Iodine Prophylaxis

Supposedly, in the event of a nuclear emergency, iodine tablets offer protection from radioactive iodine. How can this preventive measure work? Isn’t all the iodine, tablets or not, exposed to the ambient radiation?

Answer

The iodine tablets, usually potassium iodine, work by “topping up” the thyroid gland with stable iodine to reduce its accumulation of any radioactive iodine that may have been released into the environment by a nuclear accident. Inhalation of the radioactive iodine in the air is the major route of entry into the body and the thyroid. For maximum benefit, the iodine tablets should be taken before the radioactivity fallout reaches your area; otherwise the tablets themselves will have become radioactive.