<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

At 11:13 PM 11/18/00, romrider wrote:

>You wrote.
>
> From my own experience, sensitivity to iodine is strictly topical... You
>need to ingest some to survive.... Unless people can state otherwise on
>this I don't think there is a problem with ingesting it... only when it
>comes into contact with the skin...
>
>I have been on this list for about four years. When I first began to read
>the posts we would notice a newly diagnosed Celiac ( or DH ) person every
>now and then. Now it seems like there is some one new on the list every
>day, maybe not quite that often. This is good, it indicates that the
>medical profession is finally waking up a bit. But  along with this there
>is also a lot of missinformation from spectulation about our disease. I
>have noticed this lately in reguard to DH.

        The following statement is a direct quote from the following.
"Coeliac Disease" Edited by Michael N. Marsh and Published by Blackwell
Scientific Publications Chapter 4  page 100    Titled Iodine and Iodides

"It is an interesting yet unexplained observation that potassium iodide,
whether taken orally or applied the skin, will induce lesions of DH in the
previously uninvolved skin. In fact, the potassium iodide patch was often
used to diagnose DH before the introduction of more specific tests. The
clinical response to iodides is not seen in patients whose rash is
controlled by dapsone or a gluten-free diet, even though IgA is still
present in the skin. The response is also negative in patients in
spontaneous remission despite the presence of IgA deposits in the skin.

    The skin lesions produced by iodides in DH patients are identical to
the spontaneous eruption. It would appear that in some way, iodides lower
the threshold for activation of the final inflammatory pathways responsible
for the production of a DH lesion. This could possibly involve complement
activation or the production of chemical mediators. Dapsone appears to have
the opposite effect to iodides. It does not seem to influence complement
deposition or activation, but more likely inhibits the synthesis, or
activity of, chemical mediators involved in production of the lesion."

    I would also add that when I was diagnosed I tried to find a list of
foods and their amount of iodine. I was unsuccessful, but I did get an
answer from someone who worked in a celiac clinic that stated that iodine
is in almost everything. Items particularly high in iodine are seafood,
ocean fish, kelp, and eggyolks. As far as I have been able to find out
iodine is not harmful to our bodies, however it can cause lesions.

    This post is meant to be informative and not argumentative. I hope that
this helps some one.

                                              Jim D.  CO.  USA