For SSKI, a solution more viscous than water, there are assumed to be 15 drops per mL; the iodide dose is therefore approximately 51 mg per drop. It is conventionally rounded to 50 mg per drop. The term SSKI is also used, especially by pharmacists, to refer to a U.S.P. pre-prepared solution formula, made by adding KI to water to prepare a solution containing 1000 mg KI per mL solution (100% wt/volume KI solution), to closely approximate the concentration of SSKI made by saturation. This is essentially interchangeable with SSKI made by saturation, and also contains about 50 mg iodide per drop. Saturated solutions of potassium iodide can be an emergency treatment for hyperthyroidism (so-called thyroid storm), as high amounts of iodide temporarily suppress secretion of thyroxine from the thyroid gland. The dose typically begins with a loading dose, then 1⁄3 mL SSKI (5 drops or 250 mg iodine as iodide), three times per day. Iodide solutions made from a few drops of SSKI added to drinks have also been used as expectorants to increase the water content of respiratory secretions and encourage effective coughing. SSKI has been proposed as a topical treatment for sporotrichosis, but no trials have been conducted to determine the efficacy or side effects of such treatment. Potassium iodide has been used for symptomatic treatment of erythema nodosum patients for persistent lesions whose cause remains unknown. It has been used in cases of erythema nodosum associated with Crohns disease.
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the central storage of iodine-pills is located in Zoetermeer, near The Hague. In 2017, the Dutch government distributed pills to hundreds of thousands of residents who lived within a certain distance of nuclear power plants and met some other criteria. Belgium
By 2020, potassium iodide tablets are made available free of charge for all residents in all pharmacies throughout the country. Formulations
Three companies (Anbex, Inc., Fleming Co, and Recipharm of Sweden) have met the strict FDA requirements for manufacturing and testing of KI, and they offer products (IOSAT, ThyroShield, and ThyroSafe, respectively) which are available for purchase. In 2012, Fleming Co. sold all its product rights and manufacturing facility to other companies and no longer exists. ThyroShield is currently not in production. The Swedish manufacturing facility for Thyrosafe, a half-strength potassium iodide tablet for thyroid protection from radiation, was mentioned on the secret US 2008 Critical Foreign Dependencies Initiative leaked by Wikileaks in 2010.Tablets of potassium iodide are supplied for emergency purposes related to blockade of radioiodine uptake, a common form of radiation poisoning due to environmental contamination by the short-lived fission product 131I. Potassium iodide may also be administered pharmaceutically for thyroid storm. For reasons noted above, therapeutic drops of SSKI, or 130 mg tablets of KI as used for nuclear fission accidents, are not used as nutritional supplements, since an SSKI drop or nuclear-emergency tablet provides 300 to 700 times more iodine than the daily adult nutritional requirement.