"Colloidal silver is a suspension of submicroscopic metallic silver particles in a colloidal base. Long-term use of silver preparations can lead to argyria, a condition in which silver salts deposit in the skin, eyes, and internal organs, and the skin turns ashen-gray. Many cases of argyria occurred during the pre-antibiotic era when silver was a common ingredient in nosedrops. When the cause became apparent, doctors stopped recommending their use, and reputable manufacturers stopped producing them. The official drug guidebooks (
United States Pharmacopeia and
National Formulary) have not listed colloidal silver products since 1975."
Colloidal Silver: Risk Without Benefit
"Colloidal silver isn't considered safe or effective for any of the health claims manufacturers make. Silver has no known purpose in the body. Nor is it an essential mineral, as some sellers of silver products claim.
Colloidal silver products are made of tiny silver particles suspended in a liquid — the same type of precious metal used in jewelry, dental fillings, silverware and other consumer goods. Colloidal silver products are usually marketed as dietary supplements that are taken by mouth. Colloidal silver products also come in forms to be injected or applied to the skin.
Manufacturers of colloidal silver products often claim that they are cure–alls, boosting your immune system, fighting bacteria and viruses, and treating cancer, HIV/AIDS, shingles, herpes, eye ailments and prostatitis.
However, no sound scientific studies to evaluate these health claims have been published in reputable medical journals. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration has taken action against some manufacturers of colloidal silver products for making unproven health claims.
It's not clear how much colloidal silver may be harmful, but it can build up in your body's tissues over months or years. Most commonly, this results in argyria (ahr–JIR–e–uh), a blue-gray discoloration of your skin, eyes, internal organs, nails and gums. While argyria doesn't pose a serious health problem, it can be a cosmetic concern because it doesn't go away when you stop taking silver products. Rarely, excessive doses of colloidal silver can cause possibly irreversible serious health problems, including kidney damage and neurological problems such as seizures. Colloidal silver products may also interact with medications, including penicillamine (Cuprimine, Depen), quinolone antibiotics, tetracycline and thyroxine (Levothroid, Levoxyl, Synthroid) medications."
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-l.../expert-answers/colloidal-silver/faq-20058061
"Why did this quaint and archaic nostrum that was abandoned by mainstream medicine over 60 years ago become a staple in health food stores and among
quacks peddling it on the Internet? The reason appears to be it was rediscovered among the
alternative medicine crowd around 1990 when antibiotic resistant bacteria started hitting the news, and articles began appearing in altie publications speculating that this "lost" remedy might be some kind of "silver bullet"[SUP]
[2][/SUP] that would be effective when modern antibiotics fail.
By the mid 1990s the classified ad section of
Spotlight newspaper (a fairly reliable early indicator of soon-to-be-popular quack
patent medicine fads) was filled with ads for colloidal silver and plans for homebrew colloidal silver generators. Interest in colloidal silver spread over the Internet among groups discussing plans for surviving an expected breakdown of the infrastructure, and therefore an expectation that antibiotics and medical care in general would be unavailable, due to the
Y2K computer bug. Interest in colloidal silver was especially strong among
survivalists because it could easily be manufactured at home using the silver bullion some of them were hoarding, water, and a few batteries - hence, they could make their own "broad-spectrum antibiotic" after society's collapse.
It also found interest among a fringe subset of sufferers from AIDS and Lyme disease, who were looking for anything they could take even if it turned out to be
false hope. It has since become a
folk remedy popular in the health food store market, and even taken daily, even by those not suffering from anything in particular, on the basis that it is some sort of prophylactic against infection or an immune system booster. It should be noted that even during its use in mainstream medicine it was on an acute or one-time basis only, such as eye drops in newborn babies. Those who take it daily for months or years are especially at risk of its side effects, while gaining no known benefit.
Those who take it internally on a frequent basis can develop argyria, a permanent blue-grey discoloration of the skin. The buildup of silver salts in the skin creating this discoloration is cumulative. Cases of argyria have mostly occurred in people taking colloidal silver on a regular basis over a period of months or years, but the effect seems to vary wildly from person to person. Silver can also react with some legitimate antibiotics such as tetracycline rendering them less effective, so those who take colloidal silver as a "supplement" to their physician-prescribed antibiotic regimen are playing Russian roulette with their health."
Colloidal silver - RationalWiki
Etc... etc... etc...
We take Colloildal Silver for all sorts of things, great stuff it is.