Colloidal Silver General Information

Colloidal Silver
General Information

    The following is for general information only and is not based upon any documented references contained herein. The information is provided only as a possible starting point for experiments using experimental animals. Always seek proper medial advice from qualified medical or veterinary practitioners.
    Theoretically, colloidal silver kills bacteria by destroying the bacteria's oxygen metabolism enzyme thereby causing suffocation and that viruses are destroyed as a result of the silver positive ion causing the viruses internal protoplast to collapse there by stopping reproductive ability.
    Generation of colloidal silver involves many variables including: voltage, current, time, water conductivity, volume, and temperature, surface area and distance between electrodes, etc.
   Colloidal silver will go into solution in 8 ounces of distilled water that is at room temperature (72 degrees Fahrenheit), to which two drops of a saline solution have been added, at the rate of approximately 1 ppm concentration for every two and one half (2 1/2) minutes using this unit. A certified colloidal silver concentration of about 6 ppm with water at 72 degrees Fahrenheit will take 15 minutes.
   8 ounces of a pure golden yellow certified 30 ppm colloidal silver solution, without salt or any electrolytic additive, using distilled water at a temperature of near boiling (212 degrees Fahrenheit) will take 45 minutes with this unit.
CAUTION: Use only the pure 99.99 fine silver electrodes provided. Do not use sterling silver (.9275) as it contains lead and other impurities. Use only clean utensils to heat water since a mineral build up in a teapot, for example, would impart the mineral to the water thereby contaminating the colloidal silver generation process.
HYPOTHETICAL PROTOCOLS FOR EXPERIMENTAL COLLOIDAL SILVER USE
    The following is for general information only and is not based upon any documented references contained herein. The information is provided only as a possible starting point for experiments using experimental animals. Always seek proper medial advice from qualified medical or veterinary practitioners.
     Suggested daily health maintenance dosage for animals from 100 to 200 pounds: Administer orally, two teaspoons of 6 ppm (approximately 60 mcg) colloidal silver concentration daily for seven days then reduce the dosage to 1 teaspoon. Even several teaspoons per day is within the given daily level of 50 to 100 mcg found in the human diet and is not toxic. It has been reported that oral administration of colloidal silver is safe and beneficial for pregnant and nursing humans and is safe to put in the eyes to treat pink eye, etc. 8 ounces at 6 ppm contains 1080 mcg (equivalent to 1 tsp. at approximately 216 ppm).
     For chronic conditions the suggested dosage level could be increased to double or triple the normal ppm level for 1 to 1 1/2 months then dropped to the maintenance dose level.
   If an herxheimer syndrome appears, i.e., a toxic cleansing reaction with flu-like symptoms or extreme fatigue, headache, dizziness, nausea, or aching muscles, temporarily discontinue colloidal silver use until symptoms disappear. Administer a laxative and plenty of liquids.
   No adverse reactions with other medications have been observed. Colloidal silver near a bacterium or single cell pathogen disables its oxygen metabolism enzyme (its chemical lung) and within 6 minutes the pathogen suffocates. Increased ppm levels of colloidal silver may destroy some beneficial intestinal bacteria, therefore oral administration of lactobacillus acidophilus is suggested. It has been reported that exposure to high levels of anthrax or bubonic or pneumonic plague bacteria, require a continuous level of at least 16 to100 ppm concentration to be effective, however it would only be effective if taken at least three or four weeks before exposure to these bacteria.
     It has been reported that when ingested, it takes colloidal silver three or four days to go to the body cells in an amount sufficient for benefits to begin. At normal concentrations the body will excrete colloidal silver through the bowel, kidney, and lymph systems in one to three weeks. Do not store colloidal silver near electrical or magnetic fields since the silver ion positive charge can be lost, causing silver colloid particles to precipitate out of suspension, with the resulting theoretical loss of beneficial qualities due to alteration of the ion positive charge.
     More is not always better. While colloidal silver is effective against about 679 bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc., agryria is a condition resulting from ingesting a too high ppm concentration of silver which has precipitated out of colloidal suspension. The silver binds to the pigment in the skin giving the skin a blue-gray green color that is irreversible.
     Colloidal silver will store with near full potency for about one month. After three months it can loose most of its its potency. Since colloidal silver is photo reactive it will turn gray or black in light, therefore, it should be placed in glass containers or empty hydrogen peroxide bottles that exclude light and do not affect ion charge, and stored at a cool temperature but not refrigerated or frozen.
CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES
     Probably one of the most controversial issues concerning colloidal silver has to do with its micron size. Many variables involving water temperature, conglomeration tendency of ion particles, mineral concentration and particulate size in the water to which silver ions attach, etc., affect silver particle micron size.   A general range of from .05 to .001 is usually realized notwithstanding that colloidal silver comes off the positive anode at .0001 microns or about 1.26 angstroms which is the size of about 15 atoms.
     Another controversial issue is the color of the finished colloidal silver product. Color is affected by not only the size of the mineral particles to which the silver ions attach but also the level of electrolyte in the solution at the time of the electrolysis process. Colors range from yellow, gold, to brown when there is little mineral electrolyte in solution; and from milky white, to gray when the mineral electrolyte in solution is higher.
     A few makers of colloidal silver use a public fear tactic to tout their products stating that higher micron size can cause agryria. Agryria is a condition resulting from the ingestion of large particles of silver which react with pigment turning the skin and organs a blue green/gray color. There appears, however, to be no known case of agryria or agrilosis ever having resulted from colloidal silver products where the silver remains in colloidal suspension. Large silver particles which precipitate out of solution or float to the surface of a solution if ingested in large amounts (over 5 ppm) can indeed cause the cosmetically undesirable skin condition. The historic "blue blood" condition of royalty resulted from eating off of tarnished silverware and silver utensils.
OTHER COLLOIDAL SILVER USES
Water Purification
    Clear water can be purified by adding 1/2 to one teaspoon of 30 ppm colloidal silver to one gallon of water.
     Legionella pnuemophilia (Legionnaire's disease) is lethal in water with a temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit but is killed when the water temperature is raised to 135 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Interestingly, water with a colloidal silver concentration of only 20 ppb (parts per billion) kills Legionella pnuemophilia.
    U.S. regulations currently allow 20 ppb in drinking water. However European draft guidelines removed any upper limit for silver in drinking water based upon World Health Organizations' Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality that states "It is unnecessary to recommend any health-based guidelines for silver as it is not hazardous to human health."
     Pathogens in water are killed by the addition of colloidal silver. Waste colloidal silver should not be dumped into drain pipes leading to septic tanks since bacterial breakdown action of solid waste would be impaired.
Medical
     Colloidal silver in the accessory spray bottle can be sprayed on abrasions, acne, athlete's foot, burns, cuts, exzema, fungi, psoriasis, rashes, scrapes, skin cancers, sunburn, warts, and wounds, etc., and does not kill subcutaneous tissue as does alcohol and iodine. It can also be sprayed in the nose for sinus problems or sprayed into the mouth and inhaled to the lungs where transfer of colloidal silver through the alveoli is readily imparted to the blood. Colloidal silver can also be sprayed into the eyes of newborn infants to prevent infection, or under the arms which kills odor causing bacteria but does not prevent skin from breathing as do many deodorants.
    Colloidal silver solutions can also be used for colonic cleansing solutions, ear infections, mouth infections, vaginal cleanses, etc..
Floral and Garden
     Colloidal silver can be used to greatly extend the time before decaying begins on cut flowers. Probably due to the bacteria and other pathogens in water, cut flowers placed that medium will tend to wither and die much more
quickly than cut flowers that are placed in water which has colloidal silver added to it. The colloidal silver not only kills the pathogens in the water but is subsequently absorbed into the flowers and taken to the cellular level where colloidal silver works internally to kill remaining pathogens.
     A colloidal silver solution in water can also be sprayed directly onto plants and shrubs in the garden. The action of the colloidal silver positive ions work on the outside of the plants to effectively destroy bacteria, virus, fungus, etc. Garden food plants that have been sprayed with colloidal silver leave no residue, as do poison sprays, and are safe for human consumption.