Colloidal Silver: A Leap of Faith

Colloidal Silver: A Leap of Faith

It can be overwhelming the number of miracle remedies thrown at you on a daily basis. From growing hair to curing cancer it seems almost criminal so many can dupe the mainstream population with unproven treatments. Yet, people keep flocking to replenish their special organic vitamin supplement, herbal infused green shake subscription, or daily enzyme bowel capsules and most report feeling great. Could it all just be a placebo effect?

LiveScience reported that,

“Even when a medication works, half of its impact on a patient may be due to one aspect of the placebo effect: the positive message that a doctor provides when prescribing the treatment”

Even though the placebo effect accounts for approximately thirty percent of treatments, there could be something beyond a placebo explanation after all. Yes, there is the placebo effect but there is also observational studies. Now some will say all studies are observational but these are an interesting look at what has worked over time. 

Colloidal silver falls into this category of great skepticism alongside centuries of successful observational studies. Colloidal silver is a dilution of silver flakes and mineralized water that is supposed to have healing properties that include: 

  • Anti-microbial
  • Anti-bacterial
  • Anti-fungal   

Take a look at the interesting benefits of colloidal silver and how maybe, with a leap of faith, it may e a good application for your ailments.

Wound Repair

Some of the strongest studies of colloidal silver explore the affect it has when applied to wounds and burns. Silver has been used to repair skin wounds for a long time.

Science Direct reported on a study that researched the application of colloidal silver on burn wounds stating that,

“Our histopathological findings are in agreement with the molecular and biochemical results and strongly demonstrate that Ch/AgNPs [silver nanoparticles] stimulate burn wound healing by decreasing the length of repair phases. Therefore, on the basis of our findings, Ch/AgNPs can be a promising candidate in stimulating wound repair and regeneration.”

Italian research of colloidal silver was published in the journal, ‘Pharmaceuticals’ which stated that,

“Time-lapse microscopy and indirect immunofluorescence experiments demonstrated that this preparation of colloidal silver strongly increased cell migration, re-modeled the cytoskeleton, and caused recruitment of E-cadherin at cell-cell junctions of human cultured keratinocytes.”

The descriptions in this study all correlate with one type of wound healing mechanism or another. 

Pathogen Zapper

Colloidal silver is also used to treat bacterial infestation before it can spread. In a study where colloidal silver was added to a albumin (coagulation formula) from bovine (cattle) compounds and delivered in an encapsulated “scaffold” results showed promising for fighting pathogens. 

Published in Colloids and Surfaces B Bio-Interfaces, 

“Silver nanoparticle encapsulated bovine serum albumin showed highly potent antibacterial activity towards the bacterial strains such as: 

  • Staphylococcus aureus
  • Serratia marcescens
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa
  • Escherichia coli
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae.”

These are some serious strains so it is no wonder colloidal silver does not receive validation after this and many other studies as it is not a highly profitable remedy. 

Listing Some More

According to Wellnessmama, a list of benefits of colloidal silver is posted as:

  • Killing and preventing bacterial growth, including bacteria that is antibiotic-resistant.
  • Treating burn infections as a topical antimicrobial
  • Killing some strains of pathogenic yeasts, including Candida and Cryptococcus
  • Preventing certain viruses, like HIV/AIDS and RSV, from entering human cells
  • Reducing inflammation from contact dermatitis and irritating rashes in animal studies
  • Disrupting bacterial biofilm (a slimy shield that allows bacteria to hide from antibiotics) in sinus infections in sheep
  • Being toxic to certain cancer cells
  • Effectively fighting bacteria that can cause deadly diarrhea (Vibrio cholera and a dangerous strain of E. coli).
  • Fighting fungal infections on the skin.

The only way to determine if colloidal silver works for you is to give it a try. However, dosing too much can cause your skin to turn a blueish gray. Only use colloidal silver on bacterial compromises alongside other medication if needed. Even though this remedy has thrived mainly on observational studies, taking a leap of faith could go a long way.

Sources:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0144861718308695?via%3Dihub

https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/12/2/72/htm

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22796767/