# Colloidal silver



## Strider (Sep 27, 2009)

Hello guys, my mother found some thing about colloidal silver that "heals" all illnesses and viruses, but is it another naive old people magnet? It says in the text that it kills 650 bacteria and stuff...but...is it a fraud? I'm no expert but I know that metal can kill you if you take it in quantities. Does it really work? I read that it could be found in Drug stores back in 20ies...

What do you know of it,


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## qst42know (Sep 27, 2009)

There are side effects. :roll: :roll: 


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317564,00.html


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## Strider (Sep 27, 2009)

so it's absolutely unreliable?


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## qst42know (Sep 27, 2009)

It is an effective sterilizer and there are genuine accepted medical uses, but it's not a cure all. 

And as you can tell from the purple guy it can cause undesirable side effects if misused. :lol: :lol:


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## Juan Manuel Arcos Frank (Sep 27, 2009)

Silver is the most powerful antibacterial agent...silver absorbs huge quantities of oxigen and this is the way that silver kills bacterias.

To absorb oxigen,silver must be in colloidal form,not ionic form.Ionc forms of silver are all the silver dissolved compounds that we know,i.e. silver nitrate in water,silver sulphate in hot water,silver chloride in sodium thiosulphate solution and so for.Many products labeled as "colloidal silver" are not colloidal silver,you can check the product adding some table salt (or hydrocloric acid) and if it forms white clumps then it is not colloidal silver.

Regards.

Manuel


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## Strider (Sep 27, 2009)

Thanks allot, that salt will tell me. I am more of a...hm...guy that likes nature to take it's care of sh*t. I am just being careful that my mother doesn't get killed


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## peter i (Sep 27, 2009)

As an "alternative medicine" it's simply "Snake oil". 
Silver has antibacterial properties.... which makes a certain kind of people believe it is a miracle cure for anything (and an associated kind of people will promote it for the money)

In some applications it is an effective antibacterial agent, but there are lots of antibiotics that are much more potent.
There was a hope, that the mechanism was so strange to the germs, that they would not be able to develop resistance to silver. But resistance has been reported.

I have not found any independent studies that could show any positive effect of ingesting "colloidal silver" (the amount is very small, and once spread in the body even smaller, far below what is expected to be toxic to the bacteria).

To become "smurficated" you would have to take massive doses, far beyond the measly amount normally used.

To sum it up: The only reliable effect is a reduced wallet (and the probability of not seeing a professional if a real problem needs treatment) and a risk of smurfication if you overdo it.


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## Lou (Sep 27, 2009)

Having worked in a biosafety level II lab, I can tell you that quite a few things are silver clad because microorganisms (namely bacteria) will not live on these surfaces. 

There are some interesting silver-based drugs coming out, but many of them are for anticancer preparations.


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## Strider (Sep 27, 2009)

So...in small quantities it brings no harm, but then again no bigger effect? I would not risk my self to that, all though if you say it's an good antibiotic, I believe you. I cannot stop the Mother to get it, she is the law and order  but I got her back 

That smurf looks like he aint got a big iq, but that's just a prejudicial thought...looks like that kind of people who take large amount of pills to get better sooner...but you know where that leads.


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## butcher (Sep 27, 2009)

silver can be good medicine, but like most any medicine it must be used wisely,

some people think a good medicine is a miracle cure or cure all and go over board, others don't see the imidiate results and go overboard, some people just like to jump overboard?

silver like an apple is good medicine. 

the reason silver was used for eating utinsils was because it killed bacteria,
I remember my grand mother had no electricity, keep milk from the cow in the water at the spring, she would put a silver coin in it to keep it from spoiling with bacterea, a tool used for generations before modern times. when you were born the doctor probably put silver in your eyes to treat you as a baby from some blinding disease.

I make and use colloidial silver, but as I am a really healthy individual, I hardly ever use it. or any medicine, in fact I avoid all medicine possible, especially modern synthetic medicine many of the ways I treat myself come from old ways, like poltices carbon and honey is great for wounds, carbon to suck out any poision and honey as an anticeptic, many of the old ways as far as I am concerned were much better for us, sythetic drugs dealt out by the tons are killing people by the modern day witch doctors, 

herbal type medicine's used for thousands of years work to keep people healthy, many of these can be the healthy foods, our american Indian forfathers did not have disease as we know it today(before the white man brought diseases they had no immunity for), and when they had some problem they knew what to eat,
modern medicine has discovered that the old medicine worked, and tried to find out why and how they could make it better probably to make more money, the old Indian told the doc chew birch bark for the headach (hurt), doc stated giving it to his patients, then they figured what chemical the bark had in it that fixed that sore head and made the modern day asperin, the birch bark still works but is slower, but it may not have the side effects the asperin has, and either used wisely (less would be better) will work.


they key is common sense.
something we seem to be loosing.


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## Strider (Sep 28, 2009)

yea yea, eastern civilizations have that policy...treat the illness with a medicine thousands of years old...like china, ayr veda in india...japan and malasya...the natural ingredients, those acupunture needles and so on...today it's all about the business.

Can anyone tell how it actually works on bacteria?


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## eeTHr (Sep 28, 2009)

Strider;

I saw an explaination of how it works on bacteria somewhere in the first half dozen links on this Google search---

http://www.google.com/search?source...colloidal+silver&aq=1&oq=blue+skin+col&aqi=g4


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## stihl88 (Sep 28, 2009)

On a side note theres some controversy surrounding the use of Silver Nano particles in certain household items...

Silver Nano particles are used in some washing machines and even some brands of socks use silver nano particles also. The reason they use it is to kill of any bacteria, the argument is that the Nano Silver particles are expressed into our water ways that are expelled from the washing machine and the socks which in turn also kill good bacteria. One example is sewage treatment plants that use bacteria/microscopic organisms that break down the sewage...

I looked into getting some of the Silver laced socks because i had smelly feet which is believed to be caused from bacteria in the skin (Dead skin) and i read somewhere about these Nano Silver particles potentially causing unforeseen problems to the environment.

Also, copper and silver have similar bacteria inhibiting properties. Some Hospitals still use copper and brass door handles in hospitals because if its ability to stop bacteria from breeding on the surface therefore minimizing the spread of bacteria throughout the hospital...


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## eeTHr (Sep 28, 2009)

stihl88;

That's all news to me. Very interesting, thanks.

A couple of the "blue people" stories said they were taking the silver for arthritis. Some people wear copper bracelets for arthritis, too. Must be the same logic.


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## Strider (Sep 29, 2009)

where can I get those socks 

yeah, we smell cause of bacteria...our sweat is basically water with some toxic waste from body, but when it gets in contact with bacteria then it stars smelling bad. Same thing with mouth breath and most stuff that stink.

How can I make my colloidal silver?


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## Juan Manuel Arcos Frank (Sep 29, 2009)

Ít is very easy...you just need a very pure silver wire,another stainless steel wire,a couple of batteries,distilled water and run the process while you go to sleep.But,why do you want to produce colloidal silver?...you can buy it.

Regards.

Manuel


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## Strider (Sep 29, 2009)

Juan Manuel Arcos Frank said:


> Ít is very easy...you just need a very pure silver wire,another stainless steel wire,a couple of batteries,distilled water and run the process while you go to sleep.But,why do you want to produce colloidal silver?...you can buy it.
> 
> Regards.
> 
> Manuel



Hm...that's a question that no words can answer. Why does a man walk to his work in early hours when he can get by car in seconds...Why does he sleep on sun when he can just take a blanket...Why does he write letters when he can call? 
Labor omnia vincit!! :mrgreen: 

Ok, sorry for the sentimental part, couldn't resist 8) 

I just like to work and make the thing myself. I don't want to use the colloidal silver, maybe in my survival kit, but just the sound of working with silver gets me warmed up for it.


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## evolx10 (Oct 1, 2009)

I'm pretty certain I wouldn't ingest this.
I am quite fond of the healthy ecosystem of microbes in my intestines, and i fear a blast of this silver could kill off enough good guys to let some bad ones take hold in the aftermath. And we all know an angry intestinal tract can ruin every plan you ever had. :mrgreen:


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## AKDan (Oct 1, 2009)

Is that the actual bottle/contents in the picture of the first post in this thread? I have never seen brown colloidal silver before. Is there an ingredient list on the bottle? Not so sure I would take this particular product either. All of the colloidal silver I have ever seen before is crystal clear, unless you shine a laser through it.


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## patnor1011 (Oct 2, 2009)

coloidal silver might have some benefits but all of us are different so it might act differently inside each others body... it can be considered as one of miraculous medicines - they are doing miracles mostly in purses and bank accounts of people who are selling them and another group who might benefit from this type of drug is autosugestion true believers - psychic has some powers not yet explained.
I would not eat things like that as we are ingesting awful lot of chemicals anyway in our food, drinks, air...


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## Strider (Oct 2, 2009)

That picture I googled, and I thought it would be silver colored, but yeah with some logic...if it has atomic quantities than it can't be silver. 

You all helped me allot. I will not consume it any time now...I won't even waste money to make one my self. If anybody around me uses it I will warn them and take it away from them =)


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## SapunovDmitry (Oct 2, 2009)

Once i was making colloidal silver myself. I think that it was of a good quality, because it was of a same color as one sold in the drug store and tasted the same. I left it in the glass cup in dark for 2 days and when i opened the wardrobe it smelled like a desinfected medical bandage. I doubt that colloidal silver is a fraud guys. It is a very good sterilizing media. My dad has some problems with his elbows i don't know why it happens, but when he regulary drinks colloidal silver 3 times day they disappear as long as he drinks it. When he stops drinking they start to hurt in a week or so. Maybe it is so called self-suggestion, i don't know but i doubt it guys. The fact is a fact. What about "The Blue Man" he used to drink ALOT of "brown colloidal silver" not properly made (mostly metalic silver) for years.


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## goldsilverpro (Oct 2, 2009)

I once thought I would sell 1/16" 9999 silver wire to people that wanted to make their own CS. It is available in many places on the internet but it normally costs about 10 times more than the silver content (plus the wire add-on cost). I figured I could sell it for 3 times the silver and still make a good profit.

My son got me into this, since he takes it daily. I spent many hours studying this. It was very easy to setup. Just hang 2 silver wire electrodes on opposite sides of small glass of distilled water. Hook up the electrodes to a 9 volt battery and let it run until the water starts getting cloudy - an hour, or so. The dosage is several drops in a glass of water, a couple of times each day - see internet. When it starts, the amperage will be zero, since the water is non-conductive. As the colloidal silver increases in the solution, current flows. The longer the time, the higher the amperage, up to a limit.

There are 2 types of "colloidal" silver on the market (and the kits to make your own), high silver and low silver. I deem the high silver type as dangerous. I feel the low silver type is much safer.

*(1) The high silver type* uses conducting salts to greatly speed up the reaction and increase the silver concentration. Some of the silver is colloidal and some is complexed with the conducting salts, and is therefore ionic. The high silver stuff is therefore not truly colloidal, although they label it as such. The color of the solution in the photo above (in this thread - notice the "High Potency" on the label) would indicate to me that it is ionic silver and, therefore, dangerous, in my estimation. I am convinced that argyria (permanent blue or gray skin) is produced by this ionic silver and not by colloidal silver.

*(2) The low silver type* is probably both colloidal and metallic (probably safe), but contains no ionic silver. The idea is to use the purest distilled water you can find and use 9999 silver. Pure distilled water prevents silver ions from forming and the pure silver prevents the introduction of metal impurities, such as copper. Walgreen's top grade of distilled water is said to be the best commonly availble. Using a milliammeter, the Walgreen water pulled zero amps when I first hooked up the battery. This is a fair test for water purity. Most other brands I tested didn't pass this test. A colloid is usually defined as having a certain maximum particle (cluster of silver atoms, in this case) size. The cloudiness comes about when the colloidal particles agglomerate and get big enough to be seen as a faint metallic sheen. If you don't stir, you will see a small build up of black silver powder underneath the cathode. The reason I stopped when the solution got cloudy is because this is an indication that the silver clusters are becoming metallic and the colloidal silver in solution is probably maxed out.

Ionic silver - bad for you
Metallic silver - probably inert and goes right through you
colloidal silver - possibly good for you 

I pretty much agree with this article. I didn't read the whole thing but it seems they are saying that the "Blue Man" turned blue because he was taking ionic silver, and not colloidal silver.
http://www.purestcolloids.com/blue-man.php


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## AKDan (Oct 2, 2009)

I don't take the stuff all the time, but I always have some around. When ever I feel a sore throat coming on, or a sinus problem comes up I will use it for a few days. An eye dropper full in each nostril, and/or gargle it at the back of my throat. Always seems to work and just a couple days always seems to be enough.

It is like any other "medicine" in that it has the potential for abuse. I can take to much asprin or vitamines and poison myself too. Some common sense is called for in all things. As many beginning refiners discover, more and stronger is not always better with regard to getting the job done.


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## Strider (Oct 2, 2009)

So, then it isn't a fraud...well I mean colloidal silver. That ionic silver is bad? How can you tell if its one or another? 

Thank you so much for this, I was hoping for yes or no but damn, you made my day =)

Can there be any other colloidal metal (off topicing) such as gold or so on? :mrgreen: 

How does that silver wire look like


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## Rhodium (Oct 2, 2009)

AKDan said:


> I don't take the stuff all the time, but I always have some around. When ever I feel a sore throat coming on, or a sinus problem comes up I will use it for a few days. An eye dropper full in each nostril, and/or gargle it at the back of my throat. Always seems to work and just a couple days always seems to be enough.



Hey, A new use might be for Swine Flu.    

Oh wait, They already use Mercury for that. :shock: :shock: :shock:


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## AKDan (Oct 2, 2009)

Yea, I think swine flu is Viral, not bacterial. Not sure if the silver would work for that or not. Good thing that we do have the mercury then I suppose :lol: 

BTW, how many of you plan on getting this wonderful vaccination when it is readily available. Certainly I won't be getting it, but curious about how everyone else feels.


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## butcher (Oct 2, 2009)

I have made Colloidial silver generator using a 555 timer Integrated circuit, for a pulse generator circuit, seem's better than just using battery's.
use only pure silver, and distilled water.
colloidial silver is crystal clear, store in dark, shield from light as light can ruin it,also bottle that I store in mine in gets a mirror finish inside bottle from the silver.


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## jsargent (Oct 2, 2009)

The colloidal silver shown at the start of this thread is a well known brand and relatively safe to use in my estimation. I owned a health food store for seven years so have sold hundreds of bottles of this stuff. I don't suggest taking it internally except as was mentioned as a gargle or sinus rinse. One thing else it works wonders on is eye infections like pinkeye.
As to the flu shot... not only NO but HELL NO. Most vaccines out there use Thimersol ( a mercury compound) as a preservative and I have quite enough mercury in my body already thanks to dental quacks that filled my mouth full of mercury amalgam years ago. You know in europe it is ILLEGAL for a dentist to use mercury/silver amalgam filings and is a jailable offense? Yet the American Dental Association deems it safe. :roll:


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## patnor1011 (Oct 2, 2009)

irish government ordered couple milions of doses from baxter. they are going to get this as one of the first countries as they signed deal with baxter where they gave them legal protection against any case of health complications or death from use of that jab. if something like that arise then irish government will be legally responsible and pay anything what courts will award to victims. funny thing to buy something and then pay if it will be faulty...


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## Rhodium (Oct 2, 2009)

AKDan said:


> BTW, how many of you plan on getting this wonderful vaccination when it is readily available. Certainly I won't be getting it, but curious about how everyone else feels.



Nope !


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## patnor1011 (Oct 3, 2009)

i saw recently in one document that getting ordinary flu vaccination 5 times in your lifetime will 10 times increase risk of getting alzheimer. not very pleasnt info.


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## Strider (Oct 3, 2009)

About the swine flu...People who died of it were poor. Everyday thousands of people die from a shear cold, pneumonia, and fewer, but all of a sudden a rich guy coughs and the world panics. -.- Not to mention hunger in Africa.

How is that colloidal silver from factory made? Huge pools of distilled water and huge coils  ?

The best medicine is your body. What do you think people were doing for the last 200 000 years?


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## SapunovDmitry (Oct 3, 2009)

When i made my colloidal silver i used 999 silver and heated distilled water. I take a big plastic jar and a smaller pyrex glass jar that fits in the big one. I also use filter paper and 15V , up to 5A power supply, 1 meter of simple copper wire in insulation and two alligator clips.
I fill the pyrex jar with distilled water from my local car shop or from drug store. I take two pieces of 999 silver(~10 gr. silver rods) wash them with distilled water (!!!) and carefully attach them to the side of the pyrex jar using alligator clips ( 4-5 mm between those rods). Then i put my pyrex jar with the electrode system and distilled water into the big plastic jar.Then i heat some tap water and make a "water bath" by filling the plastic jar so that almost the whole pyrex jar is in water. Then i attach the wire from alligators to the power supply and turn it on. It shows 15.5 V and 0,00 A. It is OK. In 5-10 minutes i check the temperature with pyrometer (U can check it with whatever you have, pyrometer is just the fastest thing i have  ).When it is below 60 C i carefully heat the water with heater(u can simply change the water using electric kettle if u don't have heater). Every 10-15 minutes i check my electrodes. If they have black silver powder on them i stop everything and take them out of the water. I clean them with filter paper and them put them back for another 10-15 minutes. After water becomes slightly yellow "whiskey color" (you will feel that "this is the exact moment " after a few tries) i take electrodes out and begin to filter the water (very very very slow filtration) using so called "thick" (slow) filter paper (not one i used to clean the electrodes(don't use your cleaning paper for filtration or u'll ruin hours of your own work !!!!!!!!!!!)). U can use clean sterilized plastic funnel but i prefer glass funnel. You must filter your solution to the "brown" glass bottle because you need it to stay in the dark. The last thing i do is i take two glass cups that are used to drink whiskey and check the difference in color between drug store silver and homemade silver and sometimes (rarely) dilute my solution with distilled water.
Thats how i do mine.
Hope it will help someone stay healthy oneday.


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## goldsilverpro (Oct 3, 2009)

The stuff I made always turned out a light yellow.


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## Pilgrim2850 (Oct 3, 2009)

Hi guys,

Here is an article about the future of this kind of product. 
http://www.mineweb.net/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page32?oid=89805&sn=Detail. This is an article on coinflation.com.

larry


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## SapunovDmitry (Oct 4, 2009)

In my first attempts when the water was cold it was brown/yellow colored. Maybe it was because i had electrodes too close to each other(4-5 mm) , but this way electrolysis goes faster.
What about filtering i have some black silver particles on my filter after filtering so i use a thick one cause only smaller parts of silver go through this kind of filter.


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## Strider (Oct 14, 2009)

what color should it be if it is properly made?


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## Shania16 (Feb 16, 2011)

Colloidal silver is said to be an effective antibiotic with the ability to kill over 600 infectious organisms that develop in the body, causing health problems. Apart from this, several studies have revealed that, contrary to other antibiotics such as penicillin, colloidal silver is powerful to stimulate the immune system. It is also ideal for wounds and burns, as it helps heal and repair damaged tissue and skin cells.


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## joem (Feb 16, 2011)

Shania16 said:


> Colloidal silver is said to be an effective antibiotic with the ability to kill over 600 infectious organisms that develop in the body, causing health problems. Apart from this, several studies have revealed that, contrary to other antibiotics such as penicillin, colloidal silver is powerful to stimulate the immune system. It is also ideal for wounds and burns, as it helps heal and repair damaged tissue and skin cells.



Don't forget it turns you blue too :shock:


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## Pilgrim2850 (May 9, 2011)

Hi Everyone,

I have a bottle of Sovereign Silver Bio-active Silver Hydrosol. The box says, Actively charged: As corroborated by several universities, Sovereign silver contains 96% positively charged silver particles, making it at least 34 times more powerful than other brands. Easily absorbed: Sovereign silver's unprecedented particle size of 0.8 nanometers (validated by Transmission Electron Microscopy) allows for easy absorption and excretion from the body. Less is more: The smaller the particle, the greater the surface area and the higher the efficiency. That's why even with a low concentration of 10 ppm. Sovereign silver is still much more effective than brands which contain up to 500 ppm. Perfectly safe: Sovereign silver is formulated to be safe for the whole family. Taken 7 times a day for 70 years, Sovereign silver still falls below the EPA daily Oral Silver Reference Dose (RfD). 99.999% pure: Sovereign silver has only two ingredients; pure silver and pharmaceutical-grade purified water. It does not contain added salts or proteins that render other silver products less effective. Plus, it is packaged in non-leaching glass bottles to guarantee purity throughout it's shelf life. I'm not pitching for this stuff, nor do I sell it or have any connection with sellers. I got it at a Co-op. It was I believe $13 for a 2 fl. oz. bottle. It says it's for immune support and is a fine mist spray bottle. Exp. date is 07-2013, so it has a pretty good shelf life. Hope this helps some you. Blessings, Larry


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## mda20 (Nov 24, 2012)

Hi,

I know this topic is from last year. Bu I think it is my pleasure to share it. This website contains more about colloidal silve
http://colloidalsilversecrets.blogspot.com/

I hope to be useful for readers.


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## GotTheBug (Nov 24, 2012)

Resurrected thread after a year and a half? Is this a record? 

Since I took the time to read the whole thing, might as well chime in. Having studied "nutrition" for a pretty long time, I do have a basis for what I am about to say.

First, it works. Virii, bacteria, etc. Great for cuts on skin too, having personal experience with a cut on a finger, to the bone of course cuz that's how I roll. Cleaned with a product called NovaSan, then colloidal silver and a bandaid. No stitches, healed in a week, and I could see the bone when I cut it. Also works on a stye on your eye, also pink eye, gone in 24 hours, and yes I still see fine.

The Blue Man; This guy makes an appearance EVERY year about this time on some talk show. He makes his own silver at home, hence part of the issue. Particle size is EVERYTHING. Too large and it gets stuck in your cells, and turns you blue. My simple suggestion is if you're making it at home, have a way (like a microscope) to check actual particle size. I've been taking/using colloidal silver for 20 years, and I'm still a white boy. From personal knowledge, 5 microns or less is the deal.

I saw one post concerning healthy bacteria in the digestive tract. For whatever reason, silver does not seem to affect this, although it will have an effect on unhealthy bacteria. 

One person made note of the color in the picture of the original post. That brand is 500ppm (same strength I use from a naturopathic doctor in Arkansas). High strength will be iodine colored. I also find the higher strength to be preferable, and I stay away from 10ppm, just my deal.

So, in the end, does it work? Yes. Will it turn you blue? Not likely if you have a brain. 

I can't say that was $.02, more like a dime. 

Paul.


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## MMFJ (Nov 24, 2012)

As one that was very 'anti' health foods and all that 'hype' about cleansing, etc., I can add a bit from experience to this thread (and am glad to see it on this forum as it should get a more educational view than on many sites that do promote much of that hype!).

My wife (who is Russian, btw), is pretty big into healthy eating, natural healing and all that kind of stuff. In the early years of our marriage, we had many differences of opinion - though, after finally giving in and trying some of her ways, I have to say, my belief that "the doctor knows best" was horribly wrong (in most cases anyway!) and I'm now a strong advocate for healthy eating, food supplements and even 'cleansing'....

I don't remember the first time I tried some of the Russian 'fixes' for issues, but I do recall the first time I heard of it was when a coworker got really sick in Moscow and he passed out while in the shower. He said he came to about 20 minutes later (he guessed) and went to the doctor, barely walking. I went to see him about an hour after he got home (he looked near-death to me and he barely was able to tell me what happened) and there he showed me the 'prescription' - it was a small bottle of IRON bits - about 20 or so in the bottle. He said he was to take 5 (and ONLY 5 - as if that wasn't horrible enough and someone might want more!) of those tiny bits and put in a glass of water for several minutes until it turned brown (yes, RUST!), then drink it all down fast!

The idea behind this type of 'cure' is to "fight poison with poison" - forcing your body to cleanse itself. Well, he did it (didn't have much choice, there were no 'Western' doctors around - it may have been a good thing....) and we were all surprised to see him the next day, looking great, though slightly weak from all the throwing up he did......., but alive and looking much, much better than the day before!

Since that time, and after having a bout with some soldering fumes myself (heated something that made me sick, long before I was reading this forum, so have no idea what...) and then trying some charcoal 'drops' that my wife always kept around, which made me feel better long before I could even get to the doctor's office, I've been interested in healthier ways and more natural 'healing'.

Colloidal silver is one of the things I've studied very heavily as my wife was interested in importing a machine from Russia that makes the stuff at home - via a microprocessor controlled mechanism that fits on top of a 1 liter pitcher (so compact, simple to use and it doesn't create anything that could turn you blue....). In Russia, they have gone through extensive testing on this (and many natural things that are so simple to obtain by anyone that they can't be profitable nor patented, which is a primary reason the FDA in the US has never tested them - nobody will pay for testing something they can't get their money back from patenting and selling..... - well, that's another story....). In researching the FDA site for what it would take for us to import this and get approvals, etc., I found some very interesting tid-bits. 

The following are some snip-its from http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/default.htm I encourage you to read all the requirements yourself as in whole, it tells quite a story and I learned a lot about why foods, drugs and even water is labeled (at one time we thought about simply selling colloidal silver water as it was so cheap to manufacture with the machine, but in the end, we took a different route altogether and only use the machine ourselves).

For those that believe 
1. The FDA is there to protect you (or perhaps it can be said another way as "if FDA approved, it is good, if not FDA approved, it is bad")
2. Colloidal silver is a possible threat to your health
I offer this tid-bit


> Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), the dietary supplement or dietary ingredient manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that a dietary supplement or ingredient is safe before it is marketed.* FDA is responsible for taking action against any unsafe dietary supplement product after it reaches the market.*



The FDA has only taken action against colloidal silver products that make outrageous claims [see "Recently Issued Warning Letters" at the bottom of the referenced page for some examples, though colloidal silver may not be in any of the current warnings, depending on when you look], then considering #1 above is true, then it is safe to presume that such products are not considered "unsafe" by the FDA. (A further testament into the role of FDA on its protection of the public, testing of products, assuring proper labeling, etc. can be found in one, quite interesting, document http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ucm328536.htm - I highly encourage your reading and noting just what IS being said [and all that isn't.....])

Here's another one that really shows the truth about colloidal silver turning you blue... http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/Alerts/ucm184091.htm
In this letter, note that it says "The advisory points out that some patients may experience significant negative psychological or social consequences as a result of argyria." (yet, the topic of the letter was about "Dietary Supplements that Contain Silver", not the causes nor quantities needed to cause argyria), though they do go on to say "FDA also advises that, based on current scientific research, it is not possible for FDA to define a "safe" level of silver in dietary supplements or an exposure that will not result in argyria." - could that be because, as I stated above, nobody is willing to pay the outrageous fees required to test this as it is so simple to make at home (though, as many state in this thread, if you choose to do that, BE CAREFUL!)

and, further "However, the advisory informs consumers that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a chronic oral Reference Dose (RfD) of 5 micrograms (µg) of silver per kilogram (kg) of body weight per day (5 µg/kg/day) based on a review of 70 cases of argyria that were associated with oral, intranasal, or pharyngeal use of organic and colloidal silver compounds. As a matter of prudent public health policy, the advisory recommends keeping exposure below the RfD. "
which, basically states that even the FDA (and/or its advisers, etc...) say that a little colloidal silver each day WON'T HURT YOU. In fact, by these figures (and an average body weight of 80.7 kg per North American person http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_weight, that is a total "safe" amount of 0.0004035 grams of silver ingested per day. 

The Russian machine we use has two settings - one for 'concentrate' (external use, easier to carry, etc.) at 10 ppm and one for 'drinking water' at 5 ppm, of which they recommend you drink one glass per day - approximately the same figures as the 'safe' figures stated above. 

OK, so what about it actually helping you?

From personal experience, I've used it ever since the first time I tried it on cuts and it even helps soothe the skin on burns, too - and more... Until I moved to Ecuador (and my wife has the machine in storage while she's in Nepal, working with some monks on other natural healing stuff....), I'd drink it often, my wife would drink it everyday (and she is much smaller than that 80.7 kg figure) and we've never turned blue.....

Oh, someone asked what color the water should be if colloidal silver is done properly - the machine we have takes regular tap water and the result is clear, though ever so slightly 'shiny' if you can catch the light just right - i.e., you should see basically no difference because it is colloidal, not metallic or ionic, etc. (the manufacturer does recommend using distilled water, and for good reason as is stated in this thread, but we found the well water we use worked fine) 

The Russians (and many other countries) have done a lot of research on this and have posted many 'healing' qualities of colloidal silver. You can (and should) do some research on these from many websites (and as many as possible that are not US based and/or selling the products) to get a good idea of what it can actually do. These facts are all too often twisted by sellers in their advertisements that state colloidal silver will do everything from helping your skin to heal quicker naturally (because of the bacteria thing mentioned in this thread) to an all out cure for cancer, Alzheimer's and more - which is something the FDA will send out caution letters on (and should!) - its these over zealous sellers that bring a bad name to many different products (we could mention some gold refining things here, but this is a thread about colloidal silver!)

As for silver being good to keep water safe, etc., here's the story that convinced me. Think about a long, long time ago when the sailors were crossing the seas - sometimes for months before setting foot on solid ground where there was fresh water. Just how did they keep the water they had onboard fresh enough to drink? They would either put it in a silver lined barrel or simply drop silver coins in the water! Of course, there are stories of them drinking a lot of rum, but they still had to have water!

Oh, and one more bit of recommended reading from the FDA site.... from http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/ConsumerInformation/ucm191930.htm#responsible check out the bit that says "How can consumers inform themselves about safety and other issues related to dietary supplements?
It is important to be well informed about products before purchasing them. Because it is often difficult to know what information is reliable and what is questionable, consumers may first want to contact the manufacturer about the product they intend to purchase..." - now, doesn't that just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside about how well the FDA is protecting you?

Again, I encourage everyone to read every word about how the FDA works and why/how/when/for whom the labels on what you buy to eat are placed. Once you read even the section on Food Supplements (where colloidal silver falls), I then suggest you take what you find and go to a market where such products are sold and see just exactly what you are buying - and why they are labeled as they are. You might even be surprised at what you find in your kitchen counters (we were, and promptly tossed out well over half of what we had in there once we found out just how "protected" we were!)

By the way, speaking of protection, I don't recommend you making a machine yourself unless you are well trained in building such equipment and/or you are planning to use the colloidal only externally for the occasional cut, etc. Home made machines will typically put out higher ppm silver, making it potentially an issue. One way to stay 'safe' with it, though, is to get a ppm meter and check the 'clean' water, then the 'colloidal' one - there should be no more than about 5 ppm difference and then it should be 'safe' enough to drink a glass a day (according to the readings and measurements above)

A final word on this - CHECK ALL THIS INFORMATION YOURSELF and always be safe with what you put in (or on - read the FDA section on sunblocks...!) your body!


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