Question

I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use Iodine-125? Is Iodine-125 safe for nursing mother and child? Does Iodine-125 extracts into breast milk? Does Iodine-125 has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can Iodine-125 influence milk supply or can Iodine-125 decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?

Iodine-125 lactation summary

Iodine-125 is unsafe in breastfeeding
  • DrLact safety Score for Iodine-125 is 5 out of 8 which is considered Unsafe as per our analyses.
  • A safety Score of 5 indicates that usage of Iodine-125 may cause serious side effects in breastfed baby.
  • Our study of different scientific research indicates that Iodine-125 may cause moderate to high side effects or may affect milk supply in lactating mother.
  • Our suggestion is to use safer alternate options rather than using Iodine-125 .
  • It is recommended to evaluate the advantage of not breastfeeding while using Iodine-125 Vs not using Iodine-125 And continue breastfeeding.
  • While using Iodine-125 Its must to monitor child for possible reactions. It is also important to understand that side effects vary largely based on age of breastfed child and time of medication in addition to dosage.
  • Score calculated using the DrLact safety Version 1.2 model, this score ranges from 0 to 8 and measures overall safety of drug in lactation. Scores are primarily calculated using publicly available case studies, research papers, other scientific journals and publically available data.

Answer by Dr. Ru: About Iodine-125 usage in lactation

It has physical half-life of 1445 hours (60.2 days). However, the effective half-life is a function of the biological half-life of every I-125 compound. I-125 OIH (sodium ortho-iodide hyppurate) is used for testing. It has an effective half-life of 6 hours. By a nursing interruption of 2 days there is no risk of irradiation in the infant. For other I-125 compounds like I-125 HSA (Human serum albumin) and I-125 Fibrinogen 3 weeks of nursing interruption are recommended. Whenever the continuation of breastfeeding is desired, it is advisable to start pumping and milk may be used to feed the infant while nursing is being interrupted whether alone or together with formula. Once the test is over, mother’s milk may be pumped and storage in a separated freezer until it achieves 10 physical half-lives at which point the radiation has disappeared and milk become safe. Radiation level in breast milk can be tested. The shortest half-life radio-nuclide must be chosen whenever possible.

Alternate Drugs for Radioactive Isotope, Radioisotope, Radionuclide, Diagnostic Radiopharmaceuticals. ATC V09

Synonyms of Iodine-125

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