This is very rare and unlikely to occur by gargling 5% Povidone iodine 2x per day. But to be cautions, don’t over do it either.
IodineAbsorptionAfterTopicalAdministration
FRANCINE DELA CRUZ, PharmD; DEBORAH HARPER BROWN, PharmD; JERROLD B. LEIKIN, MD; CORY FRANKLIN, MD, and DANIEL 0. HRYHORCZUK, MD, MPH, Chicago
Absorptionfrompovidone-iodinepreparationsaftertopicaladministrationhasbeenreportedtobe negligible,butanelderlywomanhadincreasedserumiodinelevelswithpossiblemetaboliccompli- cationsafterpovidone-iodinesolutionwasappliedtodecubitusulcers.
(Dela Cruz F, Brown DH, Leikin JB, et al: Iodine absorption after topical administration. West J Med1987Jan;146:43-45)
I odineisatopicalgermicidalagenteffectiveagainstawide spectrumoforganismsincludingbacteria,viruses,fungi andprotozoa.IIodineisavailableassolutionsandalcoholic
tincturesandasiodinecompoundssuchasiodophors.Iodo- phorsweredevelopedfollowingearlyreportsofskinirita- tion,severehypersensitivityreactionsandsystemicabsorp- tion of iodine from iodine tinctures.23 lodophors are compoundsofiodinelinkedtosurfactantsthatactascarriers orsolubilizingagentsforiodine.A smallamountoffree iodineisreleasedinsolution,therebyminimizingtoxicity while preserving moderate germicidal activity of the ele- ment.I
One of the most extensively used iodophors is the com- plexofpolyvinylpyrrolidone(povidone)andiodine.Initial studiesofthisagentinanimalsindicatednegligiblesystemic absorptionofiodinefollowingtopicaladministration.4Since thentherehavebeenanumberofreportsofpossibleiodine toxicityoccurringaftertopicaladministrationoftheproduct inhumans.
Mostcaseshaveinvolvedtheapplicationofpovidone-io- dine to burn wounds involving extensive areas of the body surface.Inthisreportwedescribeacaseofincreasedserum iodinelevelsassociatedwithmetabolicabnormalitiesafter topicalpovidone-iodinetreatmentinapatientwithdecubitus ulcers involving a relatively small body surface area. We alsopresentareviewoftopicaliodineabsorptionandsys- temiccomplicationsassociatedwithtopicaladministration.
Report of a Case
The patient, an 83-year-old woman, had a history of hy- pertension,congestiveheartfailure,typeH diabetesmellitus and asthma. Early in February 1985 she sustained a left parietal lobe infarct resulting in right hemiparesis. After stabilization, the patient was transferred to a rehabilitation institute. Five weeks after the stroke, however, she was