Hello Royaleen,
I hesitated to answer this question, as a negative answer often
generates a poor rating. After markvmd-ga left his comment (He is a
veterinarian), I decided to go ahead and take your question.
While silver does have some germicidal properties, it is not
considered effective or safe to take by mouth. I would hate to see
young pets get sicker from taking a scam ?medicine? instead of being
treated by a vet.
?Contrary to these promotional claims, silver is not an essential
mineral supplement and has no known physiologic function. The use of
silver products as germicidals has chiefly been replaced. Efficacy
claims for the treatment of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis,
malaria, and systemic fungal infections or for the prevention of
cancer, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and diabetes remain
unproven. Use of such products with unsubstantiated claims can delay
appropriate medical intervention, resulting in deleterious
consequences.
Silver is not without toxicity. Silver accumulates in the body and may
result in bluish skin discoloration (argyria). (2) While silver
deposits derive from dietary (eg. mushrooms, milk, and bran),
environmental, or industrial exposures, the indiscriminate use of
CSP's and other silver medicinals adds unnecessary exposure and may
result in argyria. Although primarily a cosmetic concern, argyria is
irreversible and has no effective treatment. In addition, neurologic
deficits (3) and diffuse silver deposition in visceral organs (4) have
been reported with long-term use of oral silver products. Renal damage
and metal fume fever have been reported with high silver exposures. We
are concerned that renewed interest in CSP's among health food
enthusiasts could lead to increased toxicity. The Food and Drug
Administration's Nontraditional Drug Compliance Branch is currently
evaluating the legitimacy of marketing these products. Meanwhile, to
provide proper advice to their patients, it is essential for
physicians to query over-the-counter drug and food supplement use.?
Man C. Fung, MD
Michael Weintraub, MD
Debra L. Bowen, MD
Food and Drug Administration
Rockville, MD
http://www.purehealthsystems.com/colloidal-silver.html
?Another ploy is the use of techno-babble, wherein make-believe
technical sounding terms are used to impress the non-technical reader.
Techno-babble attempts to draw the reader?s attention away from the
real science and focus on nonsensical but important sounding terms and
ideas. In a related approach, advertising or labels will include
scientific-sounding explanations that use terms from other fields of
science that are not applicable to the chemistry of solutions and
colloids. For example, in the field of nuclear science, a particle is
considered to be any atomic object whose weight is greater or equal to
the weight of an electron. Attempting to define a silver ion as a
particle by using this definition is the essence of what is commonly
referred to as bogus science.?
?Adding protein to colloidal silver is also potentially unsafe because
of bacteria, according to Professor Ronald Gibbs who discussed this
fact in his booklet " Silver Colloids". He found "mild silver protein"
products that had live bacteria growing on the protein. This can
happen when protein is mixed with colloidal silver because the protein
molecules are large and encapsulate the silver particles, which
prevent the silver from reaching the bacteria to kill it. Normally, it
would be impossible for bacteria to live in colloidal silver, but it
is common in products containing protein.? Please read the entire site
for further information.
http://www.silver-colloids.com/Reports/reports.html
?Confusingly, ads for these products frequently claim that silver
ions are small silver particles or describe the product as consisting
of ionic silver particles. Silver ions are not the same as silver
particles and the two terms are not interchangeable. Ionic silver is
also referred to as monatomic silver and silver hydrosol by some
producers who choose not to describe their products using the
scientifically correct terminology. These are marketing terms used to
hide the truth that what is being sold is an ionic silver solution.
For more details read About Ionic Silver.?
http://www.silver-colloids.com/Reports/reports.html
?FDA Bans Colloidal Silver Products, Cites Lack of Data
Under a rule recently finalized by FDA, drug products containing
colloidal silver or silver salts are not recognized as safe and
effective. These products, labeled to treat a wide variety of
illnesses in adults and children, including AIDS, cancer, syphilis,
scarlet fever, shingles, herpes, and pneumonia, have caused some
people's skin to take on a permanent blue-gray discoloration.
FDA concluded that colloidal silver products (suspensions of silver
particles in a gelatinous base) are misbranded because adequate
directions cannot be written to allow consumers to use them safely.
These products are also misbranded, FDA said, when their labeling
falsely suggests that there is substantial scientific evidence to
establish that they are safe and effective for their labeled uses.
(See the enforcement action involving colloidal silver in this
issue.)?
http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/departs/1999/699_upd.html
?In the early 1990s colloidal silver began appearing in the
marketplace as a "nutritional supplement." Although tremendous claims
and testimonials have been made for colloidal silver, almost none of
these are documented with scientific research. Silver is an effective
antimicrobial agent; however, the effective concentrations required
for any sort of systemic effect with colloidal silver are not likely
to be obtained safely with oral administration. 1 Yet, colloidal
silver is promoted by certain distributors as an alternative to
antibiotics and as treatment for almost every infectious disease.?
http://www.memorialhermann.org/library/healthguide/en-us/Cam/topic.asp?hwid=hn-2832002
?Objective: Colloidal silver preparations are marketed on the internet
as omnipotent antimicrobial agents, but scientific support for these
claims is lacking.This study reports the results of in vitro tests of
colloidal silver?s antimicrobial activity against several pathogenic
or non-pathogenic microorganisms.
? Method: Three samples of colloidal silver were tested: one available
commercially on the internet (silver concentration of 22ppm) and two
samples (concentrations of 403 and 413ppm) which were
prepared in our laboratory using standard chemical methods.
? Results: In an agar-well diffusion assay none of the three colloidal
silver solutions had any effect on
the growth of the test organisms.All tested bacterial strains were
sensitive to ciprofloxacin. Colloidal
silver 22ppm showed no bactericidal activity in phenol coefficient tests.
? Conclusion: As the tested colloidal silver solutions did not show
any antimicrobial effect in vitro on
the microorganisms, claims of colloidal silver?s antimicrobial potency
are misleading and there is no
place for it as an antiseptic.
? Declaration of interest: None.?
?Following warnings from the FDA, some websites
have become more prudent in their marketing statements. However, the
suppliers? websites still cite laboratory tests done at ?prestigious
universities and institutions?, even though to date none of these
studies have been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.?
http://home.planet.nl/~hasse267/pdfs/JWCColloidalSilverApr04.pdf
?Iodine and NaOCl were more effective than chlorhexidine except
against P. micros and P. intermedia where they were all 100%
effective. Iodine and NaOCl elicited a 100% kill after 1 h incubation
for all strains used. However, after 15 min, they showed differing
bactericidal effects depending on the strain. None of the agents were
effective against F. nucleatum after 15 min but NaOCl, iodine and
chlorhexidine were all effective after 1 h. Colloidal silver was
generally ineffective.
Conclusions
The effectiveness of a particular agent was dependent on the nature of
the organism in the biofilm and on the contact time. NaOCl was
generally the most effective agent tested, followed by iodine. However
the clinical efficacy of these agents must be considered in light of
the complex root canal anatomy and polymicrobial nature of root canal
infections.?
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/iej/2001/00000034/00000004/art00392
?Silver is toxic!
But for more than 40 years we have known that silver is a hard, proven
carcinogen - a cancer-causing agent. Metallic silver is listed in the
1979 Registry of Toxic Effects as causing cancer in animals. Claims
that it is safe have come primarily from the companies that make
silver products - hardly a trustworthy source of unbiased information.
Silver in any form is a bio-accumulative toxic heavy metal, like
mercury, lead, and arsenic. Its action as an antibiotic comes from the
fact that it is a non-selective toxic "biocide."
It is known - and acknowledged - that long-term use of colloidal
silver or silver salts deposits metallic silver under the skin,
turning people's skin an ashen-gray color, an affliction known as
argyria (see reference below). Argyria is considered permanent. This
is precisely the circumstance in which silver was a cancer-causing
agent - implanted into the skin of animals it caused cancerous
lesions. It also accumulates in internal organs, continually exposing
the cells of those organs to silver, wreaking unknown havoc, and it is
likely that it actually interferes with the body's normal immune
processes.?
?The former manufacturer of one of these products - Seasilver -
actually claimed at the time that silver is an "essential" nutrient.
This was an outright falsehood. The human body has no need or use for
silver. The health claims made by the company - that it was an
effective treatment for 650 different health problems - were so
outrageous that they received a "cease and desist" order from the
Federal Trade Commission in June, 2003, and now the company, allegedly
"reconstituted," sells an innocuous product made from Aloe Vera, fruit
juices, Pau D'Arco Extract, and some obscure sea herbs.?
http://www.cqs.com/silver.htm
?Of course, the fact that a product inhibits bacteria in a
laboratory culture doesn't mean it is effective (or safe) in the human
body. In fact, products that kill bacteria in the laboratory would be
more likely to cause argyria because they contain more silver ions
that are free to deposit in the user's skin.
FDA laboratory studies have found that the amount of silver in some
product samples has varied from 15.2% to 124% of the amount listed on
the product labels. The amount of silver required to produce argyria
is unknown. However, the FDA has concluded that the risk of using
silver products exceeds any unsubstantiated benefit [3]. So far,
eleven cases of argyria related to silver products have been reported?
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/silverad.html
?I would not give my dog or myself any form of a heavy metal!
Despite the homeopathic therapies, ask yourself: Do dogs in nature eat
silver? Any herbal or homeopathic cure is a roll of the dice.? ?How
many of us or our dogs have died from a lack of coloidal silver! Give
me a break! Everyone is looking for a panacea. Sorry, there ain't
one!?
http://www.doglinks.co.nz/problems/barry_place/Colloidal_Silver.htm.htm
?He reminds me a bit of that libertarian guy who ran for some state
office in Montana last year, who has argyria from swilling dangerous
silver solution drinks for years due to their purported but
illusionary health benefits. He turned silver, as people who consume
colloidal silver often do. Not that I think Mr. Universe has argyria,
since it turns humans silver or bronze or other interestingly-freakish
metallic colors, but it's really, does this politician look any odder
than Mr. Universe??
http://www.blackchampagne.com/daily/2003-nov11.shtml
Here is a previous answer of mine. Judge for yourself how reliable the
last commenter sounds.
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=548538
Please take your kittens to the vet if you feel they have an
infectious illness and let the vet determine if they need antibiotics
or not. As a health care professional for over 25 years (human), I?ve
never seen any benefits to colloidal silver? only patients who tried
it, and then came in for conventional treatment.
If any part of my question is unclear, please request an Answer
Clarification, and allow me to respond, before rating. I?ll be happy
to assist you further, before you rate.
I wish your kitties the best!
Sincerely, Crabcakes
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