Self test for iodine definciency????

[pippin07]

Does anybody know if the that test for iodine deficiency really works?

The one where you put some iodine tenture on a soft body part and if it disappears in less than an hour that means you are deficient.

Thanks in advance!

[DawnD]

Sorry that I don't have an answer about the test. I didn't know there was one. Do you have deficiency symptoms? I have been adding whole dulse leaves to my smoothies to make sure we get a little iodine each day. I have been told and have read that sea salt has no iodine in it. I can't imagine why but thats what they say...

[k8sl8]

I found this on About.com. Seems pretty specific. Other sites had info much similar:

Dr. David Derry Answers Reader Questions
Brought to you by Mary Shomon, Your Thyroid Guide
Index of Q&As with Dr. David Derry


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Topic: Disappearing Iodine Test

A Reader Writes:

A friend of mine was just diagnosed with a possible thyroid disorder (her test was in the form of a drop of iodine on her arm and watching how fast it disappeared). Her chiropractor suggested she start off by taking something called Thyroid Helper which can be found at ..... Have you ever heard of this and do you know how effective it might be?

David Derry Responds:


The "test" of putting iodine on the skin to watch how fast it disappears is not an indicator of anything. The iodine disappearance rate is unrelated to thyroid disease or even iodine content of the body.(1-2) Meticulous research by Nyiri and Jannitti in 1932 showed clearly when iodine is applied to the skin in almost any form, 50% evaporates into the air within 2 hours and between 75 and 80 percent evaporates into the air within 24 hours. (1) A total of 88 percent evaporates within 3 days and it is at this point that the evaporation stops. The remaining 12 percent that is absorbed into the skin has several fates. Only 1-4% of the total iodine applied to the skin is absorbed into the blood stream within the first few hours. The rest of the iodine within the skin (8-11%) is slowly released from the skin into the blood stream.