Pregnant women are prohibited from using iodine glycerol

What is the reason why pregnant women are prohibited from using iodine glycerin? To answer this question, we should start from the physiological characteristics of the fetus. The fetus's thyroid gland begins to grow and develop at the 6th week of pregnancy, and can also produce thyroxine at the 12th week of pregnancy. Thyroxine is effective for the normal growth and development of various tissues and organs of the fetus, especially the growth and development of the brain. From the 12th week of pregnancy to the entire pregnancy, the fetus's thyroid gland accumulates more iodine than the mother's thyroid gland. If pregnant women supplement too much iodine-containing substances, the iodine content in the fetus's body will be seriously exceeded. Therefore, pregnant women should be very cautious when supplementing with iodine Chinese herbal preparations throughout pregnancy, and the use of iodine glycerin is prohibited.

Iodine glycerol is a Class X drug and is prohibited for use during pregnancy. Then I would like to ask if pregnant women can partially apply iodine glycerin after cleaning the pericoronitis? Why is it forbidden to use medicine?

Iodine-containing herbal preparations contain potassium iodide, which is classified as a Class D drug by the UK Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Human data show that the use of iodine-containing herbal preparations during pregnancy has the potential to cause severe neonatal goiter, cretinism, and even death, and is therefore prohibited during pregnancy [1-3]. Iodine-containing herbal preparations are often classified as Class D because the FDA believes that pregnant women must use iodine-containing herbal preparations in the event of a radiation outbreak to prevent the harm of radioactive iodine, also known as iodine-131, to the body.

The most commonly used iodine glycerin in dental treatment has iodine (10Mg/ml), potassium iodide, vaseline, water, etc. as its main ingredients. It should also be treated the same as iodine-containing traditional Chinese medicine preparations and should be considered a prohibited drug.

The amount of iodine glycerin used in the oral cavity is very limited, and the amount used by pregnant women is even smaller if the patient does not swallow it. Will such a small amount have an impact on the fetus?

The toxic and side effects of drugs are inseparable from two factors: dosage and duration of use. Transient, small doses of medication may cause less harm. Although iodine glycerin is taken orally and the amount that enters the human respiratory system is limited, its safety factor has not been established. When alternative drugs are available, the use of iodine herbal preparations in pregnant patients should be minimized.

Amoxicillin capsules, acetaminophen, and ornidazole are Class B drugs for pregnancy. Does this mean that they are safe for use during pregnancy? Why do Chinese drug labels prohibit the use of ornidazole by pregnant women and breastfeeding women?

Category B drugs are meant to be used with caution when conditions are established. Ornidazole is an excellent drug for treating Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections and is widely used in the treatment of oral diseases. Although ornidazole has been confirmed to be carcinogenic in clinical trials[4], a large amount of long-term clinical trial data on humans has not yet obtained this result[5,6], so the FDA classified it as Class B. However, this is inconsistent with the drug instructions for ornidazole in our country (which prohibits use during pregnancy).

At present, obstetrics basically uses ornidazole suppositories (external application) to treat bacterial vaginitis during pregnancy. We think there is no need to avoid some external Chinese herbal preparations containing ornidazole in the treatment of dental diseases, such as mouthwash containing ornidazole, tooth health sticks (ornidazole sticks), etc. During pregnancy, dentists should minimize systemic medication and use antibacterial mouthwashes instead, such as compound chlorhexidine mouthwash (chlorhexidine).