Earlier in the year, I was at the vet with my elderly cat getting some open and cancerous leisons scrubbed clean. I'm not squemish about blood at all, in fact I was helping him clean up some of it and I'd previously given her plenty of injections and subcue fluids. However, when he brought the iodine soap out and the smell of it hit me, I started having a very bad reaction. Tunnel vision, extreme light headed, profuse sweating, nausea, decreased hearing and extremities very cold (despite the sweating). The vet had to stop what he was doing and sit me down and get a fan on me because he noticed just how pale I had suddenly become. He joked a little saying blood will do that sometimes, but I said it wasn't the blood - I was fine with that. It was the smell of the iodine soap.
I've tried finding information on this, but have come up short. Now I'm starting to think I'm just weird. I am hypersensitive to scents - I can very easily get a horrible headache from certain smells. The vet had never heard of someone having this reaction to iodine, and I didn't know I had such a reaction to it until just then. Has this ever happen to anyone else before with iodine specifically or am I just some weird anomaly?
Negative reaction to the SMELL of iodine?
Question posted by mokiwolf on 7 Aug 2014
Last updated on 24 May 2018 by Ryanleedavies
4 Answers
Same thing happens to me. It happened during my wife's first pregnancy then again when I was being prepped for surgery years later. I definitely have a severe physical reaction to the smell of iodine and it helps to see that I'm not the only one.
Hi, moki! Iodine reactions are generally not true allergies but rather a sensitivity. A hypersensitive person can have a reaction exactly like you describe just from the smell because you are actually inhaling iodine molecules.
Being hypersensitive already, you should be careful of scrubs like Povidone or Betadine in medical facilities and if you're ever told you need a *contrast study* let the doctor know about your sensitivity as many contrast dyes contain iodine or substances that contain iodine.
You are not a weird anomaly!! The condition is rare but it's a real, actual thing. I've have more than one client hit the floor!
Best wishes! WCV
Sorry, PS, the severity of a reaction is based on the concentration of iodine in a given product. One may not affect you at all, and then you're exposed to a different brand or product and... Bam!
Sorry, PS, the severity of a reaction is based on the concentration of iodine in a given product. One may not affect you at all, and then you're exposed to a different brand or product and... Bam!
Awesome! That actually explains a lot. I'm pretty sure the iodine soap was pretty high concentrate just based on the smell. We only use 10% betadine in the office I work for and I can't smell it at all (though I'm sure if I stuck my nose in the bottle I could)
I will keep this in mind. It's about time I got tested for allergies again, maybe I can ask to test my sensitivity to iodine as well. Thank you! :)
I have noticed its smell! It has a very unique smell. I am also very sensitive to certain smells, although iodine isnt one of them, but certain perfumes-ugh! White Diamonds or Estee Lauder Beautiful make me instantly ill. One whiff and the migraine and nausea sets in. Back when I worked for the eye Dr. I had to ask some of the women to please not wear those perfumes when coming in because the small exam rooms, it is overpowering and the doc was allergic to White Diamonds as well so he was okay with us telling women not to wear those scents. You may be ultra allergic too. I would be careful, if I were you, to be sure it is not used on you. If the smell gets to you like this, it could be disastrous if it were used on your skin! You could have an anaphylactic reaction which could be fatal if it is bad enough and you dont get treatment fast enough.
I used to work at an outpatient chemo office and there was this one chemo drug that every time we ran it on someone I could smell it and it would make my nose and eyes burn and made my upper lip feel swollen. No one else could smell it. Our pharmacist who mixed the meds had a guy come out to check the exhaust hood she mixed under and everything was fine. The oncologist told me if I had that kind of reaction to the smell that I should be sure to never have it given to me if I ever had cancer because it may kill me put in my veins. So I know exactly what you mean by a smell affecting you this way.
Sounds like you were ready to faint. It may have also been due to the stress you were experiencing but I would be very careful around iodine until you are certain.
Funny thing - I work for a retina specialist so I know exactly what you mean about perfume and exam rooms. I have the same problem especially with our patient base being mostly elderly. Older ladies just looooooove putting it on as heavy as possible.
However, I know I'm not allergic to iodine unless that's changed since I was a kid - which is totally possible. I had it used during an emergency surgery on my finger once when it was sliced open and crushed in a lake. It hurt like hell, but I didn't have any reaction to it. I also work with betadine on a daily basis with my patients. It's not strong enough to have the same scent like iodine, but I do touch it daily and don't have reactions.
I've never much cared for the smell of iodine but... yeah, that was just a really weird experience. One of my coworkers suggested I sniff the bottle of betadine and see if it does the same thing. Suppose I'd be in the right place to faint if I did, working in the physicians building of a hospital, haha.
I'm just hoping I'm not the only person in the world to be like this.
I am extremely sensitive to smells, but they make me sick to my stomach, not almost pass out. And I worked with iodine almost daily as a nurse and never even noticed much of a smell.
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