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Comment by phkahler | Hacker News Reader

I've been wondering about treating ebola with iodine. It's antimicrobial and antiviral. The Red Cross uses it to clean the skin before taking blood donations because it is superior to alcohol for cleaning. It is also useful to promote healing, among many other things (It seem to be helpful to the mitochondria which means wide-ranging benefit). But just due to the use for cleaning, and the aid in healing, I wonder if a few drops of Lugol's solution in a glass of water several times a day would help an ebola patient. That would hit right in the gut where the infection goes wild and does the most damage.

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The iodine used in cleaning skin causes all kinds of internal damage if ingested. See http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/symptoms-o...

I'm not advocating concentrated iodine. A few drops of Lugol's mixed in a glass of water isn't going to damage anything - lots of people take that exact amount on a regular basis. We could argue about long term effects of that, but I'm talking about doing it for a week or two to help with something that is killing half the people it infects.

Where is the guy with iodine user id when you need them?

>That would hit right in the gut where the infection goes wild and does the most damage.

Ebola virus disease is not like c. difficile. It attacks endothelial cells, liver cells, phagocytes... it's as systemic as they come.

>> Ebola virus disease is not like c. difficile. It attacks endothelial cells, liver cells, phagocytes... it's as systemic as they come.

As are the benefits of iodine. But to be clear, you don't think it's worth even trying right?

Iodine works as a disinfectant due to it's oxidizing capability. If you take iodine orally, it'll be reduced pretty quickly to iodide (which has no disinfectant properties), then taken up by the body to form various iodine containing hormones related to the thyroid.

Taken up by all cells with a sodium/iodide symporter. From wikipedia: Apart from thyroid cells NIS can also be found, although less expressed, in other tissues such as the salivary glands, the gastric mucosa, the kidney, the placenta, the ovaries and the mammary glands during pregnancy and lactation. It also occurs is in the lungs.

We also see that viral infection can trigger apoptosis here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10547702

And that iodine is critical to some of the pathways leading to apoptosis, which may explain its helpfulness in some cancers: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16120321

So it's concentrated in the gut and kidneys - 2 places strongly effected by ebola. And there is a plausible link to slowing viral infection through destruction of infected cells. It was just a suggestion.

The standard responses occured - 1) that stuff will burn tissue. and 2) it's only good for your thyroid. Both of these statements are false. Well sure #1 with concentrated iodine will do that, but that's not relevant to my original suggestion.

To be clear, I don't think there's any value whatsoever in trying.

There's zero scientific evidence I've seen that supports a claim that iodine has antiviral properties. It's germicidal properties are because it's an oxidizer - the presence of organic matter (the contents of the stomach, not to mention the stomach itself) would quickly render it ineffective at that.

Lots of people are advocating colloidal silver to treat Ebola virus disease right now. Other claimed cures are drinking saltwater, strong tea and coffee mixtures, and kola nuts. These people are also misinformed.

EDIT: Because I don't think the above comment carries the tenor of what I'm looking for...

The response I predict from you is along the lines of "well, with all the human misery, why aren't we trying (...)". It's a common statement with this outbreak.

Here's why we aren't: there are significant ethical quandaries involving giving an undereducated, desperate population experimental drugs that we think might work (ZMapp, TKM-Ebola). The population as it stands is extremely mistrusting of the intentions of aid workers, as evidenced by beliefs that range from "Ebola doesn't exist" to "They're taking you there to kill you!" Some MSF EVD treatment facilities have started showing the bodies of deceased victims to their relatives to prove there isn't an organ harvesting conspiracy occurring.

The absolute worst thing you could do in the middle of a public health disaster is to advocate treatments that make no sense whatsoever. This will accomplish nothing but spreading further distrust of the local and foreign aid groups that are almost overwhelmed as it is.

I think I can agree with the idea that experimenting during the present situation could be damaging for all the reasons you point to. It seem standard treatment like keeping hydrated and isolated are not accepted, we must add confusion with experimentation.

BTW, I have read the advocacy of colloidal silver and the damage it does - I think those guys are nuts. I understand that people will view my iodine advocacy the same way - I face this every time I take kelp in front of my wife...

> That would hit right in the gut where the infection goes wild and does the most damage.

Ebola goes wild and does the most damage in blood vessels, not the gut.

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