Colloidal Silver and Vitamin C *WARNING! Graphic depiction of Agyria!*

[benjamin]

Dr. Steve,
is there any evidence to support the claims that Colloidal Silver (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloidal_silver) has healing properties?

What about mega-dosing vitamin C?

What do you think?

[Dr Steve]

Dr. Steve,
is there any evidence to support the claims that Colloidal Silver (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloidal_silver) has healing properties?

What about mega-dosing vitamin C?

What do you think?


Colloidal Silver has been used as an "alternative" medicine for a long time. Unintentional silver poisoning can occur from taking this preparation. Effects of poisoning include blue-grey skin, liver and kidney damage.

This is what silver does to your skin (it's called ARGYRIA):
http://image.aladdin.co.kr/Community/mypaper/Pimg76576419339452.jpg

Having said all that, we do use silver in medicine, especially as an antibacterial. Silver Sulfadiazine is also called "SILVADENE" and is used in burn patients (mostly) to prevent skin infections.

There is no known medical indication for the ingestion of silver, so I can't recommend it as an "alternative" regimen (and I have an open mind about these things). No matter what anyone tells you, silver is not an essential mineral for humans. No one has ever had a "silver deficiency". Just doesn't work that way.


Vitamin C is another thing altogether. It IS a required nutrient...we cannot manufacture vitamin C and it is required for a lot of processes in the human body so you MUST ingest it. The typical Vitamin C deficiency syndrome is "scurvy" which causes breakdown of the capillaries in the skin (among other things). It's really hard to get scurvy these days though I've seen a case or two in mountain men who eat nothing but canned beans.

Vitamin C has been used as chemotherapy, and there is a very small study (three patients, culled from god-knows how many) that indicated that Vitamin C is at least still worth looking at. (See below).

I wouldn't just megadose myself without a doctor's supervision. Vitamin C can be toxic to the GI tract in larger doses...the cancer study looked at intravenous vitamin C. Vitamin C may still hold some surprises for us all; Linus Pauling was convinced it was most awesome, but a physicist dabbling in medicine is kind of like a medical doctor criticizing a physicist for the way he presents his material...

...oh.


:smile:


here's the study I alluded to above. Make of it what you will. It ain't proof, it's barely evidence, but it is interesting.

CMAJ. 2006 Mar 28;174(7):937-42.

Intravenously administered vitamin C as cancer therapy: three cases.

Padayatty SJ, Riordan HD, Hewitt SM, Katz A, Hoffer LJ, Levine M.

Molecular and Clinical Nutrition Section, Digestive Diseases Branch, National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, Md 20892-1372,
USA.

Comment in:
CMAJ. 2006 Mar 28;174(7):956-7.

Early clinical studies showed that high-dose vitamin C, given by intravenous and
oral routes, may improve symptoms and prolong life in patients with terminal
cancer. Double-blind placebo-controlled studies of oral vitamin C therapy showed
no benefit. Recent evidence shows that oral administration of the maximum
tolerated dose of vitamin C (18 g/d) produces peak plasma concentrations of only
220 micromol/L, whereas intravenous administration of the same dose produces
plasma concentrations about 25-fold higher. Larger doses (50-100 g) given
intravenously may result in plasma concentrations of about 14,000 micromol/L. At
concentrations above 1000 micromol/L, vitamin C is toxic to some cancer cells but
not to normal cells in vitro. We found 3 well-documented cases of advanced
cancers, confirmed by histopathologic review, where patients had unexpectedly
long survival times after receiving high-dose intravenous vitamin C therapy. We
examined clinical details of each case in accordance with National Cancer
Institute (NCI) Best Case Series guidelines. Tumour pathology was verified by
pathologists at the NCI who were unaware of diagnosis or treatment. In light of
recent clinical pharmacokinetic findings and in vitro evidence of anti-tumour
mechanisms, these case reports indicate that the role of high-dose intravenous
vitamin C therapy in cancer treatment should be reassessed.

[Chigworthy]

I think it is interesting what was used as medicine in the past. Ingesting mercury (quicksilver) was once used as a miracle drug for many ailments, such as kidney stones. I wonder what idiotic thing we use now will be looked back upon as ridiculous.

[SinA]

I wonder what idiotic thing we use now will be looked back upon as ridiculous.

Maybe seeking medical advice on a messageboard?


I keeed.

[opie's twisted balls]

http://image.aladdin.co.kr/Community/mypaper/Pimg76576419339452.jpg
Cool!!!

I think a good bit would be to feed ESD colloidal silver till he takes on a cheery redish shiny glow. Would be perfect for the Christmas season.

[opie's twisted balls]

http://i34.tinypic.com/nq7lv8.jpg

[keithy_19]

http://image.aladdin.co.kr/Community/mypaper/Pimg76576419339452.jpg


So this is why Tin-Man wanted a heart...

[Dr Steve]

I think it is interesting what was used as medicine in the past. Ingesting mercury (quicksilver) was once used as a miracle drug for many ailments, such as kidney stones. I wonder what idiotic thing we use now will be looked back upon as ridiculous.

chemotherapy will eventually be seen as a barbaric practice once we get the whole immunology and genetic thing worked out.

I've seen this happen in medicine already...beta blockers used to be totally contraindicated in congestive heart failure. matter of fact, if you had a patient with CHF on a beta blocker and they went bad, you could get sued for it.

Now, if you DON'T have them on a beta blocker it's malpractice. Go figure.

The main thing to take from that is that we're always willing to learn new things and toss out old ideas when a better one presents itself. At least that's what we're supposed to do.

[Misteriosa]

i first heard of colloidal silver when this guy went on the today show. he reminds me on an anime character...

http://www.frickmeout.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/1211606.jpg

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22536241/

[IMSlacker]

http://www.frickmeout.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/1211606.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_And6Oce4ozc/SfW8aWfuOAI/AAAAAAAAAF4/lomJxV7dc7Y/s400/papa-smurf.jpg

[Misteriosa]

exactly...

[Lynn_A]

But we do not serve one another well when we present examples that have nothing to do with the original question.

The Blue Man? He was not using colloidal silver. He was making silver chloride and using that, instead. How many photographers do we have on board? The Blue Man was ingesting large quantities of silver chloride and was also rubbing it on his skin. He was also using a tanning bed. Again, how many photographers do we have here? What happens when paper treated with silver chloride (that would be photographic paper, BTW) is exposed to light? Is there any wonder his skin changed color?

A true colloidal silver will not cause argyria. I've been using silver internally and topically for 9+ years with absolutely no side effects. My skin has not changed color in the least. If you want to learn more about silver chloride, silver protein, ionic silver and colloidal silver, check out this site - Colloidal Minerals (http://www.purestcolloids.com). Why pay for (increasingly ineffective) antibiotics and a doctor's visit, when small quantities of silver can knock down an infection? Or bad breath. Or body odor. Or smelly shoes? Colloidal silver has a lot of uses and argyria is not a side effect of its use.

[Kevin]

GODDAMMIT!

How many photographers DO we have here?


I NEED TO KNOW!!!

[KC2OSO]

But we do not serve one another well when we present examples that have nothing to do with the original question.

The Blue Man? He was not using colloidal silver. He was making silver chloride and using that, instead. How many photographers do we have on board? The Blue Man was ingesting large quantities of silver chloride and was also rubbing it on his skin. He was also using a tanning bed. Again, how many photographers do we have here? What happens when paper treated with silver chloride (that would be photographic paper, BTW) is exposed to light? Is there any wonder his skin changed color?

A true colloidal silver will not cause argyria. I've been using silver internally and topically for 9+ years with absolutely no side effects. My skin has not changed color in the least. If you want to learn more about silver chloride, silver protein, ionic silver and colloidal silver, check out this site - Colloidal Minerals (http://www.purestcolloids.com). Why pay for (increasingly ineffective) antibiotics and a doctor's visit, when small quantities of silver can knock down an infection? Or bad breath. Or body odor. Or smelly shoes? Colloidal silver has a lot of uses and argyria is not a side effect of its use.

If you can, lick my pusy. :wub: lol