Iodo

Anti-infective, topical.
Iodine is available as bluish-black crystals with a metallic luster and a pungent odor. It is slightly soluble in water (0.03 g/100 g). It is stable under ordinary conditions of use and storage. Iodine is incompatible with ammonia, powdered metals, alkali metals, or strong reducing agents. It reacts violently or explosively with acetaldehyde and acetylene, and reacts with ammonium hydroxide to form shock-sensitive iodides on drying. Iodine is a naturally occurring element that is essential for the good health of people and animals. Iodine is found in small amounts in seawater and in certain rocks and sediments. Iodine occurs in many different forms that can be blue, brown, yellow, red, white, or colorless. Most forms of iodine easily dissolve in water or alcohol. Iodine has many uses. Its most important use is as a disinfectant for cleaning surfaces and storage containers. It is also used in skin soaps and bandages, and for purifying water. Iodine is used in medicines and is added to food, such as table salt, to ensure that people have enough iodine in their bodies to form essential thyroid hormones. Iodine is put into animal feeds for the same reason. Iodine is used in the chemical industry for making inks and coloring agents, chemicals used in photography, and in making batteries, fuels, and lubricants. Radioactive iodine also occurs naturally. Radioactive iodine is used in medical tests and to treat certain diseases, such as over-activity or cancer of the thyroid gland. Iodine is important for the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones.