Colloidal Silver - What's the Real Story?

[2manyfibers]

I’ve noticed a lot of information about colloidal silver being posted lately and also noticed that practically all of the information seems to be copied from websites marketing silver. Are all the claims these marketing sites make regarding silver really true? I’ve also noticed that I’m apparently not the only one that has a lot of questions about it and not the only person confused by the marketing information on it. It would obviously be a great thing if all the marketing stuff was true so I decided to do some research on it to decide for myself what the real story is. After at least 40 or 50 hours (probably more) of my reading I think I’ve learned a pretty fair amount about colloidal silver.

Being a pretty firm proponent of what could be termed “alternative” therapies myself and researching many of them for myself quite extensively (nutritional supplements in particular), I realize that all marketing information on alternative therapies can't necessarily be taken at face value always. I also realize that a lot of the information from sites connected to “mainstream” medicine is not always as objective or honest about alternative therapies as it should be either. Thus, I approached both sides of the argument regarding silver with a healthy amount of skepticism. However, having done a lot of research on how the human body constructs and maintains itself on a cellular level using DNA (and having experienced it on a personal level) as well as having worked in industrial water purification (and having some familiarity with silver in water treatment), I have formed (and am still forming) my own opinions about colloidal silver and what seems like “too good to be true” claims (which usually are from my experience) regarding these products.

Since you can find all the information you could ever want about how wonderful colloidal silver is supposed to be on sites that market it, I won’t list any of those sites here (pretty much every site that sells it makes the same claims). If you google colloidal silver you’ll find dozens if not hundreds of websites telling of the wonders of these silver products, the vast majority of which are selling them (or associated with marketing them). You really have to search extensively and ask yourself a lot of questions (and research related information) to get unbiased and objective information on silver. Here are a few observations I’ve made based on what I’ve read (a broad variety of material both positive and negative as well as a lot of related information which my own questions drove me to research) and what I know about how the human body works. Obviously this information is based on my own research, observations and opinions, so as always you are free to take it for whatever you think it is worth. My intent is not to offend anyone but rather to present information that I found that is useful for me in making a decision about whether or not I want to use colloidal silver products myself. One thing of importance to note is that colloidal silver can apparently inhibit absorption of certain prescription drugs including many antibiotics (quinolones and tetracyclines are forms of antibiotics, thyroxine is a thyroid hormone). The following information is taken from http://nccam.nih.gov/health/hepatitisc/ and notes some of these drug interactions:

Colloidal silver may interfere with the body's absorption of the following drugs: penacillamine, quinolones, tetracyclines, and thyroxine. For more information about colloidal silver, see the NCCAM fact sheet "Colloidal Silver Products."

First I’ll address the difference between ionic and colloidal silver (this question has been asked on the forum before). The first thing for me was to define what each is in terms of silver products:

Ion - an atom or molecule that has an electric charge because it has either gained or lost electrons (an atom is the smallest measure of a pure chemical element – a molecule is a “chain” of multiple atoms of chemical elements – ions can have a positive or a negative charge depending on the chemicals that make them up)

Colloid - Undissolved, submicron-sized suspended particles which are well dispersed in a solution and will not readily settle out on standing (colloids are very fine particles of a material and would naturally consist of multiple molecules (and atoms) of a given substance and would likely also exhibit an electrical charge based on the chemicals in the molecules of the colloid including silver)

As might be expected of people selling something, the marketers of ionic and colloidal silver products all make a number of pretty self-serving claims about how their particular product is better than everyone else’s because their product is colloidal or ionic (whichever the case may be) and they usually launch in to a long blurb about the supposed science of how a silver ion or a colloid supposedly works in the body, and how they manufacture theirs. The real truth of the matter is that no one (traditional medical science or the people selling silver) actually knows specifically how silver ions or colloids actually work or react in the human body (as is clearly documented in many medical sources and a very few sites advocating silver). If you carefully consider the actual language used on most of the sites selling it you’ll realize that the marketers don’t truly know either. There is conflicting information on the various sites and a lot of terms like “is believed to”, “are thought to” and other “weasel-words” and similar phrases used indicate to me that the marketers truly don’t know how silver works in the body. Again, this is because there have never been any controlled studies or testing on using silver in the human body (although most sites seem to try to give the impression that this information is well known and widely accepted).

The basic principles of chemistry are still applicable though I’m sure, so it would seem pretty obvious that colloids of “soluble” substances such as the silver in these products (silver salts are not considered to be soluble) would release ions in the body when they encounter the various acids and other chemicals present in the human body. Thus, it seems very likely that inside the human body, there is probably very little if any difference between the two. The bottom line is that silver in these ionic / colloidal forms is always silver no matter how what you call it – the basic chemical element in ionic or colloidal silver at the atomic / molecular level is silver and the electrical charge relationships are the same ………….period.

Silver has been proven to be a powerful antibacterial agent in vitro (which means in a test tube basically) when used in sufficiently strong concentrations. The FDA has approved silver as an antibacterial ingredient for cleaning surfaces, however in order to be effective against bacteria, these products contain silver in much higher concentrations than the silver products marketed as health supplements. It is also well accepted in mainstream medicine that silver has some useful and beneficial properties for external use on the human body (such as for treating burns and keeping topical wounds in a fairly sterile state). Some silver products for topical use are still widely used today for treating wounds although they are available only by prescription in the U.S. now apparently.

By nature, silver particles possess a positive electrical charge and the basic concept of how they are believed to work is that they attach to bacteria (which often have a negative electrical charge) thereby disabling them or killing them through some means (some information indicates that silver basically “suffocates” pathogens). Although this is how silver appears to work in a test tube or on a surface, the same principles may not hold true in the human body which is an entirely different environment (although the sites marketing silver assume that the same basic principles apply). Basic science dictates that the positively charged silver particles would always attach to the first negatively charged particles they came into contact with (bacteria or any of the other innumerable negatively charged particles that are prevalent throughout the human body) – that’s simply how this electrical charge relationship works. Some sites state very boldly that these ionic / colloidal compounds they are selling supposedly can’t or won’t cause argyria (a permanent, blue / gray discoloration of the skin). Many of these sites also go into great detail as to how it is actually silver salts that can cause argyria (rather than ionic or colloidal silver).

This information led me to read up a bit on silver salts. Silver salts are compounds formed from silver combining (based on electrical charge) with negatively charged molecules such as chloride, fluoride, nitrates, sulfur and other chemicals based in large part on the action of the electrical charges of the particles in play. If you’re familiar with the biology of the human body and nutrition you are aware that these substances listed for creating silver salts are commonly found in the human body, sometimes in large amounts as in the case of sulfur. Thus, it seems quite likely to me that the colloidal silver in these products has a pretty good likelihood of turning into silver salts when ingested in the body, even if they don’t enter the body as silver salts (and possibly before they can ever touch very much bacteria or other pathogens that the silver is supposed to interact with – especially considering the relatively low concentrations of silver). Based on the known chemistry, it seems practically impossible to me that the body wouldn’t form silver salts in the presence of ionic / colloidal silver particles (because of all the negatively charged “salt-forming” particles that are naturally abundant in the body) which could ultimately lead to argyria. Truthfully there is very little if any true factual understanding or information on how silver reacts in the human body despite the claims made by marketers of these products.

The following information addresses a couple of the claims that jumped out at me as I read the marketing information on colloidal silver. I personally found no information to validate these particular claims based on my own research and thinking and thus, I simply don’t accept these particular claims at face value.

Marketing Claim: Silver is a nutrient

Observation: The absolute fact of the matter is that silver is NOT a nutrient. The definition of a nutrient is “a substance that provides food or nourishment that is essential for life, such as usable proteins, vitamins, minerals or carbohydrates”. According to currently known, universally accepted nutritional and medical science, silver simply does not meet the definition of a nutrient because it has no known biological function in the human body. Claiming this in an effort to sell silver products is an outright lie in my opinion and there really is no excuse for it. Here are a couple of links to “chemistry” websites stating this definitively (and no valid nutritional site lists silver as a nutrient because there are no known biological reactions in the body that silver is used or required for). You’ll only find silver purported as being a nutrient on several sites trying to sell silver and they don’t actually explain any true role silver supposedly has in nutrition because there isn’t one).

http://www.chemsoc.org/viselements/pages/silver.html

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasc.../mole00368.htm

Marketing Claim: Silver “boosts” the immune system – Silver is like a second immune system

Observation: From all I can tell silver doesn’t actually “boost” the immune system in any normal sense of the word (at least by what I would consider to be a desirable method). Going back for several decades, medical science has noted that ingesting silver solutions is known to raise the white blood cell count in the human body. White blood cells are very important in the immune system because they are basically the “first line of defense” against infection. Some sites selling silver products actually state that silver causes an increase in white blood cells as well, with a few of them even falsely claiming that silver actually produces white blood cells in the body. The increased production of white blood cells in the body under normal circumstances is actually a well documented, normal reaction caused by the immune system sensing an infectious agent is present. Under normal circumstances, any increase in the number of white blood cells (which fight infection) is a natural response to infectious agents by our immune systems regardless of whether silver is present or not.

White blood cells are actually proteins produced by our DNA from nutrients including vitamin C, zinc, copper, several amino acids and other actual nutrients – silver has nothing to do with the actual chemical production of white blood cells in the body. According to accepted medical knowledge you generally don’t want to “play around” with your white blood cell counts. Ideally, you want a sufficient concentration of white blood cells in the body because they help prevent serious infections, and the “counts” are normally pretty stable unless you are fighting an infection which increases the white cell count (when the immune system is operating normally) or have a medical condition that decreases the count (such as leukemia, and other immune system diseases or undergoing chemotherapy for cancer). Certain drugs can also cause variations in white blood cell counts (both increase and decrease). This information (discussed in the excerpt below) can be found at this link as well as many others (http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec14/ch174/ch174a.html):

“Too few or too many white blood cells indicates a disorder. Leukopenia, a decrease in the number of white blood cells to fewer than 4,000 cells per microliter of blood, makes a person more susceptible to infections. Leukocytosis, an increase in the number of white blood cells to more than 11,000 cells per microliter of blood, may result from the normal response of the body to help fight an infection. However, an increase in the number of white blood cells can also result when the regulation of white blood cell development is disrupted and immature or abnormal cells are released into the blood.”

It is possible that silver may have some actual antibacterial properties in the human body, but no one really knows for sure because there have never been any controlled studies or testing conducted on the use of silver in the human body (particularly on the molecular biology applicable) to determine this for sure one way or the other. The only proven tests of silver being effective against bacteria have been performed in test tubes or on hard surfaces using much higher concentrations of silver than is found in colloidal silver products intended as a form of alternative “medicine”. From what I know about how the human body works and universally accepted medical science (and noting that silver itself is known to increase white blood cell counts), it seems more likely to me that the largest antibacterial effect (and immune system effect) silver might actually have is that the body “sees” these ions or colloids of silver as infectious agents themselves and in turn the immune system produces more white blood cells in an attempt to fight what it sees as an infection (which is actually the silver). Thus, it may be possible that silver could indirectly help the body fight infection to some extent simply because the body sees the silver itself as a pathogen and creates more white blood cells overall which may also inadvertently attack “real” pathogens in the body. However, I personally don’t see that as a good way to supposedly “boost” the immune system because it puts undue stress on the immune system for no real reason on a continuous basis (if silver is consumed on a daily basis). The only true way to actually boost the human immune system’s performance over the long term is to make sure our DNA has all the nutrients it needs to produce the proteins and other substances that make up the normal components of the human immune system.

I personally can’t consider “tricking” the body into producing an increased number of white blood cells as actually boosting the immune system. I would think this could also result in the immune system not being able to respond as effectively as it might otherwise when the body truly falls under serious attack by some infection or pathogen – the already increased amount of white blood cells in the body means that the immune system is already working harder than it normally would (whether there is a true infection to fight or not). The immune system obviously has some defined limitations based on a number of things including our individual genetic structures and the nutrients we consume. Thus, if the white blood cell counts in the body are already elevated from silver, a true infection may not be able to elicit as forceful of a response from our immune system as normal because the body can only produce a finite number of white blood cells in a given period of time. I personally can’t consider colloidal or ionic silver as being a method I would want to use as any sort of a long term immune system “booster”.

I’m still doing my own research on silver and will post more information as I answer my own questions, but so far I can’t say that I am personally impressed that the actual concepts behind these products are anywhere near as good as what the marketing hype seems to claim.

[hilly]

2many.... what an mammoth work you've done... I shall be very interested to see what else you find out....clever you and what amazing perseverance... Millyx

Taking it myself and have'nt reached an opinion yet as to whether it's working or not. All I know is that it helped to clear up the lesion on my forehead, and was marvellous in relieving the pain my old dog had with the tumour on his leg.. He was'nt brain washed by reading the blurb !!!!

[niecy]

My first question about this subject goes to Milly. Milly you stated that silver helped to heal up a lesion on your head, did you apply it topically, or did you take it internally. The same question applies to your dog. I would also like to say that I read 2many's post and I didn't find anywhere that he implied that he thought people were being brainwashed. He is just pointing out some obviouse things about the marketing of the product, and the fact that it is a little biased, but he is doing it with an open mind, and has not completely decided that he would not recommend it, just not yet, until he has done more research on it, which he stated that he had already put 40 to 50 hours of time into it. I personally havn't put that much time into researching any one product, or theory as far as that goes, concerning Morgellons, which is supposed to be all of our common denominators here. I am happy to hear that you and your dog had good result with the silver, and I hope that you are feeling better today than you have since your nightmare began......Niecy

I had asked Tara the other day the consequences of taking the silver on a daily basis, because the article that she posted that gave the statistics of elimination, addressed it as a one time dose. It said something to the effect of after the rats injested the silver something like 95% was out of the body in two days, and after a week 99.some% was completed expelled from the body. I was just curious as to what happens if you keep silver in your body all of the time. And also the consequences of taking it on the antibiotic protocol. I felt very cared for when 2many actually took the time to read my post, which was a question directed to Tara, which she in honesty hesitated to answer, because she wasn't familiar with the protocol.

Now then, 2many, and Tara, I pose a question to the both of you. 2many, here is an excerpt from your post yesterday:

it seems more likely to me that the largest antibacterial effect (and immune system effect) silver might actually have is that the body “sees” these ions or colloids of silver as infectious agents themselves and in turn the immune system produces more white blood cells in an attempt to fight what it sees as an infection (which is actually the silver). Thus, it may be possible that silver could indirectly help the body fight infection to some extent simply because the body sees the silver itself as a pathogen and creates more white blood cells overall which may also inadvertently attack “real” pathogens in the body. However, I personally don’t see that as a good way to supposedly “boost” the immune system because it puts undue stress on the immune system for no real reason on a continuous basis (if silver is consumed on a daily basis). The only true way to actually boost the human immune system’s performance over the long term is to make sure our DNA has all the nutrients it needs to produce the proteins and other substances that make up the normal components of the human immune system.

"I personally can’t consider “tricking” the body into producing an increased number of white blood cells as actually boosting the immune system. I would think this could also result in the immune system not being able to respond as effectively as it might otherwise when the body truly falls under serious attack by some infection or pathogen – the already increased amount of white blood cells in the body means that the immune system is already working harder than it normally would (whether there is a true infection to fight or not). "

"I personally can’t consider colloidal or ionic silver as being a method I would want to use as any sort of a long term immune system “booster”."

2many, I don't know if you could convert the dosages properly, maybe if we know the exact dose that they gave the rats, maybe by body weight, and convert it so we could know the safe amount to do what some of the doctors who have been treating this plague. They are giving some of the medications in "pulses". I was just thinking that if we could figure out how much to take, and how long exactly it would take it to be expelled from our bodies, that it might could be taken that way, without the dangers of it building up dangerous toxicity. You even noted in your research that it has been proven to have some antibiotic properties, so it might just be something to think about. I, for one, am afraid to take it on a daily basis, as I has read some things earlier on that if it builds up in your body it can be very dangerous. Am I mistaken in the fact that it is like, or the same as, any other heavy metals?

I hope that my thoughts have not offended anyone. I feel like we are all here to help, and I do, in my heart, feel like the silver would have some great benefits, if used properly, and not allowed to build up in our systems.

I would also like to say that I appreciate you both for your contributions on this forum.

Thanks, and God bless you both

Niecy

[hilly]

Neicy..... I am taking the silver internally and was wiping it on my lesion among other things. until it cleared up... I certainly did'nt mean to imply that anyone was brain washed, just stating that my dog could not have overheard or read that colloidal silver would be good for him.. It just was. He did'nt know that the stuff I squirted on him tumour was anything other than water, but it certainly brought instant relief...... Milly x

[niecy]

Hi Milly, how much, and how long did you take the silver internally? Do you take it on a daily basis, or kind of like a pulse like I was asking in my last post.

I believe it would be a good product to take, as long as you gave one dose(large, like a pulse med) enough time to be completely excreted from your body before you took another dose.

Also, everyone seems to believe that whatever this organism is that is causing our illness adapts very quickly, and I personally have found that to be true. I have taken three 10 day rounds of Flagyl, before starting on the Vanderbilt Protocol. The first round produced some very positive results, as the sores started trying to heal, and most noticably, the rough tangles of whatever these hideous creatures are that were in my hair(which instead of cutting off short, I let grow long enough to keep it pulled back, then I can fix it like I like it if I have a special occaison), they disappeared within 4 or 5 days. The rounds were all 10 days, and it was just one 100mg capsule. The second round was barely noticeable, and I quit halfway through the third, because all I was getting was the metallic taste in my mouth with no noticable results as far as the lesions, hair, or internally.

On the other hand, I am on the Vanderbilt Protocol now, and it has a "pulse dose" of Flagyl once a week of 500mgs, it makes me sick everytime I take it for about three days, but........there are alot of the black and white fibers coming out of the lesions, and my eyes, ears, and nose(yuck). I'm sure it is the combination of drugs, but I am not as short of breath(clinically diagnosed with Cpn) and the sores are slowly, but surely healing.

I wonder, you said that you used the silver topically also, if it would absorb into the skin and build any toxicity in the body in that manner. I am not trying to be antagonistic, I am really just taking advantage of some pretty smart cookies on this forum, being as I, as I am sure you have had the same experiences, have not had ANY luck in the professional field of medicine.

If someone does not in the near future tell me that using it topically could be dangerous as far as absorbing into the body, then I am definitly going to try it on the lesions.

Has anyone found anything at all that helps the scars, mine are quite hideous, and it is particularly hard on me, as I am very hot natured, and do NOT like wearing long sleeves.

Best to you and yours Milly, xxxNiecy

[hilly]

Neicy.... I take about 20 mls in the little pot they give you.. I'm not very accurate, just poor some in and then swill it around in my mouth for about 2 mins. My lesion on my forehead, actually two little ones were not very bad, and I just wiped some CS over them a few times and they have cleared up... But the most impressive was spraying it on Toby's leg. It really did bring him relief and took away the pain for a few hours..

Good luck Neicy, Millyx

[niecy]

Milly hi, I hate to be a bother, but I'm not sure how to convert 20mls? And are you saying that you take it on a daily basis, and for how long? Do you just swill it around in your mouth and spit it out, or do you swallow it?

Thanks for your reply, and the best of wishes to you too.

Niecyxx

Originally Posted by Milly

Neicy.... I take about 20 mls in the little pot they give you.. I'm not very accurate, just poor some in and then swill it around in my mouth for about 2 mins. My lesion on my forehead, actually two little ones were not very bad, and I just wiped some CS over them a few times and they have cleared up... But the most impressive was spraying it on Toby's leg. It really did bring him relief and took away the pain for a few hours..

Good luck Neicy, Millyx

[hilly]

Hello again Neicy ...;>) A little plastic pot holding 25mls arrives with the bottle. I pour in about 20mls and swill it around in my mouth and gargle a bit for about 2 mins and then swallow it. I do it daily and am on my second bottle, so about 4 weeks so far. Hope this helps. ask anything else if I've not answered it all... Milly x

[rocklady]

Hey Niecy,

I am always trying to figure out how to convert our measurements to metric and found this site helpful as it does the conversions for you automatically and effortlessly. I use it for lengths and volume conversions, probably are other sites good for this that others know of too.

http://www.metric-conversions.org/


Sounds like you have your hands full lately ---- yet are marching forward. It is encouraging to hear that you are having good results in purging some of this gunk.

rl

[niecy]

Thank you very much Rocklady!! I am sure that will come in handy for many things. Yea, I am trying to take all of the meds, and I am having a little bit of what they call a herx, but it hasn't been that bad really. I am still having really bad floaters, although the blurry vision has gotten much better for the time being. How are you doing on your journey? I hope that you are getting better daily.

Thanks!! Niecy

[quote=rocklady ]
Hey Niecy,