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Historically.... A Common Antiseptic
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Silver was used medicinally for thousands of years. In fact, it was
used successfully until the early part of the 20th century as an
antibiotic and prophylactic against disease. People used to put silver
coins in milk to keep it from spoiling. However, with the introduction
of antibiotics in the 1940’s, silver dropped from use.
Like many other remedies of the past, colloidal silver is being
rediscovered. Its powerful yet gentle and effective anti-microbial
action spells death to one-celled organisms, yet, it is completely
harmless to multicellular animals.
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FDA Interference
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At one time, the FDA stated that because colloidal silver was a pre-
1938 drug (by fifty years), it could continue to be marketed in the
same manner as before 1938. However, they reversed this stance in a
subsequent statement.
Because of the latest FDA ruling, one can discuss colloidal silver’s
ability to kill Staphlococcus, Streptococcus,
Candida, and 650 other microbes, but, one cannot make any claims
that it will cure any of the diseases these organisms cause, such as
strep throat, pneumonia, ringworm, etc. Regardless
of what diseases colloidal silver cured, or what research was done
prior to 1938, claims about colloidal silver’s efficacy against
diseases cannot be made today without going through the long, expensive
FDA drug approval process. Meanwhile, more and more organisms become
resistant to today’s antibiotics.
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Limitations of Antibiotics
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Even when first discovered, antibiotics are effective against only a
limited number of organisms (usually half a dozen or less per drug). As
these microbes mutate over time, resistant strains develop, not against
just one, but many antibiotics. Due to the heavy use of antibiotics,
modern medicine’s arsenal of weapons grows smaller as many common as
well as exotic pathogens now exhibit multiple drug resistance
(MDR).
The first penicillin-resistant bacterium discovered was the one
responsible for causing an epidemic in Papua, New Guinea in 1967,
before the Surgeon General of the United States testified before
Congress in 1969, stating: The time has come to close the book
on infectious diseases.
Resistant strains of pneumococcal pneumonia have now spread worldwide
and are responsible for killing tens of thousands of elderly Americans.
Pneumococcus is also the causative agent in about 50% of pediatric
middle ear infections.
Often, the largest risk to patients today is not surgery that brings
them to the hospital, but the nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections
that are all too commonly spread by direct and indirect contact of
patients and staff.
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What is Colloidal Silver?
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Being a true colloid, the particles are extremely small, 0.01 to 0.001
microns in diameter (one micron is equal to one millionth of a meter),
electrically charged, and suspended in distilled, de-ionized water. A
flashlight held against the solution will show a light cloud containing
the particles. If the silver is 99.999% pure, the liquid will have a
very pale, yellowish cast.
It must be stored in the dark, as with photographic paper also
containing silver, it will “turn” if left in light. A pure solution of
colloidal silver does not need and should not have preservatives,
stabilizers, or any additives.
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What is Colloidal Silver?
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Colloidal silver has been shown to kill all one-celled, disease-causing
organisms tested — in six minutes or less (over 650 species of
bacteria, fungi and viruses have been tested, so far). The silver acts
as a catalyst, disabling an enzyme these microbes require for oxygen
metabolism. With a basic metabolic function shutdown, the microbes
can't mutate and consequently, can't develop resistance to the
silver.
The best method for producing colloidal silver today (by the electro-
colloidal process) is considered superior to those of the past. If done
correctly, the colloidal particles in the suspension are within proper
range of size, and are uniformly charged.
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Uses of Colloidal Silver
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Colloidal silver was used orally, topically, and intravenously in the
past. No overdoses or drug interactions have been described or
documented in the literature. The Environmental Protection Agency’s
Poison Control Center reports no toxicity listing for colloidal silver,
considering it harmless in any concentration.
There is an adult Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for silver—yet it
is mysteriously absent from the ingredients on multiple vitamin and
mineral supplements. Research done in the 1940s and 1960s showed that
average normal diets included 50 - 100mcg of silver. But due to
intensive agriculture and the subsequent mineral depletion of our
soils, the average diet today is deficient in trace minerals: chromium,
selenium, silver and others.
As a daily supplement, it has been suggested that adults take 1 tsp.
for four days, then 1/2 tsp. daily thereafter (children are given the
same proportion by body weight). For infections or prophylaxis,
literature suggested that adults have taken 1 tsp. twice daily for
seven days, then 112 tsp. for seven days. Eating yogurt or taking
Lactobacillus acidophilus capsules (found with vitamins in discount
stores) approximately three hours after the silver, has been
recommended. However, at the concentration of 3 - 5ppm, colloidal
silver should have little effect on beneficial bacteria in the gut.
Higher concentrations are not needed, as they tend to kill some
beneficial bacteria, as well as the pathogenic.
Silver has been used as a gargle and for nose drops. To open sinuses, a
small amount was poured in the left hand, (holding right nostril closed
with right hand) while it was “snorted” up the nasal passage. The
process was then repeated on the right side.
It has also been used as a digestive aid, and to prevent flatulence.
Additionally, colloidal silver was applied topically to clean cuts, to
treat sores, athlete’s foot, eczema, infections, insect bites and any
skin irritation. Dressings were also soaked in the silver and bandaged
over problem areas.
Colloidal silver is used to disinfect drinking water by adding 1/2
teaspoon of a standard dilution (5ppm) to one gallon of water. Stir
well, then wait six minutes before drinking. It has been used also to
sterilize water in swimming pools. It can be added to vaporizers and
humidifiers to keep bacteria from growing in these moist environments.
When preserving foods by canning, add 1/4 teaspoon per quart. It can be
applied by a sprayer to kill plant
infections.__ERR
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Some Uses of Colloidal
Silver
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These are some of the more than 650 diseases and conditions that
colloidal silver was used to treat successfully in the past. This
list in no way should be construed or relied upon as medical advice.
Always consult your health care professional if a serious condition
exists.
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acne
allergies
appendicitis
arthritis
athlete’s foot
bladder inflammation
blood parasites
boils
bubonic plague
burns
cancer
candidiasis
chilblains
cholera
colitis
conjunctivitis
cystitis
dermatitis
diabetes
dysentery
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eczema
fibrositis
gastritis
gonorrhea
herpes
impetigo
indigestion
keratitis
leprosy
leukemia
lupus
lymphagitis
Lymes disease
malaria
meningitis
neurasthenia
pneumonia
pleurisy
prostate problems
pruritus ani
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psoriasis
rheumatism
scarlet fever
septicemia
shingles
skin cancer
staph and strep infections
syphilis
thyroid conditions
tonsillitis
toxemia
trachoma
dermatitis
warts
whooping cough
yeast infections
stomach ulcers
tuberculosis
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- ... in other words, bacterial, fungal, and viral infections. It has
also been used against canine parvovirus and other veterinary
diseases.
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For Additional Reading:
- Higher Education Library Publishers (H.E.L.P. ful news),
Colloidal Silver - A Closer Look, Vol. 9- 11.
- Report: "Colloidal Silver", Health Conciousness, Vol 15, No
4.
- Freundlich, H., The Elements of Colloidal Chemistry,
translated by G. Barger. Methuen & Co. LTD.: London, 1925, p. 131.
- Freundlich, H., Colloid & Capillary Chemistry, Translated by
H. S. Hatfield. E.P. Dutton and Company, Inc.: New York, 1922, p. 740-
742.
- South, James, Electro-Colloidal Silver: The Amazing Anti-
Microbial, Lecture given at Natural Products ExpoWest, 3/10/94.
Available from Teamwork Marketing, PO Box 916, San Anselmo, CA
94979.
- Brentano, L. MD, Margraf, H., Monafo, W.W. MD and Moyer, C.A. MD.
"Antibacterial Efficacy of a Colloidal Silver Complex", Surgical
Forum, Vol. 17, 1966, pp. 76-78.
- Hirschberg, Dr. Leonard Keene, "Electrical Colloids" from an
article out of Johns Hopkins Hospital.
- Kopaczewski, W. "The Pharmaco-dynamics of Colloids," Colloid
Chemistry Theoretical and Applied, ed. J. Alexander, The Chemical
Catalog Company, Inc. New York, NY, Vol 2 1928, p. 962.
- Searle, A.B., The Use of Colloids in Health and Disease.
E.P. Dutton & Company: New York, 1919, p. 75.
- Jim Powell, "Our Mightiest Germ Fighter", Science Digest,
March 1978, p. 59-60.
- Kehoe RA etal, (1940.) Nutr. 19. 579.
- Tipton IH et al,1966. Health Physics 12. 1683.
- W.R Hill, MD and D.M. Pillsbury, MA, MD. Argyria-The
Pharmacology of Silver, Williams & Wilkins Company, 1939.
- Larry C. Ford, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UCLA
School of Medicine, Center For The Health Sciences. 1988 letter
available from Teamwork Marketing, PO Box 916, San Anselmo, CA 94979.
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