71. SSKI

As an essential component of the thyroid hormone, most ingested iodide concentrates in the thyroid gland.  The same happens with inhaled iodide, as in radioactive iodide, a common by-product of nuclear fission (see nuclear bombs and nuclear plant accidents).  Anyone downwind from Japan should think about this.

One of my patients has thought about it and today asked whether she should start taking SSKI, a potassium iodide supplement.  It turns out that saturating (more or less) our bodies with SSKI makes it likely that any inhaled radioactive iodide will be excreted rather than concentrated in the thyroid gland where it can cause cancer.

I politely reassured the patient: any radiation released from the earthquake-damaged reactors in Japan would be at very low levels by the time they reached the American west coast, so no need for preventative measures such as SSKI.

That was this morning.  Tonight, I'm reconsidering my advice.

p.s. SSKI does not protect against any other radioactive danger but can mess up the body's endocrine system.