How to prepare for radioactive iodine treatment?
Preparing for radioactive iodine treatment 1 What radioactive iodine is. Radioactive iodine treatment is a type of internal radiotherapy. 2 When you have it. You may only need to have this treatment once. 3 Preparing for radioactive iodine treatment. 4 Low iodine diet.
Can I contaminate others with radioactive iodine?
This article has been viewed 33,047 times. Learn more... If you're being treated for hyperthyroidism or thyroid cancer, you may be given radioactive iodine or radioiodine. [1] With this treatment, it's possible to contaminate others with radiation, even though the amount of radiation you're given is fairly small.
Can you leave radioiodine in the bathtub?
Plus, you're more likely to leave radioiodine behind in the bathtub. Rinse the bathtub and sink after using them. You will be sweating out radioiodine, as well as passing it in other bodily fluids. Use water to clean out the sink and tub after you use them to cut down on what you leave behind.
Can I have a baby after radioactive iodine treatment?
Don’t get pregnant or get your partner pregnant for at least 6 months after getting radioactive iodine therapy, or as long as your doctor tells you to. Use birth control after treatment for at least 6 months after getting this treatment. If you’re planning to have a child, talk with your doctor about your plans before your treatment.
How do you prepare a patient for radioactive iodine therapy?
You might need to have a low iodine diet for a few weeks before you have your treatment. This prepares the thyroid cells so that they can absorb the radioactive iodine. All food and drink contains some iodine. A low iodine diet means that you should avoid foods that have a high level of iodine in them.
How do you clean a room after radioactive iodine treatment?
The iodine-131 will wash out in the laundry. Vacuuming will pick up hair that is shed, which will have small amounts of radioactivity in it since our heads also sweat. The conservative approach would be to cover the chair with a sheet.
What are the precautions for radioactive iodine?
What precautions should be taken with radioactive iodine therapy?Avoid prolonged, close physical contact with others, especially children and pregnant women.For the first few days stay a distance of at least 6 feet away from others. ... Sleep alone in a separate bed (at least 6 feet away from another adult).More items...•
Do you have to isolate after radioactive iodine treatment?
You are also required to self isolate for 7 days after your radioiodine treatment in order to minimise the risk of contracting COVID-19 whilst there is still a large amount of radioactivity in your body. A small proportion of people with COVID-19 may become very unwell and require admission to hospital.
Can you wash radiation off clothes?
Any radioactive material that gets into surface water or ground water sources will be diluted to very low levels by the water and will be safe to use for washing skin, hair, and clothing.
How long is isolation after radioactive iodine?
Sleep alone for 7 days unless otherwise instructed by your doctor. Avoid kissing and physical contact with others, and maintain a distance of at least 3 feet from women who are pregnant and children under 18 years old.
What happens if you are exposed to someone with radioactive iodine?
If too much radioactive iodine enters your body, the radioactive iodine will destroy your thyroid gland so that the gland will stop making hormones. Too much radioactive iodine in your body can also cause thyroid nodules or cancer.
What can you eat after radioactive iodine treatment?
For 3 days after you swallow the capsule: Follow your low-iodine diet. You may resume your normal diet after 3 days. For 1 or 2 days after your dose: Avoid fatty or rich foods to help ease any nausea. We suggest taking an antacid like Zantac or Prilosec for nausea.
Does radiation treatment affect family members?
Any radiation therapy that is transient, including external beam radiation or brachytherapy that is removed, poses no risk to family members. For these types of therapy, patients are exposed to radiation only during active treatment, and radiation is not carried on the patient's body.
How long does radioiodine stay in your system?
The radioiodine from your treatment will temporarily remain in your body. Most of the radioiodine not taken up by your thyroid gland will be eliminated within the first (2) two days after treatment. Radioiodine leaves your body primarily by your urine. Very small amounts may leave in your saliva, sweat, or feces.
How much water should I drink after Rai?
Avoid contact with pregnant women and children under the age of 12 for 7 days. Drink plenty of liquids starting 60 minutes after your RAI pill(s) for 7 days. After that, drink about 1 glass of fluids every 2 hours that you are awake to encourage urination at least once per hour.
What hormone is used to treat radioactive iodine?
For your treatment to work, one of the hormone levels in your body needs to be high. This hormone is called thyroid stimulating hormone or TSH. A high level of TSH helps any thyroid cancer cells in the body to take up radioactive iodine.
Why is radioactive iodine used for thyroid cancer?
It is a useful treatment in thyroid cancer because the thyroid gland absorbs and stores most of the iodine in your body. The thyroid gland gets iodine from certain foods and uses this to make essential thyroid hormones. Radioactive iodine is a targeted treatment. The radioactive iodine circulates throughout your body in your bloodstream.
How long does it take to stop taking thyroid hormone?
have an injection of a man-made TSH called recombinant human TSH (rhTSH) once a day for 2 days. stop taking your thyroid hormone tablets a few weeks before treatment (thyroid withdrawal) Your healthcare team will explain what you need to do and what is going to happen.
What foods contain iodine?
raw green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli. cakes and biscuits made with eggs or butter. milk chocolate and white chocolate. take away foods, fast foods and restaurant food as their ingredients aren't known and might contain iodine.
Does iodine kill cancer cells?
Thyroid cancer cells in your body pick up the iodine. The radiation in the iodine then kills the cancer cells.
Can you stop breastfeeding while on radioactive iodine?
You should not have this treatment during pregnancy. Talk to your doctor if you are breastfeeding. You will need to stop breastfeeding before you have treatment with radioactive io dine.
Does iodine kill thyroid cancer?
The radiation in the iodine then kills the cancer cells. It is only suitable for some types of thyroid cancer. It is a treatment for: It can treat the cancer even if it has spread. But even if you have one of these types of thyroid cancer, this treatment may not be necessary or suitable for you. Not all of the cancer cells take up ...
Focus on the Positive
Mindset is at least half the battle with isolation. There are plenty of negatives in your life going into isolation. I’ve listed just a few above.
Be a Little Selfish
Other than being careful not to expose others to radiation, you do not need to put others first during this time. What to do I mean?
Indulge
It can be hard to indulge on the low iodine diet, but you can do it. I got a giant bag of gummy bears and ate the whole thing. I binge watched Jane Austen movies.
Set a Fun Goal
Focus on something you want to do but never have time to do. Be creative!
Reach Out
Radioactive iodine treatment isolation is…well…isolating. Even introverts get lonely after awhile. Your friends and family are likely looking for ways they can help but don’t know what to do. Reach out. Connection will help the time go by and help you feel less alone.
Hygiene
You are strongly encouraged to have good hygiene post radioactive iodine. The iodine comes out in your bodily secretions – saliva, sweat, urine. Showering daily and frequent tooth brushing are included in thyca.org’ s list of recommendations.
Get Out
Just because you have to be in isolation, does not mean you have to stay inside 4 walls. Go for a walk. Get some sunshine. Breathe fresh air. Be cautious in staying away from people, obviously. But going outdoors can be a real boost.
How long should you sleep with radioiodine?
You should also make separate sleeping arrangements for the first 48 hours to maintain this distance. Since the radioiodine is administered as a salt, is can pass through the skin barrier with perspiration, so you shouldn't exercise or swim in pools during the first 48 hours.
How far away should you be from family during radioiodine?
You should try to keep all family and friends during this period at least one meter (three feet) away and do not have direct physical contact, especially intimate contact, like kissing or hand holding where radioiodine could be passed onto others.
How long does it take for iodine to be excreted?
Excretion is so rapid that as long as you have reasonable kidney function, 50% of the administered iodine is gone within eight hours. Another 50% of the remaining circulating iodine is excreted during the second eight hours and so on.
What percentage of iodine is fixed in thyroid?
The remaining 1.6% of the iodine at this point is primarily fixed in any residual thyroid tissues and no longer circulating. It's this residual fixed iodine that achieves the therapeutic effect of the treatment. You should first understand that you don't need to place yourself in an isolation room.
How does radioiodine work?
In short, radioiodine is administered as a salt pill or solution. Instead of being normal salt, sodium chloride (NaCl), it is sodium iodide (NaI). Once you swallow the treatment dose, iodine-131 ( 131 I) is rapidly absorbed into the circulation.
How long should you wash your clothes after a radioactive reaction?
Personal clothing, sheets, bedding, washcloths, and towels should be collected and washed separately for the first 48 hours. After washing, run the washing machine through an extra wash cycle to clear out any residual radioiodine before using it for others.
What tissue is 131 I?
Only one tissue in the body has a need to fix and hold onto the iodine, namely thyroid tissu e. The remaining tissues in the body treat the iodine as salt and the iodine is rapidly cleared from the body circulation, ...
How to get rid of radioiodine in urine?
Clean your hands thoroughly every time you use the bathroom. After you go to the bathroom, soap up and scrub your hands thoroughly, as you'll be passing the most radioiodine in your urine. Scrub for at least 20 seconds before rinsing.
How to prevent radioactive particles in the house?
1. Wash your linens and clothes separately from the rest of the household. Always wash your towels, sheets, and clothes in a different load from other household items. They may spread radioactive particles to other items in the house if you don't take this precaution.
How to clean a bathroom after a precaution period?
Clean the bathroom thoroughly. After your precaution period is up, wipe down the bathroom with disinfecting wipes. Wear gloves for the process, and then place the wipes and gloves in a designated trash bag. ...
How to keep dishes from spreading radioactive particles?
2. Wash your dishes separately from the rest of the dishes. Reserve dishes and utensils for yourself that only you use, kept away from other dishes and utensils. Also, wash these items separately from other household dishes so you don't spread radioactive particles to other items.
What to do if you spill urine?
If you spill urine or vomit, clean up the area with toilet paper and a household cleaner. With spills, always contact the radiation clinic to find out if you need to do more to clean them. ...
What to do with contaminated disposable items?
Place all contaminated disposable items in a separate trash bag. The facility where you have your treatment may give you a special bag for trash. Anything you use that's disposable, such as food plates, utensils, non-flushable cleaning wipes, and gloves, should be placed in that bag. The bag should be leak-proof.
Can you get radioactive iodine if you have thyroid cancer?
If you're being treated for hyperthyroidism or thyroid cancer, you may be given radioactive iodine or radioiodine. [1] With this treatment, it's possible to contaminate others with radiation, even though the amount of radiation you're given is fairly small.
How long can you live after iodine treatment?
You can expect to live a fairly normal life after radioactive iodine treatment but your life will probably not be exactly as it was before your procedure. For most people, this means that you can expect to live at 80-90% of your 'normal'.
How long does radioactive iodine affect sperm count?
Important to men is the fact that radioactive iodine can cause short-term reductions in sperm count for up to 2 years after your procedure (8). This may or may not be important to you based on your age, your gender, and whether or not fertility is something you are interested in but, again, it's worth knowing about.
How to avoid weight gain after RAI?
Your best bet to AVOID weight gain after RAI is to go into your procedure with a normal weight and to maintain a healthy lifestyle both before and after. Just realize that you will always be in a 'sensitive' category and you will be more likely to gain weight compared to people with their thyroid intact. #3.
Can you survive after RAI?
You can obviously survive after RAI (otherwise they wouldn't do the procedure) but I want to teach you how to thrive afterward. And to key to getting there is to understand what happens to your body after this procedure and how it influences your thyroid function.
Can you take a thyroid pill every day?
There's no way for doctors to give you a pill once a day and for that pill to perform the exact same function that your thyroid gland does every minute of every day. Because of this, people may experience symptoms which may lead them to want to restore whatever thyroid function they can.
Can beta cells take up iodine?
But you probably at least know a little bit about RAI or you wouldn't be here.
Can you gain weight after radioactive iodine treatment?
You may gain weight. This is probably not what you want to hear, especially if this is a procedure that is necessary for your health, but it's still important to know about it. You may gain weight after you undergo radioactive iodine treatment.