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Colloidal Silver Debunked

© Janine Fowlds

Miracle Remedy! All Natural! No Side Effects! Absolutely Safe! Sound good? These days, America is leaning towards alternative medicine to include more natural or holistic practices. This has resulted from frustrations that are experienced with the general downgrading of our world's ecological systems and chemically produced pharmaceutics. Most people are looking for that special miracle remedy but don't have the time or the energy to do the much needed research. So, they're turning to alternatives with blind faith. Some of the companies that manufacture alternative products prey on the unsuspecting consumer, scaring them with misleading half-truths and unsubstantiated claims. One such product is colloidal silver.

Colloidal silver is in the form of 99.99% pure silver particles (~.0001 micrometer in diameter) suspended in a solution base of distilled or demineralized water. Manufacturers advertise that colloidal silver is the magic potion that everyone has been waiting for. They assert medical and scientific proof that it kills single-celled aerobic bacteria, destroys viral reproductive systems, not to mention its effectiveness against a myriad of other infections, diseases and inflictions, including AIDS. It's touted to be an all-natural alternative and absolutely safe for human ingestion. A Florida based manufacturer alleges that the body will not develop a tolerance to colloidal silver so it can be taken indefinitely, and that it's impossible for the pathogens to become resistant to silver. Another company out of California uses scare tactics to attract business, by stating that the soil from which crops are grown is being depleted of the essential trace minerals required by the human body. They claim that without those minerals, specifically silver, humans leave themselves open to increased immune system disorders. They also profess that colloidal silver has been used to successfully treat over 650 diseases. Advertisements include noting the FDA approval of the manufacturing facilities and the processes by which it is manufactured. Also mentioned is that colloidal silver is classified as a "pre-1938 drug" and that exemptions are applicable under the "grandfather provisions" by the FDA.

Silver does have a place in American history before antibiotics were used, but use of silver as medicine ceased when patients developed argyria. Argyria is an ashen-gray skin discoloration, which is permanent and irreversible. The bluish-gray discoloration is due to the deposition of silver within the skin, (dermis) and production of melanin induced by the presence of silver. Exposure to sunlight will enhance this condition [1]. The amount of silver that is required to cause argyria is presently unknown. Biologically, silver is known to break down proteins, (specifically the disulfide bonds between two cysteine amino acids). Extreme toxic effects are cellular necrosis or death of the cells. Severity of toxicity ranged from the mildest form of argyria, which is evidenced in discoloration of the gums, (gingiva) to argyria of the liver, kidneys, spleen, and lungs. In humans, the silver is filtered through the lymph and hepatic systems where it is retained for up to three weeks before excretion.

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