Iodine in biology damage). In areas where there is little iodine in the diet, typically remote inland areas and semi-arid equatorial climates where no marine foods are eaten, iodine deficiency also gives rise to hypothyroidism, the most serious symptoms of which are epidemic goitre (swelling of the thyroid gland), extreme fatigue, mental slowing, depression, weight gain, and low basal body temperatures. The addition of iodine to table salt (so-called iodized salt) has largely eliminated the most severe consequences of iodine deficiency in wealthier nations, but deficiency remains a serious public health problem in the developing world. Iodine deficiency is also a problem in
Tincture of iodine Tincture of iodine Tincture of iodine, iodine tincture, or weak iodine solution is an antiseptic. It is usually 2–7% elemental iodine, along with potassium iodide or sodium iodide, dissolved in a mixture of ethanol and water. Tincture solutions are characterized by the presence of alcohol. It was used from 1908 in pre-operative skin preparation by surgeon Antonio Grossich. In the United Kingdom the development of an iodine solution for skin sterilisation was pioneered by Lionel Stretton. The "British Medical Journal" published the detail of his work at Kidderminster Infirmary in 1909. Stretton used a much weaker solution than that used