Page 44 - Summer2009

SODFHER RU VRWDORO 2YHUW K\SRWK\URLGLVP GH¿QHG DV 76+ JUHDWHU WKDQ effects. Even today, dermatologists treat certain
P8 / RFFXUUHG DW SHUFHQW FRPSDUHG WR SHUFHQW 18 skin conditions, including fungal eruptions,
Over time, these observations led to a decline in the use of iodine in beginning with an iodine dose of 900 mg a day,
PHGLFLQH :KLOH KHDOWK RI¿FLDOV FDPH WR D JHQHUDO DJUHHPHQW WKDW LRGLQH followed by weekly increases up to 6 grams a
GH¿FLHQF\ FDXVHG LQ LQFUHDVLQJ RUGHU RI VHYHULW\ JRLWHU DQG K\SRWK\URLG- day as tolerated.
ism, mental retardation and cretinism, authorities in the U.S. and Europe But the general use of iodine and iodine
agreed upon a low Reference Daily Intake (RDI), formerly called the compounds in medicine has waned, as has its
5HFRPPHQGHG 'LHWDU\ $OORZDQFH 5'$ RI ± PFJ SHU GD\ 7KLV use as an additive in the food supply. Today’s
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much lower that the amounts formerly given routinely to patients. W-C effect and warn that TSH (thyroid stimulat-
Critics of the W-C effect note that the standard dose of potassium ing hormone) blood levels can rise with an iodine
iodide was 1 gram until the mid-1900s, which contains 770 mg of iodine, intake of one milligram or more.
RYHU ¿YH WKRXVDQG WLPHV PRUH WKDQ WKH 5', )RU PDQ\ \HDUV SK\VLFLDQV In a 2000 review paper on use of iodine as
XVHG SRWDVVLXP LRGLGH LQ GRVHV VWDUWLQJ DW WR JP DQG XS WR PRUH a water disinfectant, author Joe Hollowell notes
than 10 grams a day, on and off, to treat bronchial asthma and chronic that studies indicate marked individual sensi-
obstructive pulmonary disease, apparently with good results and few side tivity to iodine; the most vulnerable to adverse

IODINE ON THE SKIN

The application of iodine to the skin as a way of iodine supplementation has been a common practice for over one
hundred years. In 1932, researchers from the College of Pharmacy at Rutgers University carried out experiments on dogs
and rabbits. They determined that, in fact, free iodine does penetrate through unbroken skin, although about 88 percent
of the iodine applied evaporates from the surface within three days. Colloidal iodine (I in aqueous solution) was found to
2
evaporate more quickly than tincture of iodine (I in alcoholic solution), and tincture of iodine evaporated more rapidly
2
than Lugol’s solution (iodine plus potassium iodide). The authors concluded: “. . . iodine which penetrates through the
skin is removed only slowly from within this area into the body, thus forming an iodine depot in the skin for several days.
In this prolonged retention of iodine within the skin, we see a favorable condition for a possible local prophylactic and
therapeutic action.” More recent studies, these involving humans, indicate that application of iodine to the skin is not effec-
tive in preventing the uptake of radioactive iodine by the thyroid gland; however, it is a slow but effective way to provide
iodine supplementation, increasing serum levels at about 10-40 percent compared to oral ingestion (Abrahams, GE. The
bioavailability of iodine applied to the skin. www.optimox.com).
Holistic practitioners have also applied iodine to the skin as a way to assess whole body iodine status—the so-called
skin iodine patch test. The published data throws doubt on the effectiveness of the iodine patch test as a diagnostic aid.
Many factors play a role in the disappearance of the yellow color of iodine from the surface of the skin including ambient
temperatures and atmospheric pressure—the iodine will disappear faster in Denver than it will in Los Angeles. And in
some people the iodine is reduced to iodide by the skin, which will result in the disappearance of the yellow color because
iodide is white. Nevertheless, many have reported that the iodine applied to the skin remains longer after following the
practice for several weeks, indicating a kind of saturation effect.
Unfortunately, we have no clinical trials on the use of iodine on the skin, but holistic practitioners have reported good
results. For example, from Geoffrey Morell, ND: “A female patient with nodules on the thyroid gland and scheduled to
have it removed applied tincture of iodine to the skin for over sixty days, at which point the stain remained for twenty-four
hours. Upon reporting to the hospital for the operation, she was told that the nodules had disappeared and the operation
was no longer necessary. In another case, a woman saw her visible goiter disappear after many weeks using tincture of
iodine on the skin.”
The inefficient uptake of iodine from the skin and slow release can be seen as an advantage for those wishing to safely
improve their iodine status without medical supervision. This treatment does not seem to provoke a detoxification reaction
that often occurs with oral ingestion of Lugol’s.
Iodine applied to the skin is an excellent treatment for pre-malignant lesions, dark moles, keloid scars and other oddi-
ties of the skin. According to Dr. David Derry, “. . . iodine’s ability to trigger natural cell death (apoptosis) makes it effective
against all pre-cancerous skin lesions and likely many cancerous lesions. The local site is replaced with normal skin.” He
recommends topical iodine for insect bites as well (iodine4health.com/special/measurement/derry_measurement.htm).
For skin application, use mild tincture of iodine or Lugol’s solution, both available on the Internet.
42 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2009