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  • Results 1 to 6 of 6

    Thread: Which Iodine

    1. #1
      twin2turbo's Avatar
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      Which Iodine

      One of my Koi has a open sore with algea growing on it. I read that iodine will help cure it. Walgreens has a couple if different iodine choices, Iodine tincture USP and Povidone Iodine 10%. Which one do I use?

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    2. #2
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      Either one is fine, but the povidone iodine keeps longer.

      Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

    3. #3
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      I usually use the 10% as it is a little stronger than the tincture. However stronger is not always better. I had some 14% from the feed store, sold for horses. My fish vet said that was too strong and to stick with the 10%.

      Have any pictures of the fish?

    4. #4
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      It is not really possible to compare "strength" of povidone-iodine versus tincture of iodine, and as your vet rightly pointed out, stronger is not better. Iodine will kill bacteria, but too much iodine will also kill the new skin that is trying to grow over the ulcer. Tincture of iodine starts out as 2% iodine in alcohol. Povidone-iodine is iodine trapped in a polyvinyl polymer. Although povidone-iodine contains 10% iodine on a dry basis, the iodine is trapped in the polyvinyl matrix and is slowly leached out. The concentration of free iodine on the surface of the wound is lower with povidone-iodine than it is with tincture of iodine, but in humans and other animals that are not in water, the iodine from the povidone-iodine leaches out over a long period of time, so the wound is in contact with a lower concentration of iodine over a longer period of time compared to what happens when tincture of iodine us applied. In fish, the povidone-iodine washes off the surface of the wound as soon as the fish is returned to the water, so the long-lasting effect is not present.

      An advantage of povidone-iodine is that it is soluble in water. Iodine is not water soluble, so tincture of iodine uses alcohol as the solvent to dissolve the iodine. Once a bottle of tincture of iodine is opened, the alcohol begins to evaporate, so over time, the concentration of iodine increases, and too high of an iodine concentration will damage the skin. Water evaporates much more slowly than alcohol does, so the concentration of povidone-iodine remains constant for a far longer period of time than the concentration of iodine in tincture of iodine does. Stability of the compounds is not the issue - it is the increase in concentration over time that causes the concern.

      The bottom line is that either one will work, but I would not use a bottle of tincture of iodine that has been opened for more than a year. Povidone-iodine is usually good for more than 5 years after the bottle has been opened.

      One more piece of advise regarding povidone-iodine. There are multiple formulations of povidone-iodine on the market. Be sure to use only the povidone-iodine solution. The povidone-iodine surgical scrub contains a detergent in addition to the povidone-iodine, and the detergent is toxic to fish.

    5. #5
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      Thanks Rick

      I always get a little more from your responses. Thank you for taking the time to explain the difference.

    6. #6
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      I’ve been looking for the answer to this for ages!







      QUOTE=RickF;2620574]It is not really possible to compare "strength" of povidone-iodine versus tincture of iodine, and as your vet rightly pointed out, stronger is not better. Iodine will kill bacteria, but too much iodine will also kill the new skin that is trying to grow over the ulcer. Tincture of iodine starts out as 2% iodine in alcohol. Povidone-iodine is iodine trapped in a polyvinyl polymer. Although povidone-iodine contains 10% iodine on a dry basis, the iodine is trapped in the polyvinyl matrix and is slowly leached out. The concentration of free iodine on the surface of the wound is lower with povidone-iodine than it is with tincture of iodine, but in humans and other animals that are not in water, the iodine from the povidone-iodine leaches out over a long period of time, so the wound is in contact with a lower concentration of iodine over a longer period of time compared to what happens when tincture of iodine us applied. In fish, the povidone-iodine washes off the surface of the wound as soon as the fish is returned to the water, so the long-lasting effect is not present.

      An advantage of povidone-iodine is that it is soluble in water. Iodine is not water soluble, so tincture of iodine uses alcohol as the solvent to dissolve the iodine. Once a bottle of tincture of iodine is opened, the alcohol begins to evaporate, so over time, the concentration of iodine increases, and too high of an iodine concentration will damage the skin. Water evaporates much more slowly than alcohol does, so the concentration of povidone-iodine remains constant for a far longer period of time than the concentration of iodine in tincture of iodine does. Stability of the compounds is not the issue - it is the increase in concentration over time that causes the concern.

      The bottom line is that either one will work, but I would not use a bottle of tincture of iodine that has been opened for more than a year. Povidone-iodine is usually good for more than 5 years after the bottle has been opened.

      One more piece of advise regarding povidone-iodine. There are multiple formulations of povidone-iodine on the market. Be sure to use only the povidone-iodine solution. The povidone-iodine surgical scrub contains a detergent in addition to the povidone-iodine, and the detergent is toxic to fish.[/QUOTE]

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