Jim Holmes wrote: > Why do the silver ions in a dissolved salt have the possibility of > causing Argyria and the free ions in a mixture of colloidal and ionic > silver not do that? > > Jim > Because the colloidal component is an argyria prophylactic. From http://silver-lightning.com/theory.html#Internal
What happens when you take silver compounds. A silver compound will typically become silver chloride as soon as it hits the stomach. The silver chloride is sparingly soluble, about .8 ppm. The dissolved silver chloride will move into the blood stream and once there will be exposed to chemicals that will induce the silver to plate out on any other silver particles present. However initially there will be no other silver particles present, so the silver chloride circulates in the blood until exposed to light in the skin, where they are photo reduced to silver atoms. This is the photographic process that occurs when you take a picture (with a film camera). Once the silver atoms are produced in the skin, then the rest of the silver chloride will begin reducing onto those particles making them grow very fast, and resulting in many of them getting stuck in the skin. Since the particles are so small, they will appear as black or blue, giving the skin a bluish cast. This is called argyria, and can result from taking silver compounds without any colloidal component. What happens to EIS when taken internally? Since there are two components to EIS, then two different things happen. The colloidal portion diffuses through the stomach wall rather quickly and enters the blood stream as long as the particles are small enough. The ionic portion is a combination of silver hydroxide and silver oxide. While in solution they continually convert from one to the other and back again. Each has a solubility of about 13 ppm, so any EIS which is less than about 26 ppm and a pH of 7 will be totally dissolved. Upon contact with the HCl (hydrochloric acid) of the stomach both of these compounds will immediately form silver chloride. The silver chloride has a solubility of .8 ppm, so most of the silver chloride will precipitate out, but the remaining part will quickly move into the blood stream. As it does, that which precipitated will redissolve and move into the blood stream as well. The end result is that most of the silver chloride will move into the blood stream over time, but at a lower rate than the colloidal portion. Once it is in the blood stream it is exposed to the same effects we discussed for silver compounds above. Basically it will try to plate out on any silver particles it finds. Since there will be colloidal silver which already passed into the blood, there will be lots of particles for it to plate out on. So in short order the silver in the silver chloride plates out onto the colloidal particles already there, and they grow by a small amount. Typically for an EIS of 10% particulate content, the particles should grow to about double in size. This is insufficient to cause them to get caught up into tissues, and they eventually get removed by the kidneys. So, as it turns out. colloidal silver is actually a prophylactic against argyria, instead of a cause as some would have you believe. Marshall
