Colloidal silver

[Vonnie]

I've never heard of this stuff before but it was recommended that I dose the baby up with it to help her immune system. I'm not hugely keen on spoonfeeding my daughter a heavy metal unless I'm sure it's going to be a benefit but the internet is somewhat lacking in information.

I've found this page which seems like a load of shite, and the wikipedia page which doesn't really fill me with information.

Any of you lot use it?

[bikuki]

I've never heard of it, but tbh I think you're right to be wary. Silver is a great antiseptic, but I don't know how beneficial it would be actually ingested.

[Vonnie]

The theory behind the practise is that it kills germs, which is great but if it kills germs couldn't it theoretically also kill my teeny tiny baby? She can't have antibiotics so I can't see how silver would do a better job.

[wee scary burd]

Don't fancy this much at all. Was it the Doctor or Health Visitor that recommended it?

[bikuki]

Silver (as far as I know) doesn't work as an 'antibiotic' as such but as an 'antiseptic'. It does work (there have been silver jugs found with water in them that are decades old and there's no mould growing) and it works well in dressings etc, but as I said I don't know how they would affect a young baby if they were ingested. TBH I wouldn't take it, and seeing as I'm a healthy adult you can see what I'm getting at.

[LesMTS]

To pubmed! There are a few reviews. Seems to be useful as a blunt antimicrobial agent and is apparently completely harmless healthwise (but can cause permanent skin discolouration), but not hugely effective.

A few abstracts from the articles I found...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Complementary and alternative medicine therapies are frequently combined with conventional medical treatment and can significantly affect patient care. In the following case, an adjunctive modality posed a significant health risk to the patient. RECENT FINDINGS: An 11-year-old boy with cystic fibrosis reported a bluish skin color after he began ingesting a colloidal silver solution to facilitate mucus clearance. Serum silver level was elevated to more than twice the upper limit of normal. This finding is highly suggestive of argyria, a typically permanent discoloration of the skin due to dermal silver deposits. In this child, however, the discoloration was transient and the silver level normalized when the therapy was discontinued. SUMMARY: Although a diagnosis of argyria was not formally made, this case reviews the known dangers associated with silver ingestion. Complementary and alternative medicine therapies are common and can both augment and interfere with the traditional standard of care. Informed providers who inquire about the use of these therapies can then discuss the risks and benefits of each utilized modality.

Silver has a long and intriguing history as an antibiotic in human health care. It has been developed for use in water purification, wound care, bone prostheses, reconstructive orthopaedic surgery, cardiac devices, catheters and surgical appliances. Advancing biotechnology has enabled incorporation of ionizable silver into fabrics for clinical use to reduce the risk of nosocomial infections and for personal hygiene. The antimicrobial action of silver or silver compounds is proportional to the bioactive silver ion (Ag(+)) released and its availability to interact with bacterial or fungal cell membranes. Silver metal and inorganic silver compounds ionize in the presence of water, body fluids or tissue exudates. The silver ion is biologically active and readily interacts with proteins, amino acid residues, free anions and receptors on mammalian and eukaryotic cell membranes. Bacterial (and probably fungal) sensitivity to silver is genetically determined and relates to the levels of intracellular silver uptake and its ability to interact and irreversibly denature key enzyme systems. Silver exhibits low toxicity in the human body, and minimal risk is expected due to clinical exposure by inhalation, ingestion, dermal application or through the urological or haematogenous route. Chronic ingestion or inhalation of silver preparations (especially colloidal silver) can lead to deposition of silver metal/silver sulphide particles in the skin (argyria), eye (argyrosis) and other organs. These are not life-threatening conditions but cosmetically undesirable. Silver is absorbed into the human body and enters the systemic circulation as a protein complex to be eliminated by the liver and kidneys. Silver metabolism is modulated by induction and binding to metallothioneins. This complex mitigates the cellular toxicity of silver and contributes to tissue repair. Silver allergy is a known contra-indication for using silver in medical devices or antibiotic textiles.

If you go here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez
And do a search for "colloidal silver ingestion" there are nine published, peer-reviewed reports.

[Vonnie]

Originally Posted by wee scary burd

Don't fancy this much at all. Was it the Doctor or Health Visitor that recommended it?

It was a nurse on the children's ward at Wishaw

[Draven]

Don't you need germs to actually improve the immune system? Like why you should let kids play in mud etc. when their young to improve their immune system. Just wondering if that would actually harm the immune defence system.

[bikuki]

If the child is healthy then a good exposure to dirt and 'germs' is good for the imue development, however if the child is sickly then it's not really recommended

[LesMTS]

Oh dear...

The authors report a case of a 71-year-old man who developed myoclonic status epilepticus and coma after daily ingestion of colloidal silver for 4 months resulting in high levels of silver in plasma, erythrocytes, and CSF. Despite plasmapheresis, he remained in a persistent vegetative state until his death 5.5 months later. Silver products can cause irreversible neurologic toxicity associated with poor outcome.

[Vonnie]

Originally Posted by LesMTS

To pubmed! There are a few reviews. Seems to be useful as a blunt antimicrobial agent and is apparently completely harmless healthwise (but can cause permanent skin discolouration), but not hugely effective.

A few abstracts from the articles I found...





If you go here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez
And do a search for "colloidal silver ingestion" there are nine published, peer-reviewed reports.

Cheers Lesmond I'll have a swatch at that later.

Hmm. Just saw your last post, this is just pushing me towards a no.

Originally Posted by D.G.E.

Don't you need germs to actually improve the immune system? Like why you should let kids play in mud etc. when their young to improve their immune system. Just wondering if that would actually harm the immune defence system.

Well aye, but without giving you her full medical history my wee one's immune system is dreadful (hence the no antibiotics - they'd actually wipe out more good bacteria than bad bacteria and cause her major issues in the long run). That's why I'm looking down the more natural remedy route.

[bikuki]

DON'T EAT METAL, FOLKS!

[Draven]

I'd say that's a no then.

Originally Posted by Vonnie

Cheers Lesmond I'll have a swatch at that later.



Well aye, but without giving you her full medical history my wee one's immune system is dreadful (hence the no antibiotics - they'd actually wipe out more good bacteria than bad bacteria and cause her major issues in the long run). That's why I'm looking down the more natural remedy route.

Ah, understood. My apologies.

[Vonnie]

Hey don't apologise

[Draven]

Originally Posted by Vonnie

Hey don't apologise

Thanks. Hope the wee ones ok. Didn't notice the part of your original post about the immune deficiency, so it was more a case of foot+mouth=me.