From Mrs. Cog's Corner
The content on this page is for discussion purposes relating to health and well being only and is not intended to be medical advice. Links and sources provided are for informational purposes and do not represent an endorsement of a person, product or treatment.
Of all the potential natural or holistic alternatives I have researched, none have been a more difficult subject to seriously consider than colloidal silver. But since the mainstream media and medical community are so vehemently opposed to it I can't help but be intrigued.
It matters not that there is evidence of humans using silver for it's antibacterial properties thousands of years into the past. Modern medicine claims that use of colloidal silver has no proven advantages and causes a condition known as argyria, which irreversibly turns people blue.
Even worse, once you get into the arena where people accept silver as an invaluable resource, debates rage as to which types of silver are beneficial or harmful. The shouting can be overwhelming, almost to the point of turning back all but the most stubborn or daring.
One of the problems with sharing the information I have found is that there are very few sources which give information on various aspects and qualities of colloidal silver that are not advocating a certain product or practitioner. I almost decided NOT to include a section on silver for that very reason.
Assume that all information below and elsewhere else is biased.
During the 1980s, lab testing at Syracuse University and the UCLA School of Medicine demonstrated how colloidal silver was highly effective against bacteria, viruses, and fungal organisms, even those that had become resistant to antibiotics. http://www.naturalnews.com/041408_colloidal_silver_antibiotics_alternative_medicine.html
"This is an area where confusion and concern developed needlessly. Few things in life are as cut-and-dried as the fact that silver is completely safe when used within normal limits. The U.S. government provides a very clear guideline for the safe oral intake of silver. We've simply provided an easy method for applying that guideline to the safe use of any silver supplement product." http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/07/new-guidelines-released-for-safe-usage-of-colloidal-silver-supplements.aspx
Scientific Information on Colloidal Silver http://www.silver-colloids.com/Reports/reports.html
Many antibiotics are thought to kill their targets by producing reactive oxygen compounds, and Collins and his team showed that when boosted with a small amount of silver these drugs could kill between 10 and 1,000 times as many bacteria. The increased membrane permeability also allows more antibiotics to enter the bacterial cells, which may overwhelm the resistance mechanisms that rely on shuttling the drug back out. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=silver-makes-antibiotics-thousands-of-times-more-effective
What is silver water or colloidal silver? http://educate-yourself.org/cs/csfaq.shtml
Clinical studies involving colloidal silver (1,100+): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=colloidal+silver
Clinical trial involving colloidal silver and cancer: http://www.jeccr.com/content/29/1/148
When it is pointed out that colloidal and nano-silver are used by NASA, Potters for Peace, the Hong Kong Subway System, Cure-Aid, and major hospital burn units, the detractors often concede that perhaps it works externally; however, they maintain that when it is taken internally it is ineffective and it causes dangerous toxicity due to silver build-up. In a familiar refrain when it comes to silver and other alternatives to mainstream drugs, it is also claimed that colloidal silver taken internally has no "scientifically" proven benefits.http://www.tbyil.com/MM-vs-ColloidalSilver.htm
