Iodine Tablets for Nuclear Accident

lynchie

If this is in the wrong board, please feel free to move it

I arrived home yesterday to find that I had received the governments supply of Iodine tablets to be used in case of a nuclear accident. I opened the package and had a quick look at the usage instructions. The government has sent everybody out a box with six tablets in it. Fine I thought until I looked at the usage directions. All adults (over 12) are to take two tablets. Now my maths may not be great but If there are four members in my family and we have to take 2 tablets each, one of us is going to get the short straw and end up glowing green in the dark.

If the average family consists of 4 people, why did the government send out too few tablets?

Do they not use the previous census information to determine that this household has 4 people, this one 6, etc.... before sending out the tablets.

Also, there is nothing on the package instructing you how to obtain more tablets should you have a large family.

First they had out of date stocks of iodine tablets, now they are leaving most household short of tablets, can they get anything right at all?

WhiteWashMan

i wouldnt worry,
if youre in need of iodine tablets, youre already on your way to being mutated.....

Dr. Loon

Why are they even sending the tablets?? Have they done this before?

Gordon

Like iodine is really going to help you in a meltdown?! pah

I think I'll move this to afterhours by the way.

bombidol

its just the governments way of telling everyone in the country that sellafeild is dangerous and to get involved. personnally id rather they spend the money they spent on thos tablets on some homeless shelters or something

bomb

flyz

Originally posted by Dr. Loon
Why are they even sending the tablets?? Have they done this before?

do you not remember the fiasco on Raidio 1 with Marian Finuchane
talking to Minister Jacobs last year?

http://www.oirishtimes.com/joejacobs.htm

po0k

Yeah, I was wondering about the tablet quantity myself.
Seeing as it's a goverment jobbie they probably cost the government 60c each, even though you can probably buy them in bulk for .6c each, the balance being made up (literally) by lackey Civil servants justifying their own existence.

And I think it might have something to do with the situation between Pakistan and India, and the threat of nuclear falllout being blown over to us by winds.
Or something.
Of course, all the chewy mint flavoured round things won't save you from sprouting a 4th eye if anything major were to happen, their more of a 'paddy method' to defend against it.

EvilGeorge

What flavor are they ?
How long does this save you for about 10 hrs or somthing, well its pretty typical of the Irish government to do somthing like that they probably want you to buy any extra ones.

lynchie

Originally posted by WhiteWashMan
i wouldnt worry,
if youre in need of iodine tablets, youre already on your way to being mutated.....

I know the tablets are not going to make you immune from the fallout but whats the point in sending them out if your going to leave most households short?

bombidol

What the hell does iodine do anyway????

bomb

po0k

To weed out the weak.

WhiteWashMan

Originally posted by bombidol
What the hell does iodine do anyway????

bomb

you mash them up and put it on your cuts and grazes.

either that or you get to see it in your bloodstream if they do an x-ray on you.

EvilGeorge

It has magical powers , probably soaks up radiation or repels it or somthing.
Do we not get those mad radiation suits in the post ???

lynchie

Originally posted by bombidol
What the hell does iodine do anyway????

bomb

AFAIK, all the tablets do is help prevent thyroid cancer.

po0k

Personally I think they're more of a placebo, a token gesture by Joe Jacob's department to a) justify their position b) let them say "Relax, we've got everything under control" with a smug grin on their face.

Or it's an attempt to get everyone addicted to sherbert and sherbert related products. It is sherbert in the tablets, isn't it?

Lemming

Originally posted by lynchie


AFAIK, all the tablets do is help prevent thyroid cancer.

That is correct.

Everyone seems to think that iodine tablets are some mystical way of preventing radiation sickness. They're not. You still need treatment for being irradiated.

What iodine tablest are for is to prevent your thyroid gland (located in the neck) from being irradiated. Doctors are not exactly sure what the significance of the thyroid gland is but one thing that IS known is that if you loose your thyroid gland, you die.

It cannot be repaired, and it seems to soak up radiation (naturally occuring, or man-made) like a sponge, and not let go any of it.

Gaz

being irradiated.

Damn that sounds violating !!!

Feckless Rogue

Originally Posted by SyxPak
To weed out the weak.

LOL gushie for an iodine tablet kids!

EvilGeorge

Ok so say the tablets do their bit and now we have to be treated for the radiation - where does that happen ?

po0k

The Moon.

EvilGeorge

Ah yes - I can picture it know, just like a scene from the simpsons.

How many fall out shelters do we have in the country again , somthing like 6 I think and hold about 30 ppl each , not that it does us much good , cant really live underground for 10,000 yrs or what every it is for radiation to clear.

Gordon

I'm a bit worried about nuclear disasters now.

Does anyone have a link to the "Duck and Cover" method of protection, I need to practice it again.

Winning Hand

The thyroid gland is used in the long term control of metabolism. It takes up Iodine in the bloodstream and converts it into various thyroid hormonesm, they enter cells and upregulates transcription of enzymes involved in metabolism. Thus anyone who is hyperthyroid will show signs of restlessness, sweating in normal temps, loss of weight etc. Hypothyroidism involves weight gain, lack of energy etc. As far as I know the body preferentially takes up normal Iodine in preference to radioactive Iodine so that even if radioactive I is present with the tablets it will not enter the gland possibly propogating cancer.

As for the number of tablets, looks like I did the right thing hiding them in my bedroom
Ill put money half the country has already opened the inner packet to see what was in there.

leeroybrown

Afaik (saw or read somewhere and am very open to correction if I'm wrong) as you get older the possible damage to the thoyroid gland due to irradiation lessens and as such the effectiveness of the iodine lessens. As such the tablets are really only effective to any major degree when taken by people under 18/20 years old.

THe government are just pressing that they are effective for everybody to avoid mass worry about nulear disasters.

Giblet

I think its a load of rubbish myself, the Government is just sending them out to cover there own asses so they can sit back and say "we've done our bit".

The_Bullman

Unfortunatly it isn't Joe Jacobs department any more folks.

He was booted out by Bertie and some other poor unfortunate got the job

DapperGent

I think we should all practice diving under our desks. It was good enough for american school kids during the Cuban Missile crisis and by God it'll be good enough for us.

And the Bullman is correct it is unfortunate that Job Jacob got the bullet because apart that public relations disaster he was a fantastic minister of state.

Redshift

Originally posted by Winning Hand
The thyroid gland is used in the long term control of metabolism. It takes up Iodine in the bloodstream and converts it into various thyroid hormonesm, they enter cells and upregulates transcription of enzymes involved in metabolism. Thus anyone who is hyperthyroid will show signs of restlessness, sweating in normal temps, loss of weight etc. Hypothyroidism involves weight gain, lack of energy etc. As far as I know the body preferentially takes up normal Iodine in preference to radioactive Iodine so that even if radioactive I is present with the tablets it will not enter the gland possibly propogating cancer.

As for the number of tablets, looks like I did the right thing hiding them in my bedroom
Ill put money half the country has already opened the inner packet to see what was in there.

As posted by winning hand your thyroid gland controls your metabolism. It however doesent control mine I have hyperthyroidism or graves disease as its called so i have first hand experience of 'Mad thyroid gland disease' ;O)
It's a real pain in the ass if i dont take the medication I sweat like a pig, shake like a junky and lose weight at pounds a day.
I have to take radio-iodine soon which will irradiate and kill my thyroid gland because it has not responded to treatment so I guess I wont need those tablets.
which is convienient since there is seven in my household
Cheers
Redshift

Victor

Originally posted by Winning Hand
The thyroid gland is used in the long term control of metabolism. It takes up Iodine in the bloodstream and converts it into various thyroid hormonesm, they enter cells and upregulates transcription of enzymes involved in metabolism. Thus anyone who is hyperthyroid will show signs of restlessness, sweating in normal temps, loss of weight etc. Hypothyroidism involves weight gain, lack of energy etc. As far as I know the body preferentially takes up normal Iodine in preference to radioactive Iodine so that even if radioactive I is present with the tablets it will not enter the gland possibly propogating cancer.

Close. The thyroid gland normally uses small amounts of iodine which it draws from your blood. It is one of those minor minerals that we need and get from iodine salts, most commonly found in sea foods but also vegetables and other foods.

Radioactive iodine is one of the derivatives when uranium(?) decays. Hence in a major nuclear incident a part of the fallout (debris that returns to earth, as dust, often at long distance) will be iodine, enough that it causes a major part of the resulting illnesses.

Radiation is much more dangerous inside the body, than on the skin. The objective of the iodine tablets is to increase the level of non-radioactive iodine in the bloodstream, so that the body will not absorb any of the radioactive iodine, thereby minimising the bodies exposure timewise.

Saruman

Looks like we will have to take matters into our own hands and get radiation suits and also some material to protect our houses from radiation...

DapperGent

Perhaps instead we should get those gung-ho Celtic Rangers to storm Sellafield and somehow close the place down. If thats even possible.

Sparkle

2005 - minutes after the blowing up of sellafield.
Strong wind blowing east-wards results in devastating effects on Ireland.

in an old country house in the centre of Monaghan.
Ah be gora, theres that big place, in england, and its been blown up.
*television in backround* we advise all household to open those iodine tablets and follow the intructions inside.

"Peter!Wheres the tablets!?"
"I dunno"
"John, the tablets where are they?"
"I didn't have them martin did!My skins burning"
"so is mine"-*peter* "are they in the press",
" I put them somewhere safe!",
"****, this hurts"

After minutes of searching, all members of this household die.....and are buried by self composing in the purple soil.

Cabaal

Originally posted by EvilGeorge
Do we not get those mad radiation suits in the post ???

Yeah that sounds better then tablets
Plus they can waste more money..

po0k

The place will probably implode soon anyways.
I don't know why the dubs are getting uppity anyhow.
Sure, ye've all being eating those green flourescent Irish Sea fish for the fast 20 years.
ye're probably impervious to it by now.
Would explain a hell of a lot about ye too......
/me runs

Chowmein

\me looks worried :S

imp

A standard quantity has been sent out to each household, and those households which require more are supposed to contact their Health Board, afaik.

And, afaik iodine tablets are required in larger quantities for adults simply because their bodies generally require more iodine, not because the tablets have lost effectiveness, if you know what I mean.

}:>

leeroybrown

Maybe the best thing to do I grab the nearest attractive female and go out with a bang

Tellox

Excellent! So if a nuclear bomb is dropped on my house, I'll just rush for the tablets, shall I?

*wanders off to eat another sherbet-flavored sweet*