Throughout history silver has been used as a preservative and to fight infections. Colloidal silver is a suspension of the element silver in a solution, usually water. Silver, like mercury, was used as a medicine starting in the late 1800s. Its primary application was as a topical antiseptic. Use of silver, in the form of silver nitrate solution, is still required by law in most states to be used in newborns as a topical eye drop to prevent eye infections.

Colloidal Silver 10 ppm, 2 fluid oz (60 cc) dropper top
Sovereign Silver
Natural-Immunogenics Corp

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Colloidal silver side effects and potential toxicity
Argyria is a condition of excess silver in the body. The estimated amount of silver accumulation over a one-year period that is required to produce argyria is 1 to 5 grams. This amount is very large compared to the 50 mcg typically recommended and consumed by people using over the counter colloidal silver products. Using the most conservative figure, 1,000 mg (1 gram) of silver corresponds to the silver content in 100 liters of 10 ppm colloidal silver. PPM stands for parts per million.

Benefit of Colloidal Silver -- Dr. Sahelian's opinion on Colloidal Silver
I find it very difficult to form an opinion on colloidal silver. On one hand, I have come across several people who swear that colloidal silver -- when used as eye drops 1-2 drops 3-4 times a day-- quickly healed their conjunctivitis or sty, or reduced the severity of pharyngitis when gargled in water, but the one study I have come across recently did not indicate colloidal silver was able to prevent bacterial growth on an agar plate. Perhaps colloidal silver is effective against viruses. So, considering all factors, if I were to make a decision, I would say colloidal silver is worth a try for a few days in cases of conjunctivitis or sty or perhaps other mild infections, but it should not be used for longer than one week at a time. The use of colloidal silver should be done under medical supervision.

Colloidal Silver side effects
The use by the general public of colloidal silver can lead to side effects, namely blue-gray hyperpigmentation. Argyria was common in the past when oral medicines contained silver. However, since colloidal silver supplements have become more popular, colloidal silver ingestion should be considered as a cause when a patient present to the doctor's office with blue-gray hyperpigmented skin.

An argyria case reported.
A 16-year-old boy developed blue-gray pigmentation of his entire body after ingesting a silver-containing dietary supplement for a year. The product, packaged so that it was identical to bottled water, was
touted as a preventive for everyday infections. [Wickless SC, Schwader TA. Medical mystery -- The answer. New England Journal of Medicine 352:2349-2350, 2004] This is at least the tenth such case
reported in the United States within the past five years. [Barrett S. Colloidal silver: Risk without benefit. Quackwatch Web site, revised 11/30/04] http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/silverad.html

Colloidal silver as an antimicrobial agent: fact or fiction?
J Wound Care. 2004 Apr;13(4):154-5.
Colloidal silver preparations are marketed on the internet as omnipotent antimicrobial agents, but scientific support for these claims is lacking. This study reports the results of in vitro tests of colloidal silver's antimicrobial activity against several pathogenic or non-pathogenic microorganisms. METHOD: Three samples of colloidal silver were tested: one available commercially on the internet (silver concentration of 22 ppm) and two samples (concentrations of 403 and 413 ppm) which were prepared in our laboratory using standard chemical methods. RESULTS: In an agar-well diffusion assay none of the three colloidal silver solutions had any effect on the growth of the test organisms. All tested bacterial strains were sensitive to ciprofloxacin. Colloidal silver 22 ppm showed no bactericidal activity in phenol coefficient tests. CONCLUSION: As the tested colloidal silver solutions did not show any antimicrobial effect in vitro on the microorganisms, claims of colloidal silver's antimicrobial potency are misleading and there is no place for it as an antiseptic.

Myoclonic status epilepticus following repeated oral ingestion of colloidal silver.
Neurology. 2004 Apr 27;62(8):1408-10.
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.

Argyria associated with colloidal silver supplementation.
Department of Dermatology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City,
Int J Dermatol. 2003 Jul;42(7):549.
A 65-year-old male presented for skin examination and was incidentally noted to have discoloration of the fingernails. These findings were completely asymptomatic. The patient had been taking colloidal silver supplementation (Silverzone 140 ppm silver Gifts of Nature, St. George, UT, USA) for 2 years as therapy for diabetes. He first noticed the onset of nail discoloration 1 year ago. His past medical history included type II diabetes and hypertension. His current medications were metformin, glyburide, and benazepril. Physical examination revealed slate-gray discoloration involving the lunulae of the fingernails (Fig. 1). The skin, mucous membranes, and sclerae were unaffected.

Over-the-counter drug products containing colloidal silver ingredients or silver salts.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Public Health Service (PHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Final rule.
Fed Regist. 1999 Aug 17;64(158):44653-8.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a final rule establishing that all over-the-counter (OTC) drug products containing colloidal silver ingredients or silver salts for internal or external use are not generally recognized as safe and effective and are misbranded. FDA is issuing this final rule because many OTC drug products containing colloidal silver ingredients or silver salts are being marketed for numerous serious disease conditions and FDA is not aware of any substantial scientific evidence that supports the use of OTC colloidal silver ingredients or silver salts for these disease conditions.

Silver products for medical indications: risk-benefit assessment.
J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1996;34(1):119-26. Fung MC, Bowen DL. Center of Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, Maryland.
Legitimate medicinal use of silver-containing products has dramatically diminished over the last several decades. Recently, however, some manufacturers have begun to enthusiastically promote oral colloidal silver proteins as mineral supplements and for prevention and treatment of many diseases. Indiscriminate use of silver products can lead to toxicity such as argyria. To assist health care professionals in a risk versus benefit assessment of over-the-counter silver-containing products, we herein examine the following issues: historical uses, chemistry, pharmacology, clinical toxicology, case reports of adverse events in the literature, and the recent promotion of over-the-counter silver products. Other sources of silver exposure (including environmental and dietary) and EPA exposure standards are discussed. A list of currently available silver products is provided for easy reference and screening. We emphasize the lack of established effectiveness and potential toxicity of these products.

Colloidal Silver emails
Q. I've recently been diagnosed for the 2nd time with lyme disease ... was bitten by an infected tick in November 2003 and then lightning struck twice and was bitten by another infected tick in September 2005. Symptoms are dismal joint pain and memory loss. Am 34 and have had the traditional anti-biotic treatment to no apparent avail. Do you know if colloidal silver would be helpful for lyme disease? And if it is, have you any idea how much would be needed or what type of colloidal.silver product would be most beneficial.
   A. We have not seen much research regarding the relationship between lyme disease and colloidal silver, so not much can be said at this time.

Q. i found your colloidal silver web site and need just a tiny bit of help. I suffer from severe blepharitis. Can i use colloidal silver directly in my eyes for this problem?
   A. We have not seen any research with over the counter commercially available colloidal silver products and blepharitis treatment so we can't give any such advice at this time.

Q. Is colloidal silver supplement good for Hepatitis C infection?
   A. I have not come across any studies administering colloidal silver to patients with hepatitis C.

Colloidal silver press release from Source Natural received Oct 2007
It's come to our attention that Sovereign Silver (also known as Hydrosol) has been mentioning the Source Naturals Colloidal Silver product. They've been distributing photographs that supposedly demonstrate Source Naturals Colloidal Silver particle size is too large and agglomerated while their particle size is smaller and homogeneous. this is our viewpoint: 1) The electron microscope photos they're showing people would have to have been taken after the product has dried, and therefore would not be representative of what the true particle size and homogeneous nature of the product is. 2) The most accurate method of measuring particle size in colloidal suspension is the laser light scattering technique. 3) We had an independent lab conduct a laser light scattering test on both Source Naturals Silver and Sovereign Silver. 4) These independent tests conclude that our mean particle size is around 0.3352 um (microns) and the competitor's product is 1.8383 um. Source Naturals particle size is about 18% of their particle size!
Additionally, based on the graphs of the particle size distribution, one can conclude that our particles are more evenly distributed than the competitors.
   Comments by Dr. Sahelian: I don't know how to interpret this dispute. The only way to tell for sure which product is better is to do a clinical study comparing them.

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