Has anyone tried ionic silver for infections?

[bonito]

Just trying to get a feel for its popularity.

[SiouxJ]

1. Odd that you should mention it

I just started using in nasal spray form for constant sinus headaches I've been having. I just started like 3 days ago so I don't know if it's working yet. I'll let you know what I think after some time passes.

I was using a simple saline nasal spray to treat my headaches, and it works quite well but I want some long term relief. I'm thinking if I do have chronic infections, maybe the silver will put an end to them. From everything I've read, it couldn't hurt.

[Dogmudgeon]

2. I think it's over rated, and it is a big snake-oil item

Colloidal (ionic) silver has many uses, but there are a lot of people who claim it works for everything, and promote that people dose heavily with silver.

The first problem is that some conditions, even infections, don't respond to silver. It is supposed to be a panacea for infectious illness, but it isn't. Before antibiotics were introduced, silver proteins and colloids were studied extensively to see which could kill which bacteria, and it was far from a 100% kill rate.

Second is that while it is rare, argyria -- silver deposits that can make the skin take on a grayish cast -- can occur. In one case, a fellow who was running for office as a brash Libertarian was making his own and drinking well over a liter of >10ppm silver colloid water a day. He developed argyria and became a poster boy for all those groups who don't even want you to take a whizz without getting a note from the doctor first.

Probably the best use for silver colloids is in treating topical infections. Sinus infections -- most of them -- are not treatable by silver water, since the organisms appear to be unresponsive to it. Some fungi are poisoned by silver, so it couldn't hurt to try it on athlete's foot and nail fungus.

It was a very popular alt-med treatment from about 1993 to 2000 (it was promoted as a medicine for use after Y2K destroyed the world), but I think too many people have gotten too little benefit from it.

--p!