Topics and Cases - Argyria
Colloidal silver is microscopic particles of silver suspended in a liquid, usually water. Currently, colloidal silver is marketed in many health food and vitamin foods and over the internet as an alternative medical remedy, though there is no scientific evidence of its effectiveness for any medical condition. The danger of colloidal silver is that excessive use can result in silver toxicity causing a rare skin disease called argyria.
Facts about Argyria:
- Argyria is also referred to as the "disease of the living dead" or "disease of the walking dead"" People with argyria in fact have grayish blue coloring of their skin associated with lack of oxygen or blood flow to the skin.
- This silver poisoning is permanent and argyria prevents the victims from going out in the sunlight, otherwise the patient risks darkening their tint or skin color.
- Since the 1990s, "colloidal silver" has been marketed as an alternative medicine product, with unsubstantiated, and in some jurisdictions illegal, claims of effectiveness.
- Medical authorities advise against the use of such colloidal silver preparations, as does the published medical literature, because of their lack of proven effectiveness and the risk of side effects.
- There is, as a result, no medically accepted use of colloidal silver for health treatment.