Colloidal silver[1] may well be one of the most controversial remedies of the 21st century. According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), “Colloidal silver is not safe or effective for treating any disease or condition.”[2]

The NCCAM comments further, “There is no scientific evidence for effectiveness and a severe risk for serious side effects from colloidal silver.”[3]

But the story doesn’t end there. Interestingly, the NCCAM refers to colloidal silver as “a replacement for conventional medical care.” Yet, for nearly 6,000 years, silver has played a significant role as a known antibiotic in conventional medical care. This has been true even into the 20th century during which the medical community relied on silver’s effectiveness in preventing and treating bacterial infections.[4]

5 ways to benefit from colloidal silverIn fact, a review of the medical literature led Dr. J. Wesley Alexander of the Department of Surgery at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine to conclude, “Silver has been used for at least six millennia to prevent microbial infections. It has been effective against almost all organisms tested and has been used to treat numerous infections and noninfectious conditions, sometimes with striking success.”[5]

Silver apparently ceased to be a part of conventional medical practice, not because of its ineffectiveness, but because of the introduction of antibiotics during the 20th century.[6] So, why the current upsurge in interest about colloidal silver today?

Ironically, colloidal silver is again gaining popularity as an antimicrobial because the overuse and misuse of antibiotics has resulted in new strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The ineffectiveness of antibiotics against these superbugs is so well recognized that a spokesman for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared this, “The end of antibiotics.”[7]

Recent research has demonstrated that colloidal silver can destroy antibiotic-resistant microbes like MRSA.[8] In addition to colloidal silver’s innate antibacterial properties, it has been found to render antibiotics up to 1,000 times more effective against resistant bacteria.[9]

What of the Dangers of Colloidal Silver?

As a supplement, silver may come in three common forms:

  • Ionic silver
  • Silver protein
  • Colloidal silver

True colloidal silver is the only preparation recommended by healthcare professionals, and then only under supervision by a qualified health practitioner.[10] The most commonly cited warning about taking silver internally is argyria, which permanently turns the skin a blue-gray color. This problem does not occur with recommended dosages of true colloidal silver.[11]

However, logic prompts me to ask two questions about ingesting colloidal silver:[12]

  1. Silver is a “heavy metal”. Do I knowingly want to introduce a heavy metal into my body?
  2. Since silver kills bacteria, what about the good flora in my gut? Will silver kill the good microbes too (like antibiotics do)?

Perhaps if I was fighting an antibiotic-resistant bacteria, I would risk taking colloidal silver to rid myself of such an infection. Many people do, apparently with no ill-effects. And those who find that colloidal silver depletes their good flora simply supplement with probiotics.[13]

But on a daily basis, the body does not need silver. Silver is not an essential mineral. Therefore, I cannot see drinking colloidal silver as a routine supplement like one might take vitamin D or fish oil.

However, many people love colloidal silver and its varied applications. Below are 5 ways you might benefit from colloidal silver:[14]

  1. Apply colloidal silver topically to a wound to prevent or halt infection.
  2. Use a spray bottle to mist a burn, sunburn, or insect bites for relief and to avoid infection.
  3. Colloidal silver can stop pink eye, athlete’s foot, yeast infections, toenail fungus, and shingles.
  4. Use colloidal silver as a natural hand disinfectant at home or in public.
  5. Colloidal silver also works as a disinfectant for your kitchen and bathroom.

When it comes to other colloidal silver applications, just think “antibiotic”.

As antibiotics become less and less effective, we will have to turn to other means for battling bacterial infections. Perhaps colloidal silver will be that “silver bullet?”

For more of nature’s original antibiotics known for centuries, check out Home Cures That Work. 

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Rob_FischerRob Fischer has been writing professionally for over 35 years. His experience includes writing curricula, study guides, articles, blogs, newsletters, manuals, workbooks, training courses, workshops, and books. Rob has written for numerous churches, for Burlington Northern Railroad, Kaiser Aluminum, and Barton Publishing. He has also trained managers in effective business writing. Rob holds two Master’s degrees, both focused heavily on writing. Rob has published eleven books and serves as an editor and ghostwriter for other authors.
Sources:
[1] Silver is a non-soluble metal. “Colloidal” simply means that microscopic particles of silver are suspended in a solution.
[2] National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), “Colloidal Silver,” March 2013, http://nccam.nih.gov/health/silver.
[3] NCCAM.
[4] Dr. J. Wesley Alexander, “History of the Medical Use of Silver,” Vol. 10, Number 3, 2009, http://tse.colloidalsilverkillsviruses.com/pdf/history.pdf.
[5] Dr. J. Wesley Alexander.
[6] Dr. J. Wesley Alexander.
[7] Dr. Mercola, “The Age of Antibiotics Is Coming to an End, as Wider Variety of Bacteria Are Now Impervious,” November 9, 2013, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/11/09/antibiotic-drugs.aspx.
[8] Dr. Mercola, “New Guidelines for Safe Usage of Colloidal Silver,” February 7, 2009, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/07/new-guidelines-released-for-safe-usage-of-colloidal-silver-supplements.aspx.
[9] Dr. Mercola, “Research on Antibiotics Reveals Silver Acts as a Booster, While Mixing Certain Antibiotic with Statins Can Be Devastating,” July 3, 2013, http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/03/antibiotics-colloidal-silver.aspx.
[10] Dr. Mercola, “Research on Antibiotics Reveals Silver Acts as a Booster, While Mixing Certain Antibiotic with Statins Can Be Devastating.”
[11] Dr. Mercola, “Research on Antibiotics Reveals Silver Acts as a Booster, While Mixing Certain Antibiotic with Statins Can Be Devastating.”
[12] The Healthy Home Economist, “Why I Never Consume Colloidal Silver,” nd, http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/never-consume-colloidal-silver/.
[13] Steve Barwick, “Ways to Use Colloidal Silver for Maximum Infection-Fighting Benefits,” Altered States, nd, http://altered-states.net/barry/update244/.
[14] Steve Barwick.

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