Nope. I cannot imagine what it would do to your intestinal flora. At least I have never heard of using it internally. Topically is okay though, so if that skin absorption thing works....
This site has me swabbing Betadine on my tenderest skin areas, and putting horse paste in my belly button. I guess April 1 is just around the corner...
Yes, the iodine stain will be absorbed if you need the iodine. If it is still there after 24 hours you already have sufficient iodine.
Walmart has plain old iodine, @John Brunner, that is where I get mine. It should be somewhere near the Hydrogen peroxide.
I forgot I had some on hand, Yvonne. I picked it up and later discovered that it is "non-staining." My sole reason for getting it was finding shards of glass and wood splinters in my feet and hands. I wanted it solely for its staining properties. You cannot find mercurochrome anymore (probably outlawed around the same time they got rid of functioning thermometers.) So I guess I could rub some of the iodine I've got onto a tender spot, although I'd still like the staining properties of Betadine for finding splinters.
Mine is old. It just says “Rexall Iodine”. I might have gotten it at Walgreens maybe, and not Walmart; but I just looked at my walmart app and they have several brands of iodine showing.
I was surprised to find tincture of iodine on the shelves at Walgreens. I haven't seen it on store shelves in many years. Our DIL had some weird surgery and had complications. The surgeon recommended using tincture of iodine on the surgical site rather than povidone Iodine, so I found it for her there.
You're right. There is an Equate brand of Betadine. But that's the only topical iodine product they have in my store (and even that may be out of stock.) Maybe I bought the Decolorized Iodine from Walmart online. @Don Alaska I just looked. My local Walgreens stocks tincture of iodine. It also looks like local CVS stores may stock it, but their website is kinda goofy so it's hard to tell. This general iodine issue raises a question: is the salt that is in prepared foods iodized? Do canned soups, chips, frozen meals, etc, use iodized salt or do they buy raw salt by the ton and skip the iodizing process?
I have no idea. Good question @John Brunner. I have questioned fluoridated water in prepared food, but I never thought about the salt.
One would think that if food factories use municipal water, it's fluoridated. But even well water had some fluoride in it. Mine has trace amounts (0.23mg/L) against a Max Recommended Level of 2mg/L. I have no idea what the range of fluoride is in well water across the country.