Colloidal Silver: Do any of you take it?

[mtnsnake]

My sister swears by it. After listening to her, I did a bunch of google searches and pretty much everything said about it is positive. Then again, half the people promoting it online are selling products related to it. Just the same it sounds wonderful and the history behind it makes perfect sense. Anybody here have any experience with it themselves?

[slackmaster]

1. If you take too much your skin will turn black

Google the word "argyria".

[DulceDecorum]

5. Dayum

Now jes suppose someone put that stuff in the local KKK water supply....
Let the games begin.

On edit:
I love this place.
I learn something everyday.

[slackmaster]

42. No, not that kind of black

African-American skin tones are beautiful.

I mean black like the inside of a Filipino balute.

[DulceDecorum]

43. OH MY GAWD

I just HAD to go and google up balute.
A Balute is a late term chicken abortion that you EAT!

DISGUSTING.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

(This is spelled Baloot, Baalut, Baluge, or Balute.) Half-hatched chicken egg. A baluge is a fifteen- or sixteen-day fertilized chicken egg. Open an egg and pop a sixteen-day-old incomplete chicken fetus into your mouth, complete with partially formed feathers, feet, eyeballs, and blood vessels showing through the translucent skin of the chick. My grandfather told me about this. He says the bad part is picking the feathers out of your teeth.
http://www.weird-food.com/weird-food-bird.html
WARNING.
OTHER WEIRD FOODS AT THAT LINK.

That's it!!
No colloidal silver for me.
And now I have to brush my teeth.

[progressoid]

70. "Eggs with Legs" he he he

[mtnsnake]

7. According to everything I've read about skin color

changing from ingesting CS, it's extremely rare and only applies in cases where it was megadosed over a long period of time.

[yellowcanine]

10. Benefits are unproven, so why take the risk?

[salvorhardin]

2. A skeptical view

Colloidal silver is a suspension of submicroscopic metallic silver particles in a colloidal base. Long-term use of silver preparations can lead to argyria, a condition in which silver salts deposit in the skin, eyes, and internal organs, and the skin turns ashen-gray. Many cases of argyria occurred during the pre-antibiotic era when silver was a common ingredient in nosedrops. When the cause became apparent, doctors stopped recommending their use, and reputable manufacturers stopped producing them. The official drug guidebooks (United States Pharmacopeia and National Formulary) have not listed colloidal silver products since 1975.
more...
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/silverad.html

[yellowcanine]

3. Might want to read this first. I have heard of some pretty awful results.

Like turning gray and staying that way.

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/silverad.html

[yellowcanine]

8. Story on Stan Jones - the first "blue" Senate candidate.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2297471.stm

[StClone]

11. SEE! SEE! Would you trust this guy with your Government

Trying unproven cures at home and probably at work. Stick with the tried and true not with snake oil. Idiot.

[AngryAmish]

12. I love that picture

[yinkaafrica]

28. People ask him if he's dead. How unflattering.

[Zuni]

84. You know, that is a really dumb question

And it has to be very hurtful

But then again, this guy did something really stupid and he sounds like a real tin foil hatter
Drinking silver because of potential Y2K problems? weird...

[DulceDecorum]

45. The OTHER blue people

The blue Fugates of Troublesome Creek
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjh9u/fugate.html


"They were bluer'n hell," Cawein says. "Well, as you can imagine, I really examined them. After concluding that there was no evidence of heart disease, I said 'Aha!' I started asking them questions: 'Do you have any relatives who are blue?' then I sat down and we began to chart the family."

Cawein remembers the pain that showed on the Ritchie brother's and sister's faces. "They were really embarrassed about being blue," he said. "Patrick was all hunched down in the hall. Rachel was leaning against the wall. They wouldn't come into the waiting room. You could tell how much it bothered them to be blue."
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjh9u/blkysc82.html

[miss_kitty]

59. nice contrast with the hair, though

:o

[njdemocrat106]

60. Is that blue skin permanent?

Man, that is one of the creepiest pictures I've ever seen.

[Zuni]

83. I saw that guy on C-Span and I was trying to figure out what was wrong

with him.
He looked like a corpse

[goodboy]

99. he looks like a goddamn SMURF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[zann725]

62. Couldn't be any worse side-effects that most prescription drugs...

including Vioxx and Celebrex!

[1monster]

4. The only thing I've heard about it is that it will turn your skin gray and

there is no revsering that once it happens. When it does happen, you have the perfect Halloween costume because you look like a corpse...

However, once Halloween is over, you still look like a corpse. That might make the other 364 days of the year, uhmmm, difficult.

edit: replaced on with no... dyslexic fingers today. *~*

[arwalden]

6. Have You Visited QUACKWATCH Site?

http://www.quackwatch.org/search/webglimpse.cgi?ID=1&query=Colloidal+Silver

[BurtWorm]

9. I would personally tell your sister to stop taking it.

It's snakeoil that turns your skin blue.

What specifically positive things do they say about it? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[haele]

13. I'd be extremely cautious about anything that's primarily touted by

someone selling the product or has economic or emotional ties to those who sell the product. Including "modern medicine" shilled out by the chemical corporations as well as many alternative medicines.
Too often, true believers or those with a vested interest in the product will promote it as some sort of miraculous panacea that anecdotally cures a wide range of unrelated ailments. Funny thing - most of those ailments listed can be caused by anxiety and stress and relieved by psychological conditioning; so many who are either very naive or are hucksters can sell a monthly dose of what's basically a placebo for ten to a thousand times the cost of something that can actually do some physical good for you added to the cost of a good therapist for a couple months.
Heck, you might only need a couple aspirin or a change in diet, a couple hours of light exercise a week, a little more sleep and fresh air, and a sympathetic, helpful ear to listen to you to make you better.
There's tons of people out there that will be eager to tell you to "take this tincture or pill to cure what ails ya" when basically time and a change of attitude is what you really need. They're really trying to promote better living through chemicals even if they're claiming that it's "all natural" - just as the traveling snake oil salesmen used to do when selling mixtures of ginseng or sarsaparilla, mint, grain alcohol and laudanum for "women's troubles" back in the late 1800's to small towns and farming communities.
"All Natural" doesn't mean "miracle cure all" it can still be dangerous if used carelessly or with ignorance...a drug is a drug, be it natural sugars, proteins,and enzymes or some string of chemicals put together in a lab; be it an herbal extract or Xanax...)
As for your interest in Colloidal Silver, if you can find an actual, reputable clinical testing on it that's positive for what ails you, I'd say go for it. You might be able to find some studies done in Europe that are reputable; there's a lot of responsible testing for alternative/homeopathic medicine going on there.

Just be wary of anyone who suggests that a supplement that they promote can substitute for taking care of yourself. You really should only be taking a supplement if there is a real health issue, not as a shortcut because theres not enough time in your day to take care of yourself. Those sorts of shortcut "cures" are snake oil, no matter how well meaning they may seem, how glowing the anecdotal "well being" testimonials are or attractive the packaging might be.

Be well, and happy hunting.
By the way, here is the National Center for Complimentry and Alternative Medicine's consumer alert on Colloidal Silver. I tend to trust much of what they put out because they generally require evidence of successful or unsuccessful testing when they evaluate a substance or treatment and don't usually accept data from quacks - they're rather like the DU LBN of Alternative Medicines.

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/alerts/silver/#b

Haele

[David__77]

14. The product was touted by the anti-Semitic "Spotlight" newspaper.

This means nothing, of course, but it makes me skeptical. That newspaper catered to a mass of survivalists, "tax resisters," Holocause deniers and paleo-conservatives generally.

[mtnsnake]

15. Wow, lots of naysayers so far! Anyway, check out this brief article

http://www.all-natural.com/silver-1.html
I'm not saying that it's gonna cure what ails you, or prevent your next cold or flu, because I haven't tried it for anything, but I do know one thing....If all the positive articles back up the claims that I've heard from my sister and others like her, then it's no wonder that the authors of all the negative articles, like some from the Quackwatch site, are physicians who realize that they'd be out of business if a simple inexpensive natural remedy like silver can help replace the zillions of anti-biotics they LOVE to jam down our throats. Ouch! The pharmaceutical companies must cringe over something like colloidal silver competing with them. I hope there's something to it, and I think there could be.

[haele]

17. I'm not taking the pharmico's side but...

During the same time Colloidal Silver was being used as an anti-biotic, Mercury was being used to treat Syphilis and Gonorrhea and Arsenic was being used as a pain killer during surgery along with Laudanum.

Colloidal Silver and Zinc are both "old time" antibiotics. Do they work? To some degree - like most natural medicines. Are they dangerous? They can be when used as a panacea.

For every "http://all-natural.com" site where there's a bunch of articles from anecdotal surveys and perhaps the occasional clinical test, there's an alternative medicine site where they evaluate actual clinical trials and publishes the sources, procedures, evaluations and results of those tests on subjects.

http://nccam.nih.gov/ is the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine.

http://www.epha.org/a/1335 is the European Public Health Alliance, which has several sections on Alternative Medicines and clinical trial data.

http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/ is Duke University's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases in their Agricultural Research department; a baseline for clinical experiments in herbal medicines.

Besides, if you're worried about Antibiotics; it costs far less and is far healther to drop in a clinic and have doctor prescribe some of that good, old fashioned Penicillan for the two weeks you may need it if you get a bacterial infection (which is what Antibiotics are for, after all) that it is to spend money on a monthly dose of Colloidal Silver that may or may not stop that cold from coming on.
Personally, I'd rather make a daily pine needle and honey tea and teaspoon of elderberry syrup routine as my "flu" preventative than use a metals based dose that will be taken internally.
Metals, no matter how deluted, doesn't flush out of your system very quickly, and in today's environment, I'd be very concerned about what type of chemical reaction someone using that is setting up for in their liver. Especially if you work with any sort of chemicals - even many cleaning and petroleum based chemicals (or even cheap make-up) - that can seep into your bloodstream either through ingestion or transdermal processes.

Haele

[yellowcanine]

19. Flaw in your thinking is that a doctor gets his fee whether or not he

prescribes an antibiotic - and he could just as well prescribe colloidal silver IF it did any good. The old adage "if it seemes too good to be true, it probably is." seems to apply here.

[yellowcanine]

21. "Colloidal silver was in common use until 1938." That statement should

send you running. Anytime someone has to appeal to old remedies that "modern medicine is ignoring" - you know there is quackery being promoted. Remember that "snakeoil" remedies came from that time as well. There is a good reason why doctors quit using this stuff. They have stuff that works much better and doesn't turn you blue.

[BurtWorm]

27. Do antibiotics not work?

In my experience, they do. Do you think there's a correlation between the increase in average life span in developed countries and the use of antibiotics? I do. Which isn't to say that all pills are good.

I'd be careful of starting on the slippery slope of mistrusting everything to do with scientific medicine, including the opinions of people with medical school educations. The alternative medicine trail is paved with the empty wallets of suckers. Just be careful.

[mtnsnake]

29. I haven't had to take many, but from what I've read they do NOT work as

well as they did following the discovery of penicillen and other major anti-biotic wonder drugs, due to all the new strains of super bugs which are proving to be more and more immune to modern medicine, while modern technology on colloidal silver is supposed to make that remedy even more effective on killing the parasites or bacteria or whatever it is that modern anti-biotics can no longer handle. Plus there are no proven side effects to taking colloidal silver, other than if one were to megadose and have a rare form skin color change to maybe a fingernail or something. BTW, those cases are said to have been greatly exagerrated by the FDA and other government agencies who are all afraid of losing millions of dollars at the expense of some cheap natural remedy.

Hey, I'm not by any means promoting the thing or making any claims, but there sure are a lot of people who claim colloidal silver has made them healthier and has worked when no other doctor-prescribed medication or anti-biotic helped. That's why I posed the question I posted :)

[BurtWorm]

30. I look at it as faith-based "medicine."

You won't find careful studies to corroborate whether it's effective or not, because alternative medicine has put itself in the unfortunate position of being anti-science. You won't find negative claims on sites that sell it, or on alternative medicine boards. You'll only find self-selected positive claims, which you may forget to take with a grain of salt, so to speak. Can they explain how colloidal silver "works?" Does their explanation jibe with the physical universe? So much of it boils down to magic, which, after all, is basically illusion.

[mtnsnake]

31. Again, not at all the case from what I'm reading....

Can they explain how colloidal silver "works?" Does their explanation jibe with the physical universe?

They explain that the way it works is it deprives one-celled disease-causing organisms of the oxygen they need to survive, just by coming in contact with it. Supposedly silver kills ...
http://www.soul-guidance.com/health/colloidalsilver.htm

"Colloidal Silver is non-toxic to mammals, reptiles, plants and all living things that are not of a one celled structure. One-celled life uses a different method of Oxygen metabolism. herein lies its weakness. Since Colloidal Silver acts only as a catalyst, meaning , it influences a change in the rate, or occurrence of a reaction of one-celled organisms, but does not enter into any chemical reaction with the body tissues. The mere presence of Colloidal Silver near any virus, fungus or bacterium (one-celled disease causing pathogens) will immediately cripple their oxygen-metabolising enzyme, or chemical lung, which suffocates and dies usually within six minutes. The dead organism is subsequently cleared out of the body by the immune and lymphatic system.

Each of the other man made antibiotics will kill only five or six types of germs. Increasingly more and more bacteria is becoming resistant to these antibiotics. These bacterium are commonly referred to as Super Bugs, however they are unable to form a resistance to Colloidal Silver which will kill not only the bacteria but also all forms of viruses, a feat no man made antibiotic has managed to date"

more.....http://www.soul-guidance.com/health/colloidalsilver.htm

Here's what Dr Robert O Becker of Syracuse Upstate Medical Center says. Very interesting:
"all of the organisms that we tested were sensitive to the electrically generated silver ion, including some that were resistant to all known antibiotics." On the safety of silver, he said, "in no case were any undesirable side effects of the silver treatment apparent."
http://www.the7thfire.com/health_and_nutrition/Colloidal_Silver.htm

Hey, next time I get something, I'm trying it. As long as it turns me blue...and not red!!

[BurtWorm]

32. So it really is the silver bullet, eh?

;)

Funny how it goes right after those "one cell organisms" but won't harm blood cells. Somehow it can magically tell the difference between single-cells that are "organisms" and not mere parts of organisms.

Must be true if it's on the Web, right?

[BigMcLargehuge]

44. Hey, Robert Becker went to Syracuse Upstate Medical Center too?

Oh wait, I want to Las Vegas Upstairs Medical College...



Wanna buy some collodial silver?

[zann725]

63. Why shouldn't it work? Echinacea, St. John's Wort, Arnica...

etc....all are far more effective, cheaper, and with little if no possible side effects (compared to Prescription Drugs in the same categories).

Then there's Acupuncture...which leaves traditional pain medications in the dust!

[Blue-Jay]

16. No thanks. I prefer drinking mercury.

yum!

[arwalden]

18. We Like To Mix Rat Poison Pellets In Our Granola!

[asthmaticeog]

20. My lucky mood ring keeps me healthy and robust.

[progressoid]

22. I sleep in aluminum foil pajamas inside a huge electromagnet and I feel

GREAT!

[progressoid]

23. No, I don't

[progressoid]

24. YES I DO!

[progressoid]

25. no, no, NO.

[progressoid]

26. Yes to infinity.

[Cadence]

33. Yes I've taken it.

It was the only thing that cured a super infection I had in my sinuses that had become resistant to all anti-biotics. I was even in the hospital on I.V. antibiotics and had surgery with no success. The colloidal silver was what finally did the trick after two years of being very sick.

I've taken it since then for other infections, and I still get great results. There have been a few claims of people taking it and the silver particles were too large so they would accumulate in the person's system, turning them a grey color. It's called argyria.

There are a lot of good products on the market though, where the size of the particles are very small and there is better quality control.

There are risks with just about everything not done correctly. Hell people have died from taking penicillin. I've seen pictures of people whose faces have swelled to three times the normal size because of a SHAMPOO allergy. Just because it's not manufactured by a big overpriced drug company doesn't necessarily mean it won't heal.

[mtnsnake]

34. Finally! A DUer in the flesh who's actually taken it. Thanks!

Glad to hear it helped. I've got a friend who said the same thing about his sinuses and was miserable under the medications given to him by doctors. He said he discovered colloidal silver and that's what finally did the trick for him, too. Now he puts it on burns and everything.

[BurtWorm]

35. Here's another person who took it for her sinuses

http://homepages.together.net/~rjstan/rose1.html

[mtnsnake]

37. That was back in the 50's and administered in silver nitrate

which isn't the case anymore according to all the makers. The way they make it now, it's virtually impossible to turn color...so they say.

If it really turned people blue like that, which is contrary to all modern reports because of the way it's now manufactured, we'd be all living in blue states by now!!

[BurtWorm]

41. So they say.

;)

[Cadence]

51. You're welcome. It was actually suggested by a new

young doctor at John's Hopkins and they did follow up cat scans to chart the progress. They were quite surprised by the results considering the length of treatment with the routine therapies. I don't use it externally and I only have used it when I have had a legitimate infection. Not for colds or flu. Since then I've run into countless people that have found it cured resistant infections. Who knew? :shrug:

[BurtWorm]

36. Just because it ISN'T manufactured by a pharmaceutical company

doesn't mean it can cure everything the seller says it can.

[Cadence]

52. I didn't say anything like that. If you feel most comfortable

taking things manufactured by pharmaceutical companies and alternative remedies make you leary, you have to go with what feels right to you.
I'm sure there are many uses that people claim colloidal silver works for but don't actually work. For me it cured a sinus infection and I had cat scans showing the results.

[arwalden]

39. *** THIS IS COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE ***

[tjdee]

48. How so?

Obviously, Cadence took it, it worked for Cadence.

Why is it irresponsible of him/her to say that to the original poster?

[Cadence]

50. WTF???????? Are you the responsible police?

I didn't realize telling someone how it helped me, was so dangerous to society. This is so absurd I can't believe I'm bothering to respond to this.

[BuddhaGirl]

57. my practioner recommends colloidal silver

to his patients, and they've had good results. As with anything, follow the recommended dosages and do your research.

Don't pay any atttention to the naysayers who love to bring up the ridiculous Quackwatch website - that Doctor is a total nutcase.

[Cadence]

58. Thank you.

:hug:

[arwalden]

66. Along With Hexagonal Water & Magnets? All This Claptrap Is Irresponsible!

Your "practitioner" eh? More anecdotal evidence... the plural of "anecdote" is not "data". If your "practitioner" is recommending this poison then your "practitioner" is a quack.

>> Don't pay any atttention to the naysayers who love to bring up the ridiculous Quackwatch website - that Doctor is a total nutcase. <<

The risks are well documented. The only defense the quacks have is to attack the website that serves as a clearinghouse information and to make personal attacks.

[BuddhaGirl]

73. my practitioner is and M.D. as well as an N.D.

so I think he knows what he's talking about. :-)

The quackwatch site lists Dr. Andrew Weil which is ridiculous - he's a very respected Harvard-trained physician who founded a very successful alternative medicine center at the University of Arizona.

There is plenty of scientific, double-blind studies done on supplements, just do a search and you'll find them. But hey -
ignorance is bliss, eh? :-)

There are always risks involved with taking any drug, whether it be pharma or alternative. Western pharma drugs and doctors kill more people each year than alternative medicine.

[arwalden]

76. Then Your Practicioner Is A Quack.

Weil is a quack, too. His level of "success" only means that he's a successful quack.

>> Western pharma drugs and doctors kill more people each year than alternative medicine. <<

Wow. Keep telling yourself that.

[BuddhaGirl]

80. "Wow. Keep telling yourself that."

Thank you, I do. Do a search yourself to find out. I am thankful that my M.D. is also knowledgeable in alternative medicine.

As I said, ignorance is bliss! :-)

[arwalden]

81. Some People Will Fall For Anything.

>> Do a search yourself to find out. <<

You've presented a fallacy. Using your flawed "logic" one could also say that Haiti is a better place to live because fewer people die in Haiti than in the United States. :crazy:

>> I am thankful that my M.D. is also knowledgeable in alternative medicine. <<

Clearly she couldn't hack-it as a responsible physician.

>> As I said, ignorance is bliss! :-) <<

I wouldn't know about that. But I'll defer to your expertise in that matter. But I do suppose that ignorance is what the "alternative" practitioners are counting on. What finer way for them to line their pockets than with uninformed and self-deluded suckers.

[BuddhaGirl]

82. actually, ignorance is what a lot of western doctors and

pharmaceutical companies count on - god forbid patients become knowledgable about alternative forms of therapy and take a little more charge of their own health. Follow the money! Nope, that would upset the current screwed up medical paradigm, now wouldn't it?

From Total Health Magazine: www.totalhealthmagazine.com

"On the other hand, in America alone, $500 billion is spent annually on prescription drugs, many of which are designed to treat chronic disease. Almost all drugs treat symptoms and don’t uncover actual causes of disease. On top of that, many FDA approved drugs often create additional health problems. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently reported that three out of four people suffer from drug side effects. Even worse, more than 100,000 people die every year from taking prescription drugs. Also, according to Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D., in her researched article, “Death by Medicine” (totalhealth Volume 26 No. 4) another 675,000 plus individuals perish annually due to medicine’s effects. This means that deaths related to interaction with our current medical system would qualify as the number one cause of mortality in the United States."

Chech out the following article, Death by Medicine" and you will find out why more and more people are turning to alternative medicine:

http://www.garynull.com/documents/iatrogenic/deathbymedicine/DeathByMedicine1.htm

Seems to me you've "fallen" for the lies of big Pharma and western medicine in regards to alternative medicine. I am in good health because of alternative medicine - I hope you're in similar health with your own preferred methods. :-)

[arwalden]

85. Enjoy Your Coffee Enema And Detoxifying Quantum Magnet Therapy!

Your anecdotal "evidence" isn't. The plural of anecdote isn't data.

Heh heh... you said "paradigm". The aluminum foil that encases your head is wrapped just a little too tightly. The "big pharma" conspiracy just doesn't exist. In fact, if any of these "alternative" treatments were effective and were proven to be effective beyond any placebo effect, then "big pharma" would snatch them up and they would become mainstream. Yet they don't do that. If these things actually worked, why wouldn't the money-grubbing "big-pharma" types want to get in on the action? It's just fringe quackery. There's no conspiracy to suppress alternative "cures" because of the competition... it's because they don't work, and because of the dangers.

Unproved and unprovable claims among predatory "doctors" and their gullible patients. Word of mouth among the self-deluded... and still nothing is proved.

Double-blind peer-reviewed testing can not duplicate the miraculous claims made by the quacks. Why? But still, there are those idiots who want to Smurf themselves. There's no accounting for stupidity, and nobody can force them to face facts.

[cags]

90. Um "Big Pharma types" have tried to get in on the action

but the FDA would not let them, because most alternative medicines are considered food supplements which can't be regulated, and the FDA has said they are generally safe. If an alternative supplement is proven to be harmful the FDA will pull it from the shelves like Ephedra. There have been far more prescription drugs recalled than there have been alternative supplements pulled.

Do some research, you can't blindly follow

[arwalden]

91. What?

>> but the FDA would not let them, because most alternative medicines are considered food supplements <<

They are considered to be supplements because the don't cure what the makers claim that they can do.

>> There have been far more prescription drugs recalled than there have been alternative supplements pulled. <<

Really?

And if we assume this claim to be true, the mere fact that an "alternative" treatment causes no harm is NOT an indication of its efficacy.

>> Do some research, you can't blindly follow <<

What?

[cags]

92. Here, since you choose to think people who look outside of

Western medicine are all just a bunch of fools, and you don't seem to want look into any of the research, here are just a few articles from the American Medical Association. All you have to do is do a search at the AMA's website


http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2000/11/13/prl21113.htm

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2000/01/17/prsa0117.htm

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2003/10/20/prsc1020.htm

https://catalog.ama-assn.org/Catalog/product/product_detail.jsp?childName=nochildcat&parentCategory=Clinical&productId=OP210599+&categoryName=Clinical&start=11&parentId=Clinical

There is more than one way to take care of yourself.

[arwalden]

93. I Saw No Evidence Of Efficacy Of Treatments

>> There is more than one way to take care of yourself. <<

Actually it looks like there are endless ways for the gullible to be swindled by quacks.

[cags]

95. Well since you seem to know more than the AMA who are

taking it seriously, I must bow down to your great wisdom.

Where does your wisdom come from anyway? Really I'd like to know

[cags]

98. Here for your info is a site with clinical trials

http://nccam.nih.gov/

[arwalden]

100. Thank You... Here's What They Say About Colloidal Silver

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/alerts/silver/index.htm

3. Do colloidal silver products work?
Reviews in the scientific literature on colloidal silver products have concluded that2-5:

Silver has no known function in the body.

Silver is not an essential mineral supplement or a cure-all and should not be promoted as such.

Claims that there can be a "deficiency" of silver in the body and that such a deficiency can lead to disease are unfounded.

Claims made about the effectiveness of colloidal silver products for numerous diseases are unsupported scientifically.

Colloidal silver products can have serious side effects (discussed further below).

Laboratory analysis has shown that the amounts of silver in supplements vary greatly, which can pose risks to the consumer.

Top

4. What are the risks of using these products?
Animal studies have shown that silver builds up in the tissues of the body. In humans, buildup of silver from colloidal silver can lead to a side effect called argyria. It causes a bluish-gray discoloration of the skin, other organs, deep tissues, nails, and gums. Argyria cannot be treated or reversed, and it is permanent. While it is not known how argyria occurs, it is thought that silver combines with protein, forming complexes that deposit in the skin and are processed by sunlight (as in traditional photography).6,7 Other side effects from using colloidal silver products may include neurologic problems (such as seizures), kidney damage, stomach distress, headaches, fatigue, and skin irritation. Colloidal silver may interfere with the body's absorption of the following drugs: penacillamine, quinolones, tetracyclines, and thyroxine.5

Top

[BuddhaGirl]

101. thanks for posting those, cags

it probably won't matter, though. A closed mind stuck in it's position is hard to penetrate.

It's just easier to call us names! Very progressive attitude, no? LOL

[ProfessorGAC]

96. What Difference Does That Make?

If they could make money by selling supplements and calling them "Fred" they would do it. The FDA doesn't regulate this stuff, hardly at all, so big pharma would be HIGHLY motivated to cash in.

Your logic is completely inverted on this one.
The Professor

[AngryAmish]

94. In Africa they have alternative ways of dealing with HIV in males

It involves rape/sex with a female virgin. Including pre-teens. It is a natural method and a pharmacutical company does not make a dime off of this treatment. It must be good then, huh?

[Zuni]

97. Obviously

:crazy:

[yellowcanine]

86. "There are plenty of studies".....Yes but what were the results? Name ONE

double-blind study PUBLISHED in a reputable peer-reviewed journal that shows ANY benefit of colloidal silver.

[MadHound]

38. Well, I had a former co-worker swear by the stuff

Dosed himself everyday. Yet it appeared to do no good whatsoever. Still had as many, if not more, colds, sinus problems, flu, etc etc as the next person. Yet he still continues to take it. I ran into him in the hardware store a couple of months ago, and he is turning an ashy shade of grey. I would say stay away from the stuff.

[DrWeird]

40. I took collodial silver.

It cured my cancer and my herpes.

I don't even both going to the doctor anymore.

[progressoid]

46. Send me 39.95 and I'll send you my Vial-O-Miracle. (plus 9.95 S&S)

It comes with a pamphlet chock full of vague, unsubstantiated claims of miraculous cures. So far none of my customers...er...patients have had any complaints! At least not that I know of. I tend to have to move from town to town quickly so it's hard to tell.

[Spider Jerusalem]

47. No, and I wouldn't...

"the history makes perfect sense"? Oh, please. Utter nonsense. They used to prescribe mercury, too. Doesn't mean I'm going to take it. Sorry, but it's as foolish and useless as homeopathy, healing crystals, and Christian Science.

[tjdee]

49. "Shrooms: Do any of you use them?"

Now, imagine all the replies.

I'm cracking up here!

[Dogmudgeon]

67. DON'T DO IT!!!! Unless you want to go blind by staring into the Sun!

--p!
Skeptically Incorrect since at least 1995.

[American Tragedy]

53. DON'T DO IT!!!! Unless you like the look of argyria.

I've researched this before, it's a classic case of snake oil. It's of no benefit, and potentially of permanent harm.

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/silverad.html

http://homepages.together.net/~rjstan/

[cags]

54. I've taken it, You really have to take your own health into your own

hands. You can't fully rely on Western medicine just as you can't fully rely on natural medicine. Western medicine isn't the be all end all of medicine and frankly I think money is its priority and not the health of the people. That said I think Western medicine is good for some things not for others. Natural medicines are prescribed in other countries, they just can't be regulated here and I prefer it that way. I get migraines that natural medicines can do nothing about, but western medicines help. I once had a kidney infection for 9 months and all western medicine could do was keep on shoveling me some more antibiotics, I turned to natural medicines and it was gone within a week. My mom has epilepsy, western medicines made her feel terrible all the time, and she still had siezures, she turned to natural medicine and felt normal for the first time in 15 years and stopped having seizures. Just make sure you do alot of research on something before you start taking it. There are also homeopathic doctors out there that can give you some good information.

And everyone is different, what works for one may not work for others and that applies to both western and natural medicines.

[BurtWorm]

64. American medicine's (including alternative med!) be-all is $$$$

Don't kid yourself. It's not "Western" medicine that is the problem. The problem is always greedy bastards out to make a buck off other people's suffering, and you can find plenty of those leeches on the alt.med. side of the divide.

[cags]

68. Oh, I'm not kidding myself, there are plenty of snake oil

folks out there. Thats why I said to do tons of research. I said people need to take thier health into thier own hands and be proactive about it. Western medicine doesn't have all the answers just as Alternative medicine doesn't. But if you take the time to do the research you can use both to get the best of both worlds.

[BurtWorm]

72. I would just advise people to avoid being suckered.

The marketplace is full of people who hope to get rich off of other people's gullibilities. Same as it ever was.

[BuddhaGirl]

74. "And everyone is different, what works for one may not work

for others that applies to both western and natural medicines."

Exactly!

[jus_the_facts]

55. nope....but I've heard...things....

:tinfoilhat:

[Dave Reynolds]

56. After seeing a black kidney

at autopsy (later diagnosed argyria), I would pass.

But I'm kind of a wimp like that...

[zann725]

61. My brother (who normally doesn't takes ONLY traditional medicines) took it

and swears by the results. Nothing else was working on him, and he took as a last-ditch effort...and claims it really works.

I asked the guy at my health food store, and he also said it's a century's old homeopathic treatment. Very potent stuff...so go easy if you take it.

[BurtWorm]

65. Just a few molecules will do ya?

;)

[porkrind]

69. Mmmm, metal.

As reasonable as ingesting metal is, I prefer to wear magnetic bracelets and crystals. Sleeping in a pyramid also help, and sharpens your razor blades. Have you tried believing in magic invisible gods like Jesus?

Seriously, I would research what scientifically educated people have to say about it. "Practitioners" and most homeopaths (not all), while opinionated, are not educated in science.

[progressoid]

71. Hey now...

god not be invisible. I see god every time I drive (on the dashboard of my car).

Also when I tap, tap, tap, gently on my brain with a ball peen hammer.

[freethought]

75. What is the stuff supposed to do?

Colloidal Silver? This is the first I have heard of it! What does the stuff do for you? I worked in environmental/hazmat/haz waste fields for years. Silver is even a EPA designated hazardous waste, RCRA code D011. Once outfit I worked for used to reclaim the stuff from spent film and photograph development solutions, pounds of the stuff!

I am not sure I like the sound of this! Sounds like snake oil to me. I did read once that trace amounts of chromium could actually benefit health, but the key word is 'trace amounts' and stay clear of the hexavalent stuff. But silver? I guess market something right and you get people to swallow just about anything.

[Ian David]

77. Senator Smurf

SENATOR SMURF




GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — Montana's Libertarian candidate for Senate has turned blue from drinking a silver solution that he believed would protect him from disease.

Stan Jones,a 63-year-old business consultant and part-time college instructor, said he started taking colloidal silver in 1999 for fear that Y2K disruptions might lead to a shortage of antibiotics. He made his own concoction by electrically charging a couple of silver wires in a glass of water. His skin began turning blue-gray a year ago.

``People ask me if it's permanent and if I'm dead,'' he said. ``I tell them I'm practicing for Halloween.''

He does not take the supplement any longer, but the skin condition, called argyria, is permanent. The condition is generally not serious.

Colloidal silver dietary supplements are marketed widely as an anti-bacterial agent or immune-system booster, but some consider it quackery.

More:
http://www.darianotoole.com/features/ycmtsu_htm/ycmtsu_senatorsmurf.htm

Senator Smurf:

[Ian David]

78. Colloidal Silver: Risk without benefit

Colloidal Silver:
Risk Without Benefit
Stephen Barrett, M.D.

Colloidal silver is a suspension of submicroscopic metallic silver particles in a colloidal base. Long-term use of silver preparations can lead to argyria, a condition in which silver salts deposit in the skin, eyes, and internal organs, and the skin turns ashen-gray. Many cases of argyria occurred during the pre-antibiotic era when silver was a common ingredient in nosedrops. When the cause became apparent, doctors stopped recommending their use, and reputable manufacturers stopped producing them. The official drug guidebooks (United States Pharmacopeia and National Formulary) have not listed colloidal silver products since 1975.

<snip>

Critical Studies and Case Reports

In 1995, an herbal distributor named Leslie Taylor tested nine commonly marketed colloidal silver products available at health-food stores and concluded:

* Two of the products were contaminated with microorganisms.
* The amount of silver suspended in solution varied from product to product and would gradually decrease over time.
* Only five products actually showed antibacterial activity in a laboratory test. To perform the test, she prepared a culture plate with Staphylococcus aureas bacteria, which can cause infections in humans. She then placed a drop from each product on the plate and used disks of two common antibiotics as controls. After eight hours of incubation, she found that bacterial growth had been inhibited around the antibiotics and four of the products.

<snip>

Enforcement Actions

Between October 1993 and September 1994, the FDA issued warning letters to five colloidal silver marketers::

* Higher Education Library Publications (H.E.L.P.), of Springfield, Utah, was ordered to stop claiming that its colloidal silver product was effective as a natural antibiotic and might be effective against cancer, genito-urinary diseases, tuberculosis, and AIDS.
* Nutrition, Inc., of Arvada, Colorado, was ordered to stop stating or implying that its Silvicidal, when administered orally or intravenously, was nontoxic, FDA-approved, and was a broad-spectrum antibiotic that killed bacteria and all virus and fungal infections. In addition, it was falsely claimed to be effective against a long list of specific diseases.
* Reseau International of Cincinnati, Ohio was ordered to stop claiming that its colloidal silver product was a "natural antibiotic and anti-inflammatory immune system stimulant" and that it was effective against cancer, staph, strep, influenza, general body infections, inflammation, impaired immune system, fungus toxicity, tonsillitis, Meniere's symptoms, whooping cough, shingles, syphilis, cholera, and malaria. The labeling also stated that colloidal silver could cause major growth stimulation of human tissues and can regenerate
* Silverado Inc., of Bountiful, Utah, was warned to stop making false claims that its colloidal silver product was effective as an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-fungal agent and that it could stimulate the immune system.
* Unic, of Carmichael, California, was ordered to stop claiming that its colloidal silver product was effective against many diseases and could heal burn-damaged tissue without scarring.

In October 1996, the FDA proposed to ban the use of colloidal silver or silver salts in over-the-counter products <8>. A Final Rule banning such use was issued on August 17, 1999 and became effective September 16th. The rule applies to any nonprescription colloidal silver or silver salt product claimed to be effective in preventing or treating any disease <9>. Silver products can still be sold as "dietary supplements" provided that no health claims are made for them. During 2000, the FDA issued warnings to more than 20 companies whose Web sites were making illegal therapeutic claims for colloidal silver products.

In 2000, the Federal Court of Australia banned Vital Earth Company Pty Limited and its director Darryl John Jones from falsely representing that the colloidal silver produced by their "Vital Silver 3000 Zapper," "Vital Silver 2000 Automatic" and "Vital Silver 2000":

<snip>

Much, much more at:
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/silverad.html

[Ian David]

79. Silver Health Scams Spread Online (Wired Magazine)

Rosemary Jacobs' skin turned gray when she was a teenager and has stayed that way for five decades.

She suffers from a rare skin condition called argyria, which she contracted after taking nose drops containing silver salts to treat nasal congestion in the 1950s.

<snip>
Despite modern medicine and a ruling by the Food and Drug Administration that such remedies are ineffective, companies selling silver remedies have resurfaced online in recent years, hawking their products as a cure-all for everything from cancer to herpes.

"Silver solutions are one of the most widely marketed health scams on the Internet," said Rich Cleland, the assistant director for the Federal Trade Commission's Division of Advertising Practices, which monitors false health claims.
<snip>
Outraged at the phenomenon, Jacobs launched her own website to advise consumers of the side effects of silver remedies.

They pulled silver out of the garbage pail of discarded medical practices and are making money off it on the Internet," said Jacobs, now a 60-year-old retired teacher who lives in Vermont.

More:
http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,57119,00.html



See also:
http://together.net/~rjstan


The photos above were taken in 1978 a few months before I was dermabraded. I am not wearing lipstick as one of the current silver salesmen believes. My lips appear reddish in many old photos. I would guess that it is becaise of the contrast with the gray.

<snip>


These photos were taken the day after the dermabrasion. My face is swollen but it didn't hurt.

<snip>


This is how I look today. As a result of the dermabrasion I have pink splotches on my face.



This is a photo of a lady who had argyria. It was taken a few years before she died, around 30 years ago. Her whole body was affected.

[Zuni]

87. That old woman looks very, very creepy

like a ghost

[MissB]

88. My mother takes it

Every friggin' day. She gives it to her cats too. She used to give it to her step-grandchildren (without the mother's consent).

It is reason #4,358 why my children will never spend unsupervised time with her.

On the other hand, she hasn't really turned gray yet.

[ProfessorGAC]

89. Yeah! Nothing Like Increasing One's Levels Of Heavy Metals!

And, a fairly reactive one, at that. Perfect for catalyzing all kinds of oddities in the biochemistry. Where do i get some, or can i just eat an old silver dollar?
The Professor