the Russian federation was exposed to significant amounts of radioactive iodine during the Chernobyl accident. The result, less than fifteen years after the accident, is more than 1,000 cases of thyroid cancer, most probably solely attributable to this single release of radioactivity to the environment.

The sensitivity of the child's thyroid to the carcinogenic effects of radiation represents a significant public health risk in the event of exposure to radioactive iodine. This has been well established. In the most affected area in Belarus, the yearly incidence has risen close to 100 cases per million children, which is more than 100 times the incidence in the general population. It is now generally accepted that this excess has resulted from exposure to the radioactive iodine released in the accident. The Chernobyl accident has demonstrated that significant levels of radioactive iodine can drift hundreds of miles from the site. Another important insight gained from the Chernobyl accident concerns the side effects of stable iodine. In Poland, potassium iodide, as single doses, was given to 10 million children. No serious side effects were seen. The incidence of severe side effects from a single dose of iodine was less than 1 in 10 million in children and less than 1 in a million in adults.

GOVERNMENT IS UNPREPARED
Emergency government stock piles of potassium iodide are only available in limited supplies in Alabama, Arizona, Maine, and Tennessee. In NY and NJ some tablets have been handed out to residents closest to Nuclear power plants.Analysing the data from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster it is evident that the government does not have the ability to provide protection in the event of a nuclear disaster.Studies have shown that "thyroid damage can be a concern more than 200 miles downwind from a nuclear accident. Emergency planning which focuses on areas close to nuclear power plants is not sufficient." Evacuation is still the main component of the governments plant to protect the public. We all know that evacuation will not work in most circumstances. Fallout from Chernobyl was first detected over 300 miles from the accident site. If you live within 300 miles of a nuclear power plant, Potassium Iodide can protect your family from the effects of radioactive fallout.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF POTASSIUM IODIDE PROVEN AT CHERNOBYL
The American Thyroid Association released a study of potassium iodide on September 28, 2002. In that statement the Association endorsed potassium iodide for radiation emergencies.

To support this conclusion, the Association reviewed the disaster at Chernobyl. "After the 1986 Chornobyl (formerly called Chernobyl) nuclear accident, strong winds blew a radioactive cloud over much of eastern Europe. As many as 3,000 people exposed to that radiation have already developed thyroid cancer. Most were babies or young children living in Ukraine, Belarus, or Russia at the time of the accident. According to a UN report released in February 2002, another 8,000 to 10,000 exposed people may develop thyroid cancer within the next 10 years. Poland, immediately adjacent to Belarus and Ukraine, distributed KI (potassium iodide) to its population and does not appear to have had an increase in thyroid cancer."

Chernobyl not only proved that potassium iodide was effective in preventing thyroid cancer, it also showed that its distribution should not be limited to 10 or 20 miles. No one can predict how a radioactive cloud may spread. After the disaster at Chernobyl, higher than expected rates of thyroid cancer were found more than 200 miles away from the nuclear plant.

There are 103 nuclear power reactors currently operating in the U.S.
Today there are 103 nuclear reactors in the United States. Although these reactors are heavily guarded, there is always the possibility of a nuclear terrorist attack. Additionally, nuclear emission can result from an accident at a power plant and these accident might be caused by an earthcake in the US or anywhere else. Many people, especially in the northeastern states remember the fear caused by the threat of the Three Mile Island reactor disaster.

Potassium iodide, frequently referred to by its chemical symbol KI, when taken just before or just after ingestion of radioactive fallout, saturates the thyroid gland and prevents the further uptake of radioactive iodine emitted during a nuclear accident. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission explains the benefits of potassium iodide as: "When potassium iodide is ingested, it is taken up by the thyroid gland. In the proper dosage and taken at the proper time, it will effectively saturate the thyroid gland in such a way that inhaled or ingested radioactive iodines are not accumulated in the thyroid gland."