How much ki should i take

Your local health department will tell you when you should start taking KI and they will also tell you when you can stop taking it.

KI will only protect you from radioactive iodine. It does not protect you from other kinds of radioactive material. KI works very well to protect your thyroid gland. However, it protects only your thyroid, not other parts of your body. You will be told what, if any, actions you should take to protect yourself.

In general, most people who have taken KI have not had any reactions side effects. If people did have a reaction, it did not last very long. In a few cases, babies had a reaction in their thyroids. Adults who had reactions had stomach problems or a rash.

The federal government thinks the benefits of taking KI are much greater than the risks. Most people can take KI, but you should talk to your doctor before taking it. Talk to your doctor before an emergency occurs. It is not a good idea to take KI if you have certain medical conditions or problems. Babies need to be watched carefully if they take KI. The table below shows the smallest KI dose that different age groups can take which will protect the thyroid.

KI comes in liquid, mg tablets and mg tablets. Since it is hard to cut many pills, the State Health Commissioner says that, in an emergency, it is safe for children at school or day care centers to take the whole pill.

It's better for children under 12 years old to take the mg pill, but it is safe to take the mg pill if that is the only one you have. For children or babies who cannot take pills, parents and caregivers can cut or crush the pill to make lower doses, or give the liquid form of KI. KI is helpful for about 24 hours. KI should only be taken on the advice of emergency management officials, public health officials or your doctor, as there are health risks associated with taking it.

KI is a salt of stable not radioactive iodine. Stable iodine is an important chemical needed by the body to make thyroid hormones. Most of the stable iodine in our bodies comes from the food we eat. KI is stable iodine in a medicine form. When a person inhales or ingests radioactive iodine, the thyroid gland quickly absorbs it. Nonradioactive KI acts to block radioactive iodine from being taken into the thyroid gland and helps protect it from injury.

The thyroid gland cannot tell the difference between stable and radioactive iodine and will absorb both. KI works by blocking radioactive iodine from entering the thyroid. When a person takes KI, the stable iodine in the medicine gets absorbed by the thyroid. Iodized table salt also contains iodine; iodized table salt contains enough iodine to keep most people healthy under normal conditions.

However, table salt does not contain enough iodine to block radioactive iodine from getting into your thyroid gland. If a nuclear incident occurs, local emergency management officials will tell the public if KI or other protective actions are needed.

Following the instructions given by authorities can lower the amount of radioactive iodine that enters your body and lower the risk of damage to your thyroid gland. KI may still have some protective effect even if it is taken 3 to 4 hours after exposure to radioactive iodine. Because the radioactive iodine will be present in the initial blast and decays quickly, a single dose of KI may be all that is required.

KI comes in two forms: tablets in 65 mg or mg, and liquid. A one-time dose at the levels recommended is usually all that is required. However, authorities may advise additional doses every 24 hours if exposure is extended. Because nuclear releases are unpredictable but traffic jams are likely to delay speedy evacuation, people should take their KI before they evacuate, following instructions from local health officials.

Why offer KI to people just within 10 or 20 miles of a plant? KI distribution should not be limited to 10 or 20 miles.

No one can predict how far a radioactive iodine cloud might spread. After Chornobyl, higher than expected rates of thyroid cancer were found more than miles away from the nuclear plant. Thus, no one can predict how far from a nuclear plant the U. Because there is no right answer, the American Thyroid Association recommends three levels of coverage, determined by distance from the nuclear plant:.

What do U. KI is endorsed for radiation protection by the U. Food and Drug Administration. Tennessee has had its own KI program in place since Maine has discontinued its state program. The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of , enacted by Congress in May , creates a mechanism to extend the radius of KI distribution to communities within 20 miles of nuclear plants, and directs the President to decide which agency or agencies will oversee KI stockpiling and distribution.

Distribution under the new law could begin as early as June Possibly, although the potential benefit of KI far outweighs the cost. Within 50 miles of a nuclear plant, how should pills best be predistributed to families to store at home, before the time of need?

Within 50 miles of a plant, should pills also be kept at local schools, clinics, post offices, and police and fire stations for distribution during an emergency? How should children be treated at school? How should stockpiles be maintained? Provision must also be made to educate the public about why KI is important, what it can and cannot do, and how and when to use it.

The states that want KI are working out individual distribution and education plans, as part of their overall emergency plans. It is noteworthy that the offer of KI has led some states to reassess their overall emergency response plans.

What are other countries doing? France, Ireland, Sweden, and Switzerland not only stockpile KI but predistribute it to their populations. What does the American Thyroid Association recommend? ATA members have been studying the Chornobyl nuclear accident and caring for its victims. American Thyroid Association endorses potassium iodide for radiation emergencies. Crane, reprinted from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 14,