Many years ago when I was training in nutrition, I met a qualified therapist who had recommended the use of colloidal silver for years.
I found it very difficult to understand how this could help a health condition and, in fact, there is no evidence to support the claims of the alternative antimicrobial. However, there is another side to the story which is always worth looking at.
Since the 1990s, ‘colloidal silver’, a liquid suspension of microscopic silver particles, has been marketed as an alternative medicine, often claiming impressive ‘cure-all’ qualities.
The effectiveness of these products has never been scientifically proven. Medical authorities and publications advise against the ingestion of colloidal silver preparations, because of their lack of proven effectiveness and because of the risk of adverse side-effects.
Historically, colloidal silver was also used as an internal medication to treat a variety of diseases. Their use was largely discontinued in the 1940s, due to the development of safe and effective modern antibiotics and concern about adverse side-effects.
Colloidal silver is a suspension of ultrafine silver particles in liquid. It is often claimed to cure a catalogue of ills, ranging from AIDS and cancer to diabetes.
Silver was the antimicrobial of choice before the introduction of antibiotics (Surg. Infect., Larchmt 2009). However, when it comes to the colloidal silver products on the market today (which are usually meant to be taken by mouth), there is little evidence to support their efficacy.
Colloidal silver reportedly acts as a catalyst, disabling the enzyme that all one-celled bacteria, viruses and fungi need to metabolise oxygen. This done, they suffocate, purportedly with no harm to human enzymes and other working parts of the body’s chemistry.
Few conventional drugs can claim to be so finely targeted, perhaps with the exception of ‘bacteriophages’ which I wrote about some weeks ago.
Some test tube studies suggest that colloidal silver is a powerful antimicrobial agent. In one study it was able to kill the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria which cause a range of conditions from acne to pneumonia (Med. Eng. Phys., 2008).
In another study in India and the US, researchers tested a liquid silver solution together with 19 antibiotics against seven bacterial strains, but excluding those that were resistant. Out of 96 tests, the combination was effective in all but two (Curr. Sci., 2006).
However, there is little research with humans. The results in a test tube do not necessarily equate to the same results when used with people.
It has been recorded that high doses of colloidal silver can lead to vomiting, diarrhoea, seizures, coma and even death (Dermatol. Online J., 2005).
While there is little evidence to support the use of oral colloidal silver, a number of studies suggest that silver compounds applied topically may be useful treatment for burns and other wounds.
In fact, silver sulphadiazine (a topical cream combining silver nitrate with a sulphonamide antibiotic) has been used to manage burns-related infections for the past 40 years, although recent findings suggest the cream may also be delaying wound healing and may even have serious cell-killing actions (Burns, 2007).
In recent times, silver impregnated dressings have gained in popularity. This is mainly due to the increase of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
In the laboratory, silver has proven antibacterial activity against a wide range of bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant strains (Am. J. Nurs., 2006). In human trials, silver releasing dressings generally show ‘positive effects’ on chronically infected wounds. (J. Clin. Nurs., 2008).
According to some reports, much of the danger surrounding colloidal silver is related to the fact that we don’t know exactly how much silver is in the solution or the size of the silver particles.
Even though the product labelling may seem clear, the term ‘ppm’ does not refer to the number of particles in the solution, but to their weight. Silver particles can range from 0.005 to 0.015 microns in diameter. The smaller the diameter, the greater the number of particles.
As an example, this means that a product with a concentration of 5ppm with an average particle size of 0.005 microns will contain more silver particles than a product of 25ppm with an average size of 0.0015 microns. This would result in a few calculations if you were buying a product, off the shelf, before you committed to the purchase.
So, despite the fact that the US Environmental Protection Agency has established a non-lethal oral reference dose for silver (5meg/kg body weight); it may be difficult to know if you are exceeding this level or not.
Ultimately, while the manufacturers of colloidal silver insist that their products are safe and effective; until more research is carried out (or the labelling becomes easier and more informative) we just don’t know if this is true.
The reports and comments about colloidal silver on the internet are mixed and interesting to read. Ever since I heard about it, all those years ago, I had always wanted to research it and try to find how it could help with ailments; I am still not convinced regarding oral use.
kathryn@maltanet.net