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Doctors have differing opinions on these restrictions ~ the most antiquated rules require a lot more restrictions, the more recently adopted guidelines require far less. The most basic information I can give you is this ~ the basis for the restrictions are two-fold.
First, whatever amount of RAI you take, a certain percentage of that will NOT be taken up into the thyroid. That fraction of your initial dose is flushed out of the body in the first 48 hours, through your fluid waste channels, primarily urine, but also a small bit in your saliva and sweat. In order to limit anyone else’s exposure to this small fraction of a fraction of the RAI dose, typical instructions for the first 48 hours specifically restrict others from contact with things you touch and eat, and recommends lots of fluids and frequent urination in order to flush out the RAI remainder as quickly as possible. Typically it is preferable to use a separate bathroom for those first two days as well, but at least to flush a couple of times after each visit to the bathroom.
In addition to this phenomenon, there is the radiation that emanates from your thyroid as the RAI dose concentrates there (as much as remains in your system). In order to make these percentages "real," just pretend you have a 10 millicurie dose, with a 75% uptake. That means 7.5 millicuries (75%) of the initial dose will concentrate in your thyroid. The remainder, 2.5 millicuries, is the amount that will be flushed out of your system in the first two days.
For the remaining, concentrated RAI dose in your thyroid, you need to limit consistent contact with that part of your body to other people for a while. The issue is radiation exposure. Radiation exposure is a lifelong, cumulative thing, and overall the idea is to limit others from exposure that is not necessary to them. This is why the x-ray technician stands behind a wall. It’s just the idea that we’d like to minimize that exposure to other beings as much as possible. The RAI you take has a half-life of 8 days, meaning that each 8 days that pass reduce the amount of radiation by half. So 8 days after your initial dose, using the example above, half of 7.5 millicuries would remain. 8 days later, half of that, and so on. The impact of this is that, at first, you need to limit the exposure by other people to your neck, and over time you can relax those limits. My doctor explained it this way: if I needed to be very near someone, I should make sure it was a short period of time. If I needed to be with someone for a long period of time, I should keep my distance. I’m not sure what distances relate to which level of dose. You should ask the dosing doctor for these specific measurements to go with your specific dose and uptake. My understanding is that children and smaller pets should be particularly protected during the initial period of time, because a smaller body experiences a larger impact from radiation exposure over time.
I hope this helps! Mostly, you need to ask your doctor, and then do what you feel comfortable with. If you worry about touching things in the first couple of days, use gardening gloves with the beads on the fingertips so you can manipulate things easily. I used a new pair each day for three days (uber-cautious, that’s me). In addition to that, if you are advised to use disposable plates and utensils (many people are no longer urged to do that, since the RAI is extremely water-soluble and the traces that may remain on plates and utensils can be safely washed away by washing well, and washing twice), remember to get disposable bowls! I almost forgot, I would’ve been miserable without a way to eat soup.
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