Iodine overdose raises health alarm in Nepal

Doctors and studies point to excessive iodine in fortified salt as a possible factor behind rising hyperthyroidism cases in Nepal. Policy efforts to review iodine levels, however, remain stalled.

Last week, a 26-year-old woman from Arun Khola of Nawalparasi East was rushed to Bir Hospital after her health condition seriously deteriorated. Doctors attending her said that the woman had become too weak and too lean. She was so thin that veins popped up in her arms. Pulse rate could be felt when fingers were placed on her wrist.