Endocrinological test at home. Just apply iodine to your wrist

An alcohol solution of iodine can be found in any home. It’s simply amazing: the vast majority of people use it for only one purpose - disinfection of wounds, but a bottle of iodine is found in almost every home medicine cabinet.

However, iodine is very useful and can be used in the treatment of a number of diseases, including internally. True, we are talking about the so-called blue iodine - amyloiodine. It helps with iodine deficiency, food and alcohol poisoning, colitis, ulcers, diseases of the liver and pancreas, diarrhea, increased gas formation, sinusitis, rhinitis, stomatitis, periodontal disease, toothache, sore throat, flu, tonsillitis, alveolitis, genital infections, thrush, tuberculosis , skin diseases, etc.

Iodine can be used quite widely in everyday life and medicine. But today we will talk about such an unconventional use of it as determining pregnancy using iodine. Many people have probably heard about this, and I’m sure there will be those who have already tried a pregnancy test with iodine in action. To whom this method is new - we’ll tell you!

Operating principle

It is known that there are different methods for determining pregnancy. For example, monitoring basal temperature, but this will require several days to conduct an analysis and say for sure whether there is conception or not. But using iodine and paper, this can be done quickly.

Its principle of action is based on a change in the quality of urine, which manifests itself already in the first day of the “interesting situation”. You remember that this primarily concerns the amount of hCG, a change in which is immediately displayed on a pharmacy pregnancy test. The same principle applies here, but iodine acts as a catalyst. So how to determine?

Here's what you'll need:

white paper, a napkin will do;
glass container;
iodine;
pipette.

Next we follow this algorithm. We collect a small amount of urine in a glass container, then moisten a napkin or paper in it. Place it on a surface - table, bedside table, use a pipette to pick up a little iodine and place one drop on a napkin moistened with urine.

Here you will find one of two options. If you do not observe any changes or the drops have turned dark blue, then you are not on hold. But the purple color will indicate a successful conception.

How to determine if your body has enough iodine

Many people know that without iodine the thyroid gland is really bad, and with its deficiency you feel weak, tired, and the skin becomes dry. But does this mean that everyone needs to take iodine-containing medications? Perhaps they will be harmful to someone?

We actually hear quite often about iodine preparations.
This worries many, and not the iodine itself, but the word “drugs,” says Georgy Romanov, associate professor of the department of Gomel Medical University, candidate of medical sciences, endocrinologist: “ This is the problem.”
But iodine is not a drug, but a vital and daily necessary trace element. And the key words here are “important” and “daily”. There are no people who do not need iodine - everyone, without exception, needs it. But the amount of this microelement needs to be clarified with a doctor. A person needs at least 200 mcg of iodine per day. If a light sea breeze blew across us every day, we probably would not know about the existence of iodine deficiency. But, alas. Therefore, we should know how to provide our diet with the necessary amount of iodine. —Can this be done with food?

- Yes. Our main source of iodine is fortified food. Analyze the contents of the shelves of grocery stores and supermarkets and you will probably notice that if a product contains salt, it must be iodized. Do you have concerns that you will go overboard if you constantly consume these types of foods? I hasten to reassure you: on average, the safe dose of table salt for humans is 5 mg per day. If you convert it to iodine, then you will get exactly those treasured 200 mcg. Of course, there are days when you can have a “sea” dinner - with seafood and seaweed. And what will happen in this case? It's okay! Our smart body will remove excess iodine in the urine, and balance will reign again.

- But today they really often say that we have already gone too far with iodine and this, they say, will not have the best effect on our health.

— It’s very difficult to overdo it with iodine if you don’t do anything special. It is believed that systematic consumption of iodine in a dose of more than 500 mcg per day can lead to improper functioning of the thyroid gland. But if we recalculate this amount into iodized salt, then we will have to eat at least 12.5 grams of salt per day. Yes, there are products with “hidden salt”, for example, black bread, 100 grams of which can contain up to 1 gram of iodized salt or 40 mcg of iodine. But, as you can see, these are absolutely not the numbers that you should be afraid of. And even despite this, in many countries today the issue of mandatory labeling of information on the amount of salt in prepared food products is being raised. According to the authors of the idea, this will protect the consumer not only from excessive salt consumption, but will also allow not to overdo it with iodine.

— While visiting the pharmacy, I have repeatedly observed how many people independently buy potassium iodide, iodomarin, believing that they can saturate the thyroid gland with the iodine necessary for its coordinated work. Isn't such self-medication dangerous?

— If a person’s diet is rather monotonous or there is an intolerance to seafood, then additional intake of potassium iodide (or other permitted iodine compounds) may be the only way out of the situation. I would like to emphasize once again: we need iodine every day, and not three weeks a year when a child is healing by the sea. If you decide to carry out prevention, do it systematically and systematically.

— Is it true that if a mother or father has problems with the thyroid gland, then to prevent diseases it is worth using iodine-containing drugs for children?

— Iodine is not a panacea for absolutely all thyroid diseases. Quite the contrary, this microelement helps only with diffuse goiter in children and young people. I will say more: for diseases such as toxic goiter or thyroiditis, additional iodine intake can aggravate the condition. Hence the conclusion: if you are planning to take something, consult your doctor!

— Can a person independently figure out whether his body has enough iodine?

“This can only be done if you carefully consider your diet. For example, 100 g of vegetables - 10 mcg of iodine, 1 egg - 15 mcg, 100 g of potatoes - 5 mcg, and so on. It is easy to notice that the content of this microelement in regular food is scanty. This means you need to add either seafood or iodized salt to your daily menu.

— There is such a test floating around on the Internet. You need to draw a grid on your hand with iodine and see how long it takes for it to disappear. If it is fast, it means that the body does not have enough iodine; if it is slow, it means the opposite.

“This seemingly “simple” test seems harmless, but in fact, by conducting such experiments on yourself, you deal a severe blow to the thyroid gland, from which it will recover only in two weeks. And most importantly, such a test has nothing to do with the body’s supply of iodine. This is such a serious test for the thyroid gland that in many countries they even began to gradually move away from the use of iodine tincture in medical practice, replacing it with safer antiseptics that do not contain iodine. By the way, iodine tincture cannot be taken either in its pure form or dripped onto sugar or milk. After all, one drop of tincture contains 6000 mcg of iodine, which is 30-40 times more than the daily requirement. Such an overdose can lead to severe damage to the thyroid gland.

WHERE TO LOOK?

All types of seafood are richest in iodine: squid, shrimp, all sea fish and fish oil. For example, 100 grams of cod liver contains up to 800 mcg of iodine, and fish oil contains 770 mcg. The list of foods high in iodine starts with seaweed, or kelp - up to 70 mcg of iodine per 100 g. So, if there is a deficiency of this microelement in the body, it would be a good idea to include salads with seaweed in your diet.

The list of iodine-containing foods for the thyroid gland must include vegetables, berries and fruits - especially persimmons, strawberries, beets, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, peppers, feijoa, bananas and grapes. Then you don't have to worry about the health of your thyroid gland.

It is important for children to consume foods with iodine. Therefore, include eggs, cereals (millet, oats, rye, buckwheat) and dairy products in their daily diet. They also contain a lot of iodine. If your diet is varied, you will never experience signs of iodine deficiency.

TRY
Cod liver salad
You will need:

a jar of cod liver, 2-3 eggs and 1 package of processed cheese like “Druzhba” (choose firmer cheese so that it can be easily grated), 1 small onion.

Place the cod liver on a plate and mash with a fork. Grate the hard-boiled eggs or finely chop them with a knife. Chop the onion. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater. Mix all ingredients to a puree-like consistency. To keep the mixture dry, add oil from the jar as needed. This salad is also suitable as a separate appetizer, which can be spread directly on bread.

Second way

This option can be used before your period is missed, but then it is difficult to talk about one hundred percent effectiveness. On forums, mothers share other methods for determining an “interesting position” using iodine.

Here's a slightly different order:

sterilize the container in which you will collect urine;
collect urine;
place on a level table;
add one drop of iodine to urine.

Has it mixed with the contents? There is nothing to congratulate you on. This is a negative result. You saw that a drop was floating on the surface or sank to the bottom, but did not mix with urine, then this is a sure sign that your family will soon be replenished with another member. Now you know what the iodine solution in your urine looks like during pregnancy.

How to take a pregnancy test with iodine?

To perform the iodine test, you do not need any special equipment. Everything is done very simply and quickly:

Method 1: moisten a small piece of paper with fresh morning urine and drop 1-2 drops of alcohol tincture of iodine on it. If it changes color to purple or lilac, then the result should be interpreted as positive, meaning you are pregnant. If the color of iodine remains brown or turns blue, then the test result is negative - there is no pregnancy.
Method 2: collect a fresh portion of morning urine according to all the rules and drop 1-2 drops of iodine into a container with urine. Iodine should be introduced carefully, from a short distance from the surface of the liquid being tested, otherwise iodine may immediately splash out to the sides. So, we drop iodine as close to the urine as possible and observe its reaction: if the drop remains on the surface or at least lingers for a moment, then pregnancy has occurred. A test result in which the iodine immediately diffuses or dissolves should be considered negative.

A pregnancy test with iodine is performed only with morning urine and can be considered informative no later than the 10th week.

To trust or not?

And yet, it’s not worth talking about this method as a 100% guarantee of conception. For this, it is best to undergo an ultrasound. “Is the pregnancy test with iodine true?” - Many women ask themselves this question. In the early stages, this data should not become the main one. Remember that you are turning to folk remedies, and they, as you know, are not always reliable.

And yet, this method, as evidenced by reviews from mothers, has many advantages:

everything can be done at home without leaving the apartment;
perfect safety of the method;
can be done at any time.

The disadvantages include:

low guarantee of reliability;
strict rules for performing the test;
urine must be used immediately.

A pregnancy test with iodine is a kind of entertainment that must be confirmed by a doctor.

Why does iodine change color?

Most likely, you have witnessed more than once that iodine changes its color. This refers to an alcohol solution of iodine, which we use as an antiseptic. In particular, it instantly reacts to starch (becomes black, gray or dark blue), and this property is actively used when testing various food products, which, by definition, should not contain such ingredients in their composition.

In addition, there is healing blue iodine, which we have already mentioned. Iodine turns blue when it decomposes, and in relation to our body, when it reacts with enzymes of the endocrine glands. When does iodine change its color to purple?

It’s interesting, but few of us remember from school that iodine in its pure form is violet, very dark, almost black. This is translated from the Greek “iodes” - violet, dark blue. It is a crystal-like substance that is very difficult to isolate and preserve. At home, you can turn brown pharmaceutical iodine into a beautiful purple color by pouring gasoline on top of a water-alcohol solution or shaking the bottle.

Who came up with the idea of combining iodine with urine, and why the results of a pregnancy test are interpreted in this way is unknown. But it is absolutely clear that such experiments cannot be trusted: only a gynecologist can assume the presence of pregnancy, and an ultrasound can confirm the guesses. Let the result please you!

Especially for beremennost.net – Elena Kichak

Rules

In principle, the rules for conducting the test are not complicated, but it is important to take into account certain factors. For example, I already told you that the sheet should be clean. As for iodine, be sure to check the expiration date; you cannot hope for a reliable result with an expired date. Urine is collected in the morning without washing or using hygiene products.

It is important to carry out actions with it in the first 25 minutes after collection. Don't forget to boil the pipette. And lastly, the test should only be carried out until the 10th week, then it may be unreliable. In any position, mommy should remain beautiful, and 7 DaysWaterproof waterproof eyebrow tattoos will help her with this.

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Advantages and disadvantages

This method of determining pregnancy has its advantages. Diagnostics can be carried out using simple available tools and absolutely free. You do not have to buy a pregnancy test at the pharmacy and the result will be known immediately.

But there are also significant drawbacks. Determining pregnancy using iodine is a folk method that cannot be a reliable diagnostic method. In other words, to verify your situation, you need to visit a gynecologist and undergo additional examinations (ultrasound, tests).

In addition, performing such a pregnancy test requires caution. Iodine is a persistent dye and if drops get on clothes, tables or other objects, it will be very difficult to wash and remove the stains.

We use soda

Iodine is not the only product available for determining the “interesting position”. Soda will help you with this. It actively responds to changes in urine pH, therefore it is an effective catalyst for hCG levels. For the test you need to collect 100 ml of urine. Next, add 1 teaspoon of baking soda.

Now watch carefully:

a reaction with bubbles will indicate that the result is negative;
lack of reaction, with settling of soda, speak of a positive result.

Why is the soda method not as popular as the iodine method? It turns out that it often fails women with kidney disease and other disorders in the body.

The popular definition of pregnancy with soda will show an incorrect result in the following pathologies:

hormonal imbalance;
low weight – anorexia;
infectious diseases, it could be thrush.

In addition, taking certain medications will also affect the effectiveness of the test, as will vegetarianism. Often, those whose test with the popular iodine showed a real pregnancy use the option with soda to be on the safe side.

And they are upset that the last option showed a negative result. In this case, I advise you to try brilliant green. Drop a disinfectant mixture into a jar of urine - a drop remains on the surface, congratulations, you are pregnant. The opposite result is if the green stuff goes to the bottom.

Reliability of a pregnancy test with iodine

But we would not recommend that you trust such popular tests to determine pregnancy. They have no scientific basis. Iodine can indeed change its color very often, but pregnancy does not have any effect on these chemical reactions. Women respond differently to this test. But the mere fact that often, according to the data obtained, their husbands are also pregnant speaks volumes that the iodine test cannot be trusted.

By the way, most often the result of this test is positive: this can unreasonably reassure a woman who dreams of a child, and unfairly frighten one who fears pregnancy. Therefore, be careful with folk tests and treat them as entertainment.

Credibility

As already mentioned, a pregnancy test with iodine is often unreliable. Many women who have it done report incorrect results, both false positives and false negatives.

Those who, for the purity of the experiment, tried this method on their husbands and children could see that all family members were “pregnant”. Therefore, the iodine test should be perceived as a chemical experiment that allows you to pass the time while waiting for a visit to the gynecologist. You can do it if you want, but you shouldn’t trust the result.

Moreover, taking this method too seriously can cause harm to health. If a woman has a delay in her period and feels unwell (stomach pain, nausea, etc.) and gets a positive result after testing with iodine, all symptoms can be attributed to pregnancy. As a result, time to seek medical help will be missed. Read more about possible causes of missed periods→

On the other hand, if a pregnant girl gets a negative result and does not recheck it, this could harm the baby. In such a situation, the expectant mother may not pay increased attention to her well-being, take care of herself and lead a healthy lifestyle, which jeopardizes the continuation of the pregnancy and the normal development of the fetus.

What to do if the test comes back negative.

You can regularly check yourself this way once every 2 weeks. This way you can better control your iodine needs.

What to do if you have a deficiency? I prefer iodized salt

, and most are special food additives. But if your deficit is very insignificant, then you don’t need to take any urgent measures: just adjust your diet.

Eat more baked potatoes, cranberries, prunes, cod, shrimp and canned tuna

.
Fish sticks, dried seaweed, turkey, milk, boiled eggs, yogurt, cheddar cheese and bananas
will also help .
Oh yes, another important source of iodine is strawberries
! Load up while you can!

Have you ever felt that you have problems with your thyroid gland? Tell us in the comments!

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