Water Purification Tabs and Menstruation

[Richard]

What the hell? You're a Bravo aren't you?

Yep - 91B4S.

Richard

[trunkmonkey]

NDD,
I do have some limited experience with females and water purification tablets. My wife and I were both in the Army, stationed in Iraq and Alaska together. My wife has used the civilian water purification tablets to purify Iraqi house water for extended periods of time (2 weeks), and Alaskan river water (3 months) and neither has caused her any problems. We also both use the tablets when we go hunting and still no issue using them for her.


And to calrify the married deployment thing. I met her in Baghdad while she was pumping rounds through a car windshield on a patrol. You know what they say, a family that fights together stays together.

[shr7]

Originally Posted by Richard

The effects of either too much iodine or too little idoine on the human body are well documented and must always be considered.

Richard's $.02

First, I apologize for coming late to the party, been away for a short while.

Both hypo and hyperthyroidism can result in early menstruation.

So then remains the question, can iodine water purification tablets result in altered thyroid function? I looked for studies to link, but now that I'm out of school, they cut me off for the full length articles. I will link to the abstracts and I am sure you have better access to journals than myself.

Early study (1993) in Military Medicine noting abnormal lab values:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8...ubmed_RVDocSum

There is also an article, 'Travelers' thyrotoxicosis'. Transitory thyrotoxicosis induced by iodinated preparations for water purification. But I cannot link full article and I see "Erratum in" and "Comment in" cited on PubMed, but again cannot read said errors or comments, so I did not link this article.

Cross-Sectional survey of Peace Corps workers in Africa noting abnormal lab values and goiter, resolving upon removal of excess iodine (This was due to excess iodine from a water filter):
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

A study conducted looked at short term and long-term effects of iodinated water in the US Space Program. Conclusions were that therapeutic doses of iodine were consumed, enough for a transient change in thyroid function, but no long term effects were found:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

I could not find any direct evidence to answer this student's question, but enough evidence exists to extrapolate findings to:
Has it ever happened? "Maybe"
Could it happen? "I don't see why not"

Maybe that is a lesson in itself.

SR