Colloidal Silver

Summary: For acute or serious chronic problems, many colloidal silver advocates recommend using one teaspoon of 10ppm colloidal silver three times per day or more, up to every hour. Can start with initial amount of one tablespoon. For best results, colloidal silver should be mixed into filtered or distilled water (at least 8 oz), but if this cannot be done, leave in mouth for one minute before swallowing. If it is used in large amounts, it is not cost effective for long term use unless made oneself or found at a good discount.

Note: Some manufacturers of safe, high-voltage colloidal silver have started calling their product a Silver Sol to distinguish it from low voltage colloidal silvers. Whether it is called Silver Sol or Colloidal Silver, one should only use high voltage process colloidal silver for long term use, such as Now Silver Sol or Blue Ridge Colloidal Silver.

Colloidal silver is often hyped as a cure-all and supposedly treats hundreds if not thousands or millions of different pathogens according to some manufacturers. Although Electroherbalism once manufactured this product and pioneered the high voltage AC method of production, few claims were ever made for it. It does appear to be helpful for some problems of the digestive tract, especially fungi and some bacteria. Outside the digestive tract, it is not as effective unless sufficient amounts are taken. When adequate amounts are used, it can be helpful for many acute and even some serious chronic bacteria, viral, and especially fungal problems. When made oneself it is certainly cost effective and this is one of the major reasons it is such a popular supplement.

Ten parts per million (ppm) strength is common. This is the usual strength that is made when using distilled water and the high-voltage process. Many companies use deionized water or add a small amount of minerals to the water like salt to greatly speed the process and allow a higher ppm, but one should use only distilled water to make it when it will be used long term so that it will contain only silver and not silver compounds. This keeps the particle size smallest, too.

For 10ppm: use one teaspoon once per day for maintenance as desired. For acute problems, use one teaspoon three times a day or more, up to every hour. Can start with initial amount of one tablespoon. For best results, colloidal silver should be mixed into filtered or distilled water (at least 8 oz), but if this cannot be done, leave in mouth for one minute or more before swallowing.

Colloidal Silver and Argyria

Yes, you really can turn blue from using too much colloidal silver if it is improperly Bluemanmade. This condition is called argyria. In the past this condition was almost exclusively caused by drugs which contained silver salts prescribed by doctors, mostly as an aid to stop smoking. Once it was realized that people sometimes took more than the prescribed amount of the drug and argyria resulted, they were no longer prescribed.

However, there have been two famous cases of argyria in the last few years. The latest was the Blue Man, shown at right. The other was a politician who ran for office some years back. Both made DC process colloidal silver themselves and consumed it in very large amounts, 8 to 16 oz per day, every day for years. Other colloidal silver advocates have used this large amount for years without problems. The difference is in how it is made.

Colloidal silver should only be made with distilled water. It is much more difficult and time consuming to do it this way though. Using the shortcut method of adding a little salt in the water speeds the production time greatly but creates silver salts. This is what the politician did. Even worse is to make it with tap water, which contains even more contaminants and results in even more silver compounds as opposed to pure colloidal silver. This is what Blue Man did. One can make the argument that these guys did not even make colloidal silver - they made silver salts - and with the same predictable result of long term excessive use as using prescription silver salts.

Colloidal silver made for long term use should be produced using an AC method, which does not produce silver oxides which can occur when using a low voltage process. DC process colloidal silver is fine for short term use when made with distilled water. Even when it is properly made, it is not recommended to use DC process colloidal silver in large amounts for months on end, much less years. It should only be used as needed much as any herbal antiseptic program. If it is necessary to control fungal, viral, and bacteria infection long term, it is probably preferable to look into a bioelectronic regimen

Making Colloidal Silver for Short Term Use

It is easy to make DC process colloidal silver oneself. This type is fine for short term or low dose use, but if large amounts will be used long term, use a high voltage AC process type instead. USE ONLY FRESH STEAM DISTILLED WATER. Do not contaminate it with salt, spring water, deionized water, tap water, or anything else. Ultrafine, also known as superfine, silver wire is available from C.C. Silver & Gold

Need:

8-12 oz jar or glass

Ultrafine or superfine (99.99% pure) silver wire

3 9v batteries

3 9v battery terminal clip snap-ons (pack of 5 available at Radio Shack for $1)

Distilled water

2 small alligator clips

Colloidal silver can also be made with a single 9v battery, as shown in the picture at left, which reduces much of the complexity of setting it up. It takes longer to make, but still works fine.

Connect 3 battery clips in series (positive to negative, connecting red wires to black). On the 2 unconnected wire ends, attach alligator clips. Preferably, solder to hold well, but electrical tape can be used after twisting wires together. A Hulda Clark zapper can also be used to produce colloidal silver although as with a 9v battery, it takes longer than using the 27V output with 3 batteries.

Use only pure silver (99.9% or purer), not sterling. Ultrafine is defined as 99.99% or better pure. Pure silver wires are sold by some manufacturers mail order, and are easy to use and even cheaper at $12 a pair. Sota Instruments sells 99.99% pure silver wires attached to lead wires with plugs in them . The best choice is to find a jewelry finings supply. Most sell fine silver wire (99.9%) but try to find ultrafine wire (99.99%) if possible. Get as high a gauge (thickest) as possible. A foot or two are all that is needed. Silver ingots can also be used, but are not as easy to work as silver wire, which can be bent over the side of a glass and easily put in an ideal position. If they are the only option, some coin and fine jewelry shops sell them.

Put batteries on clips. Do not touch clips once the batteries are connected or they will short!

Wash jar or glass well. Rinse, then fill, with distilled water. Use only distilled water. If purchased in a plastic jug, use one with a freshness date. Bring to boil in microwave and remove. WARNING: When boiling water, especially distilled water, in a microwave, the water can "explode" when it is removed from the microwave. To prevent this, tap the side of the jar with a utensil such as a spoon a few times then let it cool for a few minutes before removing the jar. Run the wires parallel into the water, ideally about 3/4" apart, and do not let them touch each other at any time when the batteries are connected.

Once the wires are connected to power, watch for a whitish cloud to begin forming between them. First, bubbles will form on ingots and 5-10 minutes later, particles will be seen emitting from one ingot. To speed up the process a bit, can add an ounce of silver colloid from a previous batch. It is only necessary to run for an additional 10 minutes past this point to make it approximately 5ppm. To make it stronger, it may be necessary to disconnect power and pull the wires out to clean them every few minutes. Use a wet paper towel. Once they begin getting covered as soon as they are put back and connected to power, it is about as strong as it can be made with this method - 10ppm.

When done, remove wires and clean with Scotch brite pad. Pour colloid through multiple unbleached paper coffee filters. Pour into amber or brown bottles which have been cleaned and rinsed with distilled water. Store away from light and heat. Do not refrigerate.

Running 10 minutes after the process initiates makes a metallic tasting but clear colloid. Letting the process run additional time will result in some silver oxide forming and the liquid will begin to turn yellow. A light yellow color is okay, but the deeper in color it becomes, the more oxide is in the colloid, and the less effective it becomes.

This DC process colloidal silver has a short shelf life. When it starts getting too dark, discard it and make a new batch.

Links

The Silver Safety Calculation The Silver Safety Committee provides guidelines to the maximum amount of silver can be safely consumed.