Iodine allergies do not exist. It is in fact an abuse of language, frequently used to designate very real allergies, such as allergies to seafood, ordinated contrast products or ordinated antiseptics.
Allergy to iodine is a frequently used expression, which nevertheless conveys false information, since this trace element cannot be the cause of an allergic reaction.
Patients are actually allergic to a
Why does iodine allergies exist?
As a reminder, an allergy is an inappropriate response of the immune system to one (or more) substance(s), usually harmless. These substances, called allergens, are for example present in the air, in food or in medicines.
In the case of “iodine allergy”, this would imply that iodine is the allergen responsible for allergic symptoms. However, the allergen in question is different in each of the allergies mentioned above:
In the case of allergy to fish and shellfish, the allergen mainly involved is muscle tropomyosin (present in the muscles of fish and shellfish).
In the case of allergy to idiodinated antiseptics, the allergen involved is polyvinylpyrrolidone, also called povidone (an active substance contained for example in Betadine®), or a preservative.
Finally, an allergy to ordinated contrast products (ICP) is linked to a chemical molecule constituting the product.
