Dear JoAnne, You wrote: > I am trying, also, to learn more about side effects.
Before you abandon the field in confusion, please hear the answer to your question. Are side effects possible from silver products? Yes. One possible side effect is common to any treatment that can kill germs; the Jarisch Herxheimer reaction. Take somebody who's really sick, give them some treatment that kills a lot of germs really fast, the toxins from those dead germs get dumped into their system all at once and can kill them. That's how the doctors involved in the discovery of 'Herx' effect figured out what was happening -- they were accidentally killing off their syphilis patients using some of the first effective antibiotic treatments. Learning from their experience, we now know to start slow, ramp up the dose until symptoms just start, and manage them by modulating intake. Symptoms are usually described as flu-like, and are seldom serious. If you talk to people who've been fighting Lyme disease, you'll discover they rate the success of a treatment modality by whether they get a herx or not. They see it as a sign of progress. Obviously, in a veterinary context, you'll have to watch for signs of distress, monitor temperature and other vitals, etc., just as you do with any other treatment. The other main side effect, which is being discussed right now, is argyria. Argyria is a blue to grey discoloration of the skin or other organs caused by silver particles becoming trapped in the tissues. Upon exposure to sunlight, the color 'develops' much like it does in photographic film processes. The really celebrated cases, Rosemary Jacobs, the senate candidate from Montana a few year back, last year's blue man... all of these have in common using high concentration silver preparations, particularly featuring silver salts of one form or another. In Rosemary's case, it was very potent prescription nose drops she got back in the 1950's. The other two made their own "CS" using horrible methods taken to an extreme... Basically, use tap water or added salt to speed up the reaction, brew 'til you have a container full of murky gunk, and drink a bunch every day for a year or three. Commercial products have caused a number of cases; 'WaterOZ' which turned out to be high concentration silver citrate, I believe, and various mild silver protein preparations are on the list. The stuff most of us make is less than 20 ppm and contains silver ions and particles, water and, at most, negligible amounts of anything else. In order to consume enough total silver to get in the range of what is considered necessary to cause argyria would require a person to consume tens of gallons. You would also need to consume it fast enough to swamp the body's elimination channels in order for that amount to actually be retained. Here are some example numbers: Taking a pint per day would have you consuming more than 45 gallons in a year. At 20 ppm, that would be a bit over 3 and a half grams of silver. If all were retained, that might be enough to start you down the road to argyria. You'd only take anywhere near that much if you were fighting something pretty serious... Dave's case clearly falls in this general category. Taking a pint or two per day for a few days or weeks, isn't going to be enough. A swallow every other day is not going to do it either. If you decide to take substantial amounts for an extended period, supplemental selenium is a good idea to replenish the eliminative channels so your body can keep ahead of it. There are a number of reports of successful reversals of argyria using carefully designed aggressive supplement regimens, plus progress being reported on a laser-based treatment for directly reducing or eliminating the pigmentation in the skin. So there is even hope that wasn't there a few years ago. Now, JoAnne, you're "patient" is your mare. Is it safe to give her CS? At least one person here has said they've done it with good effect and no problems. That's probably as specific an answer as you're going to be able to find. Most of what we have to go on is direct experience of that sort, given that none of us have the money to sponsor extensive studies, and the people that do don't want the competition from something as cheap and easy as silver. For people, of course a cosmetically significant condition like argyria is a serious matter, even though it is not otherwise health- threatening. The disfigurement can have severe repercussions on quality of life, self esteem, employment, relationships... In your case, even in the worst case of severe argyria, however unlikely, you'll have to ask yourself if it would be an acceptable consequence if it helped you save your horse's life. Silver is a useful tool. Like any other, there are risks to go along with the strengths. As with everything we do with alternative health and medicine, it's a do-it-yourself project. We are each responsible for our own decisions. Every one of us that have used silver in various forms for the last couple of decades have effectively *been* the studies for safety and efficacy that mainstream science has chosen not to do. In the absence of guidance from science and the medical profession, we all share our data and experiences and do the best we can. Total responsibility for your results rests squarely on your own shoulders, just as it does for each of us. I hope that has placed your concerns in a solid context and will help you make an informed decision. Be well, Mike D. [Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian] [[email protected] ] [Speaking only for myself... ] -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. 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