Does iodine net help with colds? Is it possible to use it to determine the iodine deficiency in the body? What is the risk of regular application of an iodine net to a child's skin?
One of the popular folk remedies for colds is an iodine or iodine mesh. It was regularly painted on us by our mothers and grandmothers. And many parents, out of old memory, at the first signs of a runny nose and cough in a child, begin to exercise on him in iodine "art". It is also believed that with the help of an iodine grid it is possible to determine the lack of this trace element in the body: the faster the pattern disappears from the skin, the greater the iodine deficiency is experienced by the "experimental". How effective these methods are and how they can be dangerous for the child, the pediatrician said on the air of one of the TV channels. Evgeny Komarovsky.
Will iodine mesh help with colds?
Parents often smear their child with iodine the first time they cough / istockphoto.com
Iodine is a wonderful antiseptic that has practically no contraindications for use. The iodine solution is applied to the skin for small cuts and abrasions, and is also used to avoid inflammation during the healing of large wounds. At the same time, neither in the instructions for iodine, nor in the protocols for the treatment of acute respiratory viral infections, there is no mention that iodine can somehow affect the human respiratory system and alleviate the symptoms of a cold. Meanwhile, it is for this purpose that it has been used in our country for more than a dozen years.
On the Internet, you can find a lot of recommendations on how to properly apply iodine to the body for colds. All "authoritative" resources on traditional medicine recommend doing this in the form of a mesh. Further, the tips differ: someone writes that maximum efficiency can be achieved if you draw the grid almost under the ruler (the size of the cells should be 1 * 1 cm). Someone advises to apply iodine to the area of the chest and shoulder blades, and someone assures that you need to decorate the throat and thyroid gland with iodine.
The iodine net is especially popular for the treatment of children: it is recommended to use it at the first symptoms of a cold. Mothers usually do this, justifying themselves by the fact that "it will definitely not get worse." Not everything is so simple, warns Dr. Komarovsky.
Firstly, the regular application of iodine to the child's body (especially to the same place several times a day) can provoke irritation, or even a burn of delicate skin.
Secondly, due to the tenderness of children's skin, iodine is perfectly absorbed into the child's bloodstream, giving an increased load on the thyroid gland. In some cases, iodine "art" can cause pathologies in the thyroid gland, warns the doctor.
Use iodine for a child only as an antiseptic / istockphoto.com
All this, coupled with the unsubstantiated "treatment" with iodine, can be considered a contraindication to drawing iodine nets on a child, Komarovsky emphasizes. But for adults, such a procedure does not bring any harm or benefit. Therefore, if you really want to - draw on yourself. The only thing is, do not use an iodine pencil for these purposes. Due to the fact that it has a large application area, the risk of provoking a skin burn is much higher.
Why does the iodine grid disappear quickly?
Many people try to detect iodine deficiency with a grid / istockphoto.com
Traditional doctors say that by the rate of absorption of iodine from the skin, it is possible to accurately diagnose the deficiency of this trace element in the body. The faster the drawn mesh disappears, the greater the iodine deficiency. For this test, there are recommendations for application: for a more accurate diagnosis, the mesh must be drawn on the inner side of the thigh. If brown traces disappear in less than 24 hours, you are iodine deficient, they write on many Internet resources.
Often this self-test ends in self-assignment. A person whose iodine grid disappears within a few hours runs to the pharmacy for a tablet form of iodine. This is not only wrong, but also dangerous, says Dr. Komarovsky. Especially if, after such a test, they begin to feed the child with iodine.
The rate of iodine absorption depends only on the characteristics of the skin: the softer and thinner it is, the faster the iodine pattern will disappear. Try experimenting and drawing a mesh on the wrist and heel at the same time. You will see that iodine will last much longer on the heel. Can such a diagnosis be considered correct? Obviously not. Moreover, it would be wrong to take any medication on its basis.
Iodine deficiency is determined on the grid, and the endocrinologist / istockphoto.com
If you want to check iodine level in the body, take tests in the laboratory for the work of thyroid hormones (TSH, T3 and T4). Based on the results, you can judge whether everything is in order: for example, an elevated TSH hormone directly indicates iodine deficiency. Also, iodine deficiency can be determined by a special urine test. Such a study costs about 150-180 UAH, but on its basis it is already possible to make some medical conclusions.
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Traces of non-iodine in the body and prevention of iodine deficiency: Ulyana Suprun
Iodine for children: in what products to look for it and how much is needed for health
