Usually when something sounds too good to be true, it is. What is your take on colloidal silver? What do you KNOW?

-- why? who cares? (axemansrv1@aol.com), November 14, 1999

Answers

Someone will soon come along and provide copious links to previous threads on the subject.

I'm sure not going to start up THAT discussion again.

-- Dean -- from (almost) Duh Moines (dtmiller@midiowa.net), November 14, 1999.

Actually... I hate to tell you, but I've got a non-Y2K article here (it's actually in an historical fanzine) that quotes research that's determined that the historical reason behing the idea of throwing money into a "wishing well" is that silver is an incredible anti-bacterial agent. It doesn't advise drinking the stuff, but it's just another example of how much we've forgotten over the last few hundred years.

-- Colin MacDonald (roborogerborg@yahoo.com), November 14, 1999.

Medicine Man/woman + snake oil + pretty lining = silver colloidal yields GISGO (garbage in - shiny garbage out)

Ask any Doctor of Medicine about this junk, unless of course you're auditioning for a part in a James Bond B-movie. Mine has pictures of people whose skin actually turned silver color from using too much of this crap! One girl *could* try out for the movie above.

-- Michael (mikeymac@uswest.net), November 14, 1999.

LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A BUNCH OF COLLOIDAL SILVER DGI"S HERE!

-- bbb (bbb@bbb.com), November 14, 1999.

This is a true story, but it's not pretty, so the faint-hearted better go read something else. And I am not making any medical recommendations whatsoever.

We had a personal friend, Mary M. (not her real name) who had progressive MS. Over the years she grew worse and worse until she became totally immobile. Eventually, all she could move were her eyelids. She could not swallow and had to be fed through a tube in her side. She was always in and out of the hospital - fighting one infection or another.

About six years ago, she got a terrible kidney and bladder infection that gradually became systemic. There was blood in her urine, and about a pint of pus a day was coming out of the hole in her side. One lung collapsed! She was in the hospital with this for about three months. They gave her the strongest antibiotics available at the maximum dosages allowable and Mary was still running a temperature of between 102 and 105 degrees. Finally, her doctors told Mary's mother that they were afraid Marys kidneys or liver would collapse if they continued treatment. They advised her to take Mary home and get her affairs in order because she had no more than two weeks to live.

Marys mother was in grief. Then one of our friends suggested that since they had nothing to lose, why not try Mary on colloidal silver taken orally. Her mother started mixing 1/4 cup of 70ppm colloidal silver with Mary's fluids and administered it to her twice a day! A daily total of 1/2 cup of 70ppm colloidal silver! Enough to kill a horse, right?

Wrong. Within three days, Mary no longer had blood in her urine and her temperature started dropping. Within a week it was 98.6. The pus coming out of her side was reduced and disappeared entirely in about two weeks. But that's not all, six months later, they began hearing air sounds in the collapsed lung.

Well, to make a long story short, Mary's mother was able to test the effectiveness of silver on her daughter's condition hundreds of times. She gave her daughter a maintenance dose of one tablespoon a day and if she forgot, Mary's temperature would go up. She was eventually able to stop administering silver altogether, only using it if Mary caught a cold or ran a fever. Mary's doctor said that this was the only case of a spontaneous cure of peritonitis in medical history, and considering her condition, that she had absolutely no chance of living through it, but she did!!! Marys mother was afraid to tell him what she had been doing lest she be accused of child abuse, or some such idiocy.

About six years later, Mary did get a bug that didn't cause a fever, or maybe it was the MS itself. In any case, her mother didn't react in time and Mary died. But there is little question that colloidal silver taken orally kept Mary alive for six more years. There are also two anecdotal accounts of colloidal silver's success (used topically) on Brown Recluse spider bites and one anecdotal account of a breast cancer remission, where the woman was taking 1 cup of colloidal silver per day!

On a personal note, I used to get the flu every year like clockwork, and would be down with it for three weeks. Now with the first sign, I take a tablespoon of 70ppm colloidal in a glass of water three times a day, and am over it in a couple of days. In fact, I have not had a serious bout of flu now for several years. According to reports I have read, silver is effective against over 600 bacteria and some viruses. It has been taken orally and used topically and has NO reported side effects. Though there are other suppliers, my personal source for 70ppm silver is Ken, at Sunset Supplements, 435-652-1322. Ken also has a 12volt colloidal silver maker with which you can make your own CS as needed. IMHO, one of those is a Y2k prepers must!

So why doesn't the medical profession catch on and back this stuff? Well, prescription antibiotics are real pricey and colloidal silver is cheap, cheap, cheap. You figure it out.

-- Silver (works for@me.com), November 14, 1999.

I recently posted a similar question over on the preps forum (where it belongs!!). Look under "GOT SILVER FOR Y2K?" inthe preps forum for all the links mentioned above. I searched colloidal silver and pulled up a half-dozen sites with excellent looking generators for under $100, and one of them, utopiasilver.com, with a CS generator powered by 3 9v batteries, for $39. I ordered that one. It arrived yesterday. Lookd fine, very simple, haven;t tried it yet. One tip on the last thread was to avoid buying pricey silver wire and just use silver coins -- .999 pure silver ounds -- as your annodes.

Colin MacDonald: I woud like to see your article on the history of silver in wells. Any chance you could suumarize it?

-- SH (squirrel@hunter.com), November 14, 1999.

There is no case of harm from true colloidal silver that I have found yet. There is a great danger when using rounds especially. The clips or clamps or whatever you hook the wires to the silver with are not silver, and can create deadly compounds and elements in the water with the silver. Make sure that the only metal touching the water during the process is the silver itself, and that the water is distilled.

The famous grey lady is an example of what can happen when the product is not true colloidal silver, and that is far from the worst possible side affect.

-- tree (thetrees@bigfoot.com), November 14, 1999.

There is a difference in colloidal formulations. Silver hasn't killed anyone yet. It has turned them blue/grey though. The cause is due to the size of the colloid..is it small enough for the body to assimilate and excrete or is it too large, causing accumulation... thus the discoloration of the skin. Another factor involved is silver's affect on the liver. One has to be very discriminating about the usage of silver. It is not intended for daily use... also known as prophylactic use. It should be used for acute problems on a time limit.

A rather unscientific way ***anecdotal!!!*** to check for molecular size of the silver concoction is to shine a light through the solution in a clean glass jar...if it does not show noticeable particles, it is probably small enough not to affect the body adversly.

-- C Deitchman (cdeitchman@bigfoot.com), November 14, 1999.

SH & Colin,

freddie the freeloader used to post here and he often mentioned the fact that he keeps a silver coin in his bottle of drinking water for such purposes. He moved over to the prep forum, and seems to have fallen off the radar. Maybe someone else can recall more details, or you can turn up an old thread from the archives.

-- flora (***@__._), November 14, 1999.

Having MS myself, I am aware that all sorts of experimental/medicine man/voodoo doctor sorts of things have been tried out on the unfortunate soul such as myself. Personally, I have been advised that removing the mercury from my teeth would stop the MS symptoms, vegetarian/vitamin regimes, untested, unconventional "medicines", electro-magnetic back supports, mattresses, discs and vests, etc. etc. etc.

MS is very complex and individual. There is no way to predict the course, variation, or problem/s it produce. Many, such as myself, have a relapse-remitting type that ebbs and tides INDEPENDENT of any type of witch doctoring attempted. Unfortunately because of the remitting phase, all sorts of unethical, untested stuff has been attested to the recovery.

It is particularly offensive to me to provide a commercial for any product using the private agony of such a vulnerable and tortured MS patient. Violating her privacy to tote the wonders of a product not cleared by the FDA is particularly reprehensible.

Instead, when you have your stroke, ulcerative colitis or grand mal seizures, why don't you pre-authorize the use of such "treatments" on YOURSELF complete with film documentary of this event so that it might be made as public as this exposure on the internet?

Do you also enjoy exposing naked babies to the public view on the internet? To exploit someone's agony in this way is discusting.

-- Leslie (***@***.net), November 14, 1999.

I was the one who suggested saving (a lot) of money by buying your 999 silver in the form of rounds rather than wire, but again, I want to emphasize to NOT use "coin silver" (i.e., pre-1965 US coins, or any other alloy). Same with Sterling: don't do it! The bullion rounds are 999 fine silver, no alloy, about six bucks per troy ounce. If you bought *one* and worked it into "wire" (or strips), you'd have a several-lifetimes supply.

I do agree with the warning about the clips, We use alligator clips that I modified with a pliers by flattening everything except for the teeth at the very end, which hook onto the rim of the round. We then hang them from a stick leaving a safe distance (about 1/4" or so) of the round out of the water.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), November 15, 1999.

Remember that MD's are just practicing medicine.

-- anonymous (anonymous@anonymous.com), November 15, 1999.

Leslie, I really wish you well. Sorry I offended, that was not the intent, at all. The post about Mary was written with the complete blessing of the people involved. Mary's mother wants to share the things that helped keep her daughter alive. Furthermore, I did not suggest that silver helped Mary's MS directly, but it soon became blindingly obvious that it had a dramatic effect on her secondary infections. If you question any of this and would like to talk to Mary's mother, I'll ask her to call you.

IMHO,a complete trust in ANY governmental agency is a little naive. But to put your mind at rest, silver was approved by the FDA back in the '30. It's grandfathered in. With the discovery of Penicillin and all the other antibiotics, the medical profession has forgotten it, that's all.

-- Silver (works for@me.com), November 15, 1999.

If you search the FDA web site you will find that colloiodal was never approved by the FDA at any time. It is not "grandfathered" in under any clause.

-- Sam Mcgee (weissacre@gwtc.net), November 16, 1999.

Give me a break. Silver is even used topically by AMA approved medical professionals today, and would it be without FDA approval?

So it does not appear on their web-site, big surprise.

-- Silver (works for@me.com), November 16, 1999.

" "In October 1996, the FDA proposed to ban the use of colloidal silver or silver salts in over-the-counter products [4]. 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 [5]. Silver products can still be sold as "dietary supplements" provided that no health claims are made for them."

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/silverad.ht ml

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.

Dubious Ads

In recent years, silver-containing products have been marketed with unsubstantiated claims that they are effective against AIDS, cancer, infectious diseases, parasites, chronic fatigue, acne, warts, hemorrhoids, enlarged prostate, and many other diseases and conditions. Some marketers claim that colloidal silver is effective against hundreds of diseases.

During 1998, a Florida-based multilevel company, stated:

Our colloidal silver contains 99.99% pure silver particles suspended indefinitely in demineralized water that kills bacteria and viruses. It can be applied topically and/or absorbed into the blood stream sub-lingually (under the tongue), thereby avoiding the negative effects of traditional antibiotics that kill good bacteria in the lower digestive tract.

An all natural antibiotic alternative in the purest form available. The presence of colloidal silver near a virus, fungi, bacterium or any other single celled pathogen disables its oxygen-metabolism enzyme, its chemical lung, so to say. The pathogens suffocates and dies, and is cleared out of the body by the immune, lymphatic and elimination systems.

Unlike pharmaceutical antibiotics which destroy beneficial enzymes, colloidal silver leaves these beneficial enzymes intact. Thus colloidal silver is absolutely safe for humans, reptiles, plants and all multi-celled living matter.

It is impossible for single-celled germs to mutate into silver-resistant forms, as happens with conventional antibiotics. Also, colloidal silver cannot interact or interfere with other medicines being taken. Colloidal silver is truly a safe, natural remedy for many of mankind's ills. Colloidal silver can be taken indefinitely because the body does not develop a tolerance to it [1]

Seasilver Intermational, a California-based multilevel company, claims that American are suffering from "silver deficiency." Although silver is not an essential nutrient, product information posted on the company's Web site states:

The depletion of minerals in our soil has left us deficient of silver, one of our most essential trace minerals, causing a drastic increase in immune system disorders in our society in the last decade. Research has taught us that all disease is allowed to manifest itself because of a weakened immune system. In over 20 years of worldwide research on Colloidal Silver, numerous interviews with government agencies, health care practitioners and their patients, no other nutrient, herb or drug (prescription or over-the-counter) is as safe and effective against all known forms of unfriendly virus, bacteria, and fungus. Additionally, while it is generally known that most antibiotics kill only perhaps 6 or 7 different disease organisms, reports have shown that Colloidal Silver has been used successfully in the treatment of over 650 diseases! Furthermore, strains of disease organisms fail to develop in the presence of Colloidal Silver. Colloidal Silver's greatest attribute is its unique ability to function as a superior second immune system in the body! [2]

The ad below is from the July 1996 issue of Alternative Medicine Digest.

[ad at site]

Critical Studies

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.

Of course, the fact that a product inhibits bacteria in a laboratory culture doesn't mean it is effective (or safe) in the human body. In fact, products that kill bacteria in the laboratory would be more likely to cause argyria because they contain more silver ions that are free to deposit in the user's skin. .

FDA laboratory studies have found that the amount of silver in some product samples has varied from 15.2% to 124% of the amount listed on the product labels. The amount of silver required to produce argyria is unknown. However, the FDA has concluded that the risk of using silver products exceeds any unsubstantiated benefit [3].

In October 1996, the FDA proposed to ban the use of colloidal silver or silver salts in over-the-counter products [4]. 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 [5]. Silver products can still be sold as "dietary supplements" provided that no health claims are made for them.

References

1. The company (Changes International) is no longer in the supplement business.

2. Seasilver International Product Information, accessed October 12, 1998.

3. Fung MC, Bowen DL. Silver products for medical indications: risk-benefit assessment. Journal of Toxicology and Clinical Toxicology 34:119-26, 1996.

4. Federal Register 61:53685-53688, 1996. (To access this document, search the 1996 volume for "colloidal silver.")

5. FDA. Final rule: Over-the-counter drug products containing colloidal silver ingredients or silver salts. Federal Register 64:44653-44658, 1999. Download PDF version

For Further Information

Rosemary Jacobs, an argyria victim, has made a detailed study of the colloidal silver marketplace and is willing to answer questions.

[Hotlinks to references and Ms. Jacobs are at the site]

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), November 16, 1999.