The subject of colloidal silver recently re-emerged for me as a health topic.  I rememeber hearing about this stuff years ago and reading that it was supposed to be helpful for several ailments and for general health purposes.  At that time in my life, I kind of took what I heard as fact and often I didn’t take the time to evaluate things further, if it even occurred to me to do so.

Several years later, as a dad and a husband who has blessed people counting on him, I am much more cautious.  It’s unfortunate, but I feel that it is absolutely true that we cannot simply accept the claims manufacturers make about their products without further investigation.  Our health and the health of those whom we hold dear is far too precious to be blindly entrusted to corporations whose greater interests aren’t necessarily completely altruistic.  Let’s face it…they have a product to sell.

I decided to do a little investigation on the topic myself, so I headed over to trusty Google and searched for colloidal silver. As expected there are sites selling colloidal silver and sites warning of the dangers of colloidal silver.  As I dug into the SERPs (search engine results pages) I found the following:

MayoClinic, a trusted online source for health information, says the following about the topic, “Colloidal silver is not considered either safe or effective in any of the health claims manufacturers make.” and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) also parrots that “over-the-counter colloidal silver products are not considered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be generally recognized as safe and effective for diseases and conditions”, and “Colloidal silver can cause serious side effects. One is argyria, a bluish-gray discoloration of the body. Argyria is not treatable or reversible.”

There are a number of sites that promote the use of colloidal silver as having significant health properties, but these all seem to be commercial in nature and have a financial interest in your faith in the product.  The NCCAM (above) also stated that “The FDA has taken action against a number of colloidal silver companies (such as websites) for making drug-like claims about their products.”

Given the, apparently, uneven balance of opinions surrounding this topic it would seem to be something to approach with much caution at the very best; and perhaps, until further evidence arises that supports the safety and efficacy of these products, perhaps they are better left on the shelf.

[Curious George note:] (for those who want to know more)
Amazon has a bevy of books on the topic, but again, most seem to sway far to one side or the other. One book I found that seemed to be a bit more unbiased is Colloidal Silver Medical Uses, Toxicology & Manufacture.  It also happens to be the most recent I found on the topic, having been published this year.  Jeanne Stockinger gives it this review.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Have you used colloidal silver? What other information do you have that may help others make an informed decision? Leave me a comment if you wish…