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HappyHerbalist 16.9 fl oz. 24 ppm may be diluted to make over one gallon of 3 ppm CS |
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"The EPA publishes a reference
dose (Rfd) for silver which is an estimate of daily exposure to the entire
population that is unlikely to be associated with a
significant risk of adverse effects over a lifetime. The current Rfd for
oral silver exposure is 5 micrograms/kg/day
with a critical dose estimated at 14 micrograms/kg/day...
Based on this Rfd, a 150 pound adult
should not exceed 350 micrograms/day."
Argyria is caused by the same mechanism that is used
when developing photographs. It
is the same thing. If you start with a salt of silver, and expose it to
light, some of it will reduce to silver metal.
Then if you have a developer (caffeine is a good developer)
in an alkaline solution (blood is normally alkaline), additional silver will plate out from the compound
onto the metallic particles, making them grow.
That is the photographic process, and that is how one gets
argyria. Now, the process requires silver salts.
There are no substitutes. Colloidal
silver contains no silver salts.
Basically silver salts are what are in
unexposed film. Silver colloid is what is in a
developed photograph. If you
put a developed photo into the sun
what does it do. It fades, it doesn't turn
darker. That is because a developed photo has no silver salts to add to the silver particles since it
is already nothing but reduced silver particles. Thus colloidal silver
cannot cause argyria. Theoretically I guess one could take CS with sufficient
ppm and in sufficient quantity to cause aggregation, but one would likely drown
from too much water first, as the amounts would be truly phenomenal. In years of
pouring over hardcopy of obscure medical cases
no one has yet found a single report of any adverse reaction to very fine
particles of very fine silver floating in very pure water. (please read both of the following letters, the first is the request and the second the FDA's response) U.S. Department Of Health and Human
Services Public Health Service 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, MD 20857 Dear Sirs/Madam, Pursuant to the Freedom of Information
Act and in regard your August 17th, 1999 ruling regarding colloidal silver,
could you please supply the following documentation on which you based your
decision? 1. The number of deaths related to the
consumption of colloidal silver. 2. The number of allergic reactions to
the consumption of colloidal silver. 3. The number of harmful drug
interactions from both OTC and prescription drugs when combined with colloidal
silver. 4. The number of reported cases of
Argyria from colloidal silver made with the AC or DC electrical process. 5. The number of cases of Argyria from
colloidal silver that did not contain protein stabilizers. Thank you for your time and
consideration of this request. Sincerely, Brent Finnegan The
FDA response: Public Health Service Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Office of Training and Communication Freedom of Information Staff HFD-205 5600 Fishers Lane 12 B 05 Rockville, Maryland 20857 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES November 3, 1999 In Response Refer to File: F99-22589 Brent Finnigan Takoma (sic), WA 98408 Dear Mr. Finnigan: This is in response to your request of
10/14/99, in which you requested
adverse events associated with the use of Colloidal Silver. Your request was
received in the Center for Drug
Evaluation and Research on 10/25/99. We have searched the records from FDA's
Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS)
and have been unable to locate any
cases that would be responsive to your request. Charges of $3.50 (Search $3.50,
Review $0, Reproduction $0, Computer time $0) will be included in a monthly
invoice. DO
NOT SEND ANY PAYMENT UNTIL YOU RECEIVE AN INVOICE. If there are any problems with this
response, please notify us in writing of your specific problem(s). Please reference the above file number. Sincerely, Hal Stepper Freedom of Information Technician Office of Training and Communications Freedom of Information Staff, HFD-205
Quoting
from Alexander G. Schauss, Ph.D. (John
Hopkins University) “…you should be advised that we
recently completed an extensive review of the scientific literature on the afety
of silver, especially as it relates to its one known potential side effect,
namely, Argyria. Argyia is an irreversible discoloration of the pigment (skin)
caused by excessive silver intake or chronic exposure to silver by certain
tissues. The amount of silver required to develop Argyria is estimated to be 3.8
grams per day. By comparison standard 10 ppm colloidal silver contains
silver in amounts equaling less than 1 milligram of silver (1,000 micrograms = 1
milligram; 1,000 milligrams - 1 gram), which therefore represents an amount
approximately 1/500th to 1/1000th of the amount of silver considered to be a
risk in the development of Argyria. Most cases of Argyria reported in the
medical literature over the last 100 years involved chronic intravenous or
intramuscular use of the silver preparations, most often involving a silver drug
prescribed by physicians which in most cases contained silver nitrate. Other
cases of Argyria reported in the medical literature involve application of
silver preparations used for many months or years in the
treatment of the eye or vagina for certain diseases. We could not locate
a single case of orally consumed colloidal silver manufactured in the last 25
years causing Argyria in our review of the literature. This is probably due to
the low levels of silver contained in such preparations, since only very small
amounts of silver are needed for its antiseptic effect. Humans consume
approximately 100 micrograms of silver every day in the diet. Additional amounts
within this range would be considered safe by all reasonable estimates,
especially if the amount needed to develop Argyria would be equivalent of
380,000 micrograms (or 3.8 grams) of silver a day. As for the efficacy of silver
preparations, we found considerable scientific evidence published over the last
75 years that a number of silver compounds can be effective germicidal
(antiseptic) agents against several hundred pathogenic organisms. However,
silver is not termed an antibiotic as some have claimed because an antibiotic by
definition is derived from a living organism. Sincerely, Alexander G. Schauss, Ph.D. Director, Life Sciences Division John Hopkins University Dr.
Alexander Schauss, Ph.D. Alexander G. Schauss, Ph.D., is the
Director of the Life Sciences Division of the American Institute for Biosocial
Research, Inc. in Tacoma, WA. He is a member of the Government's
Commission on Dietary Supplements. He holds joint faculty positions as
Associate Professor of Research and Senior Director of esearch and Development
at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Sciences, in Tempe,
AZ. And, as Associate Professor of Behavioral Sciences
at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, OR. Dr. Schauss is an Emeritus Member
of the New York Academy of Sciences, former Chairman of the Food Policy Council
of the National Council for Public Health Policy, Founding Member of the British
Society of Nutritional Medicine, Emeritus Executive Director of the American
Preventive Medical Association, Emeritus Executive Director and current
President of Citizens for Health,
and a member of the American Public Health Association and the American
Association for the Advancement of
Science. The only negative effect reported
by CS users is a phenomenon called the “Herxheimer
effect”, named after doctor Karl Herxheimer (who identified this
phenomenon). Sometimes, when a person starts off for the first time ingesting a
large amount of CS, the CS is so efficient at killing pathogens in the body that
the body cannot adequately dispose of the dead pathogens through the normal
eliminative organs, and it resorts to the secondary ones, the lungs, sinuses and
skin. Or the CS user may experience diarrhea, as the body tries to flush itself
out. In that case, one merely needs to reduce or temporarily stop the CS until
the healing crisis is over, and then start taking smaller amounts of CS. A new
European Union Drinking Water Standard in draft form has
removed any limitations on silver in drinking water following the World Health
Organization’s “Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality” which states,
"It is unnecessary to recommend any health-based guidelines for silver as
it is not hazardous to human health." According to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Poison Control Center,
CS is considered harmless. Dr.
Samuel Etris, a senior consultant at the Silver Institute, says there has never
been any allergenic, toxic or carcinogenic
reactions to CS. The U.S. Government’s Center for Disease Control confirmed
that fact in 1995.
The term Argyria describes
the condition of a bluish gray color of the skin, and Argyosis the bluing of the
eye white, resulting from the use of SILVER COMPOUNDS. To better understand the
misconception regarding Argyria, I will quote from the book "The Micro
Silver Bullet”™ by Dr. M. Paul
Farber 1996 page XII (ISBN 1-887742-00-X) In
reference to a "Journal of American Medical
Association" article, October 18 1995, volume 274 # 15, where cases of
Argyria were cited to have been
caused by silver compounds (not colloidal silver, but silver mixed with other
metals), note: "These Case history resentations represent biased and
unprofessional writing. The author's apparent
inability to understand the difference between a silver nitrate, sulfide,
or other silver compound demonstrates
their lack of understanding of basic chemical properties. The matrix, substrate,
and particle size are all critical to the varied functions and
reactions with use of these products. That is why there has not been a single
case of Argyria from a properly manufactured modern-day colloidal silver
product. The cases of Argyria reported in the 1920's and 1930's resulted
because the technology of the day was unable to produce a pure colloidal silver
product with a small enough particle size." Ref. (4-A)
The reported cases of Argyria usually involved very high and frequent
doses over extended periods of time of silver salts/compounds such as silver
sulfate, silver nitrate, silver chloride, etc. The Environmental
Protection Agency's Poison Control Center reports no toxicity listing for
Colloidal Silver; it is therefore considered harmless in any concentration.
However all of the silver salts are identified as toxic, although the only
adverse effect noted is Argyria. Therefore the concern is with silver salts not
Colloidal Silver. Dr John Hill D.C. in his book “Colloidal Silver, A
Literature Review” states this: “Critics of colloidal silver sometimes state
that it has been known to cause organ damage, kidney damage, pulmonary edema,
atherosclerosis and death. “These claims appear to be based on a research
study on dogs in which the dogs were deliberately killed by extremely large
lethal doses of silver. At the doses given, any heavy metal and probably many
essential minerals like zinc, iron, copper, etc. would have produced death in
similar fashion." And again "We know that dogs died from injections of
a type of protein-bound silver in dosages ranging from 500 mg to 1.9 grams of
silver depending on the frequency of administration. This was equivalent in
silver content to giving [per day] a 150 pound adult between 150 litres and 570
litres of 10 ppm colloidal silver, or between 75 and 285 liters of 20 ppm
colloidal silver or between 50 and 190 litres of 30 ppm colloidal silver. The 10
gram estimated lethal dose for humans from Goodman and Gillman is equivalent to
1000 liters of 10 ppm colloidal silver." In another case an ndividual
ingested an estimated 124 grams of silver nitrate over a 9-year period. She
developed argyria and an assortment of neurological symptoms as well... This
report is often used by critics to attribute neurological disorders to silver
consumption. They curiously fail to put in perspective the gross difference
between the quantities of silver involved." He also reports: http://www.burnsurgery.org/Betaweb/Modules/silver/section1.htm
Authors: Robert H. Demling, M.D. | Leslie
DeSanti, RN | Dennis P. Orgill, M.D. PhD. Silver has been used for centuries to
prevent and treat a variety of diseases, most notably infections. It has been
well documented that silver was used in ancient Greece and Rome as a
disinfectant for water and other liquid storage. Silver coins were placed in the
jars of liquid to maintain sterility. The American Settlers (1800’s) routinely place a
silver dollar in barrels of liquids to avoid spoilage and more recently NASA has
used silver to maintain water purity on the space shuttle. The free silver ion
or radicals are known to be the active agents of anti-microbial silvers. Of
interest is its extremely potent antibacterial properties as only 1 part per 100
million of elemental silver is effective in a solution. Silver ion kills
micro-organisms instantly by blocking the respiratory enzyme system (energy
production) while having no negative effect on human cells. In 1834 the German obstetrician F. Crede
used a 1% silver nitrate solution as eye drops in newborns, eliminating
blindness caused by post partum eye infections. Numerous studies in the early
1900’s correlated low plasma silver levels with infections, suggesting silver
to be an essential micromineral requiring replacement. Of significant importance
is that no known BACTERIAL RESISTANCE has developed to the silver ion as opposed
to current antibiotics. Charged silver solutions (electro-colloidal) were
approved in the 1920’s by the FDA for use as an antibacterial agent. In addition to its recognized
antibacterial properties silver solutions, especially (electro-colloidal
elemental silver) were reported to improve the healing of "indolent
wounds" and in the regeneration of damaged tissue unrelated to its effects
on infection. The description of decreased rubor in wounds indicates an
anti-inflammatory property of silver. Silver is completely non-toxic to local
tissues and painless upon application. This response must be distinguished from
the response of silver salts, many of which are caustic to tissues, especially
silver nitrate, due to the potent oxidizing or cell damaging effects of nitrate
or nitrite. Virtually all of the reports on the use of the pure elemental silver
to control infection or to increase healing occurred
prior to the 1940’s after which antibiotics became prevalent,
decreasing the use of silver (except in burns). With the recent introduction of
a pure silver delivery system for use in burns and wounds, new data is being
obtained which verifies these historical concepts. Silver was commonly worn in
the Greco-Roman period because of its perceived qualities of "maintaining
health". Section II. WHAT ARE THE BIOLOGIC PROPERTIES OF
SILVER RELATED TO WOUND INFECTION CONTROL AND HEALING? (THE FACTS ABOUT SILVER) Silver has long been known to be a potent
antimicrobial agent and its beneficial effects on wound biology have in general
been overlooked until recently. A description of what silver does and its role
in wound management will be presented briefly with a more complete discussion in
later sections. ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES: The antimicrobial activity of silver ion
is well defined. Silver ion rapidly kills microbes by blocking the cell
respiration pathway. The speed of action is almost instantaneous once the silver
reaches the microbe. The efficacy of microbe killing is based not only on the
amount of silver ion present, but likely also the presence of other silver
radicals generated by a silver releasing product. Because of mechanism of
action, microbial resistance to silver itself has not been reported. In
addition, silver has repeatedly been shown to be non-toxic to human cells.
Toxicity occurs from the complexes used to deliver silver such as nitrate and
sulfadiazine. Section IV IS SILVER TOXIC TO HUMAN TISSUE? There are two well-described (but often
inappropriately interchangeable) forms of silver toxicity. One is due to silver
itself and the second more severe complication is due to the attached compound. SILVER ION TOXICITY (Systemic) Although absorbed silver interacts with
other metals and tissue proteins, these interactions do not appear to be harmful
with the exception of the skin discoloration known as ARGYRIA, a cosmetic
problem. Argyria is a process of silver granule deposition in skin leading to a
permanent blue/gray discoloration. There is no tissue injury. The effect is a
cosmetic problem. The most common causes were not from medicinal use of silver
but rather the constant exposure to silver either as a chemist, silver miner or
long term use of silver cups, plates, etc. Of interest is the fact that the term
"blue blood" used to describe Royalty came from the finding of mild
argyria in European nobility from the constant use of silver place setting,
silverware, and silver cups, along with the frequent ingestion of ground-up
silver metal powder (used as a microbial medicine), leading to a bluish skin
color. Silver granules can be found in all organs including the skin indicating
that the silver aggregates are not cleared. It would therefore appear that any
form of silver if given in large quantity can be a causative factor (at least 10
grams needs to be absorbed). Silver itself has been shown to be
harmless to normal human tissue. The toxicity results from the salt or complexes
that are used to deliver the silver. A pure silver delivery would be the ideal
approach to avoid local toxicity. (J Burn Care Rehabilitation 1999;20:195-200) presented by Ed Kasper L.Ac, Acupuncturist & Herbalist 417 Laurent St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060
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