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View Full Version : Everything About Colloidal Silver (including how to make it)



skid
4th August 2014, 09:37 AM
Interesting, long and very thorough article. Thought this would be good information in light of Ebola, etc. Hopefully this hasn't been posted previously...

http://healthwyze.org/index.php/component/content/article/633-everything-about-colloidal-silver.html

Two thousand, three hundred years ago, Alexander The Great was surveying his battlefield and drinking water from silver urns. He knew nothing about bacteria, but he knew that silver containers have a seemingly miraculous way of keeping water fresh. Silver has been used for thousands of years in different forms for its health benefits. Throughout the middle ages, the wealthy gave their children silver spoons to suck upon to stave off illnesses. People have known about the benefits of silver for so long that it is incorporated into legends. Silver is the recommended agent for killing vampires, werewolves, and various forms of the so-called undead. According to ancient legend, a silver dagger was all that a knight needed to vanquish evil.

The new history of silver is a falsified history. Silver was once used extensively by all health care practitioners as an antibiotic, anti-viral, and as an anti-microbial. Nothing worked better then, and nothing does now. The F.D.A. began its crusade against silver products in the 1930's, because silver (as a natural substance) cannot be patented; but the organization's antibiotic and vaccine industry partners were able to patent their wares. Under the Food and Drug Administration's original name, the Bureau of Chemistry, its real mission was to legally protect the chemical industry by declaring toxic chemicals to be "generally recognized as safe", and to eliminate the chemical industry's competition through regulations. This history has likewise been obscured greatly in most modern historical texts, but the truth can be found in materials from its early period.

Silver medicine has been erased from the textbooks, and it is seldom given mention in medical literature. The official Pharmacopeia (physician's desk reference book) listed dozens of medicinal silver compounds prior to the mid-1930's; but thereafter, all mention of silver disappeared. Newer books report that it never really happened. Before the history was rewritten, silver was like the nuclear weapon of medicine. No human pathogen of any kind survived it. This was the gospel of medicine. Pure colloidal silver is still the most comprehensive and potent antibiotic and anti-viral known, which is actually safe for human consumption, and it is absolutely safe for everyone in every condition. It is natural, has no side effects, and it was killing the worst viral diseases in the 1930's, long before it became impossible to kill viruses with medicine.

Over the past two centuries, silver has been used by both allopathic and alternative medicine. In addition to being used for routine ailments, silver has been used effectively against some of the most notoriously hard to kill illnesses, including tuberculosis and syphilis. It has been used as an anti-bacterial agent that was added to bandages and disinfectant sprays. It has been embedded into clothing to prevent bacteria from producing foul odors from sweat, and it has been merged into cloth that is used in burn centers. Attempts are still being made to lace hospital counter tops with silver, to prevent the growth of bacteria. Silver-lined containers are actively being used to disinfect water in third world countries.

Silver is remarkable because it is an extremely powerful natural anti-bacterial and anti-viral agent, yet it does not impair overall health like antibiotics do. It kills viruses, fungi, and parasites in cases where the parasites live in a symbiotic relationship with a bacterial agent. This is surprisingly common, especially in the case of blood-borne parasites, such as those of U.S. bio-weapons like Lyme disease. Because of the way that silver kills with an electrical charge, no pathogen can be found or engineered to be immune to it. No life can develop an immunity to electricity.

Since the late nineteenth century, colloidal silver has been the safest and most effective way to medicate with silver. Colloidal silver is manufactured by electrically combining silver with pure water. The colloidal manufacturing process uses no chemicals. While silver is now labeled as an alternative medicine, it was once used widely in hospitals as the premiere antiseptic and antibiotic. It is still used in hospital burn centers for its incredible ability to heal burns more rapidly than steroids. We were astounded when witnessing it eliminate a sunburn in the span of just an hour, and a burnt tongue within minutes.

Removing silver from the market was one of the first actions of the Food and Drug Administration when it changed its name in the 1930's. It has gradually changed its name from the Bureau of Chemistry, to the more publicly palatable, Food and Drug Administration. In 1999, after a re-emergence of silver, the F.D.A. completely banned it in any form from being sold in over-the-counter health products, despite the fact that silver has safely been used as a medicine for millennia.

The devastation of the polio epidemic was largely caused by how the Food and Drug Administration suppressed silver to promote its new antibiotics and vaccine industries. By removing silver from the lists of approved medicines, it effectively removed the only treatment that reliably kills polio, which in-turn unleashed the full epidemic of polio. The F.D.A. later claimed a victory over polio in boasting that the new generation of vaccines had saved us. The agency cunningly waited until the epidemic was in its natural decline to release the vaccine, in order to ensure that people saw a connection between the vaccine's release date and the disappearance of the disease. The public, and quite a few doctors, were distracted away from the fact that silver medications were a safe treatment, which effectively kills polio quickly, as well as virtually every other virus known. Prior to this entire smoke-and-mirrors routine, silver was recognized for doing what the establishment now claims is impossible. Had silver medicine not been stripped from the market, the polio epidemic would have never occurred. Today's huge vaccine and antibiotics markets would have never come into being. Silver had to go. Just to stack the dishonest vaccine marketing even more, the F.D.A. and the American Medical Association began promoting tonsillectomies for all children at the same time, while knowing that the tonsils are the only organ in the human body that produces polio antibodies.

The Food and Drug Administration now admits that antibiotic drugs are useless for most of the conditions that they have been prescribed during the last seven decades. The common cold, flu, and the most common type of pneumonia are all now believed to be caused by viruses for which antibiotics are useless against. However, silver is effective against viruses, so untold people have died as a result of silver being replaced with antibiotics.

Another suppression campaign against silver began around the time of the Second World War, when germ warfare agents were being increasingly studied as the new generation of warfare. Silver has the ability to neutralize every bio-weapon that has ever been created, because of how it attacks pathogens electrically. This is one of the primary reasons why it has been suppressed and maligned so aggressively. There are groups within the U.S. Government who do not want anyone to be resistant to U.S. Military bio-weapons, so silver medications have been repressed throughout the world for the sake of a covert military weapons program that is forbidden by international laws. If silver medicine was still being distributed officially as the top tier of medicine, then the bio-weapons program would be rendered impotent, because victims could simply use colloidal silver to recover from any germ warfare agent.

How Silver Medicine is Believed to Work

There are theories about how silver works. The leading one is that silver kills bacteria and viruses electrically, which would make it impossible for pathogens to become resistant to it. Indeed, it is true that there is no evidence of pathogens developing any resistance to colloidal silver. This hypothesis is impossible to prove (or disprove), because we cannot examine a single colloidal particle and its relation to a bacterium, or view the mechanism through which silver kills the latter. We can merely put colloidal silver and bacteria together, and see that all of the bacteria dies rapidly.

It is believed that each particle retains an electrical (ionic) charge, and that each particle of the same metal stores a charge of the same polarity. The charges ensure equal distribution of the particles throughout the solution. The theory is similar to that of magnetism, wherein the same poles of magnets are repelled by each other, and attracted only to their opposites.

There is evidence that silver interferes with copper and iron in the body, by binding with both electrically to chemically form new metallic compounds. People who are using a large amount of colloidal silver regularly may begin to crave foods that are rich in iron, such as beef. It is wise to satisfy these cravings, since they are caused by a deficiency of an important nutrient. Copper can be safely supplemented through the use of chlorophyll, but virtually every other oral source of copper supplementation is dangerous, because it is so trivially easy to overdose with it and cause liver damage. Due to colloidal silver's ability to neutralize iron, men over the age of 30 will benefit from occasional colloidal silver supplementation. Iron accumulation in the bodies of men is believed to be one of the key reasons why women live longer than men do, and excessive iron is a major contributor to heart disease in men.

The Different Silver Products

There are many different types of silver solutions, including silver nitrates, ionic silvers, colloidal silvers, silver chlorides, and silver proteins. The only completely safe medicinal silver product, and the kind that we officially recommend, is colloidal silver.

Silver nitrate is produced by the pharmaceutical industry by combining silver with nitric acid. It can damage the liver and kidneys like most pharmaceutical drugs. It is the terrible side effects of silver nitrate that the establishment often uses to justify its attacks upon colloidal silver, in more slight-of-hand tactics. Pharmaceutical silver nitrate has a long history of turning patients' skin a bluish-gray color. Nitrates are the poisonous compounds that are added to meat products which cause cancers. In other words, the F.D.A. pushed the poisonous and carcinogenic nitrate compounds on the public, and blamed the consequences on silver.

Ionic and colloidal silver are almost identically produced. The main difference between them is the size of the silver particles. In ionic silver, the particles are atomically small, to such a degree that even testing for their existence is difficult. It is possible that the particles in ionic silver are so small that the water itself becomes a different substance, because the silver particles are no longer completely autonomous. In colloidal silver, the particles are still microscopically small, but not as small as they are in ionic silver. Ionic silver can be made using very small voltages, over extended periods of time with silver plates. Higher voltages, or decreased resistance in the water produces colloidal silver. For true colloidal or ionic silver, the water must remain pure, so the only way to reduce the resistance of the water is to heat it, which most commercial manufacturers unwisely do.

Colloidal silver is much more likely to have a color, whereas ionic silver is always clear. This is because the larger particles in the colloidal silver provide a greater surface area. Ionic silver particles are so small that they are actually smaller than the wavelengths of visible light, making the silver invisible and colorless in even high concentrations. All colloidal silver solutions are mixtures of ionic and colloidal silver, but ionic solutions can be completely ionic. It is not possible to produce colloidal silver without also producing ionic silver. This is analogous to a construction worker who extracts materials from a brick wall. He might use a grinding tool that yielded only a fine powder, or he could bash the brick wall with a sledge hammer, which would yield a mixture of large chunks and fine powder. The use of higher voltages for colloidal extraction is like hammering the silver. The larger particles that are found in colloidal silver solutions are especially beneficial for external use, including the treatment of burns. Ionic silver is useless externally, and its internal effects have never been studied by independent third parties. Only colloidal silver and silver nitrate have been scientifically scrutinized for effectiveness, and only the colloidal variant is truly safe. Incredibly, colloidal silver is the only type which the pharmaceutical industry has never sold.

Another silver product is silver chloride. It is essentially made in the same manner as colloidal silver, but with the addition of table salt (sodium chloride). It is a cloudy liquid (often whitish) that is extremely photosensitive. Upon illumination or heating, the silver chloride solution separates into silver and chlorine. This instability makes it unsafe for human consumption. When ingested, silver chloride has a tendency to migrate to the outer tissues. Then, when the skin is exposed to sunlight, the silver chloride will break down into silver and chlorine. This causes the bluish-gray skin discoloration that has been heavily publicized as damning evidence against silver medicine. Victims of this phenomenon often claim that they drank colloidal silver, but the addition of salt transformed it into a very different substance that was chemically unstable. Conversely, true colloidal silver compounds are extremely non-reactive. Silver chloride has no benefits over colloidal silver, and it comes with risks. The salt is usually added to speed production time, but the same effect can be achieved with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in a much safer manner. The addition of sodium bicarbonate will yield especially large particles, which is unwise for internal use, but the resultant solution would nevertheless be ideal for external use. It would be excellent for burn treatments and infectious wound treatments.

Silver proteins contain much larger particles than either colloidal or ionic silver, and they should never be used internally. These were formerly approved of by the F.D.A., and they were preferred by the pharmaceutical industry. The silver particles in silver protein solutions are so large that they simply sink in the water, and the particles never stay evenly distributed without the aid of an added gelling agent. Due to the large size of the silver particles, and the silver's binding with proteins, there is a dramatically increased likelihood that silver will become trapped in the fatty tissues. Therefore, these thick solutions are likely to produce the infamous bluish discoloration of the skin too.

Dishonest Silver Companies

Misinformation is being spread by most sellers of colloidal silver. Most sellers boast about colloidal silver by showcasing its long history of safe usage, but they simultaneously claim to use a proprietary process that makes their silver superior to all other silver products. Their admitted usage of non-standard manufacturing processes means that they cannot sincerely use the safety history of colloidal silver as an example of their own product's safety, or honestly declare that their untested proprietary product is as effective. If a different manufacturing process is used, then the result cannot actually be colloidal silver. There is only one way to make colloidal silver, and any other manufacturing process will yield an entirely different product. Hence, the marketing for most colloidal silver is patently dishonest from start to end. This is not an indictment against colloidal silver itself, but its sellers tend to be morally bankrupt, and the product that they sell is a potentially dangerous fraud. Every manufacturing short-cut seems to have consequences.

We are aware from patent applications that some companies are producing silver solutions using fermenting bacteria combined with silver nitrates, instead of using electricity; but we do not know exactly which silver products are manufactured using this deplorable process. Whenever silver products are produced this way, they are inherently tainted with the dangerous nitrate compounds that the pharmaceutical silvers became infamous for. The effects of these toxic impurities can be much more severe than mere skin discolorations. Organ damage is a known consequence of using nitrate compounds, and cancers.

Most sellers of modern colloidal silver advertise that their product contains between 10 and 20 parts per million. They probably seek this concentration due to the research of Alfred Searle. He authored the book, The Use of Colloids in Health and Disease, in 1920. He is also the founder of Searle Pharmaceuticals. His company was respectable in its early history, and Searle was long dead before his company dishonored his memory by selling itself to Monsanto. In his book, Mr. Searle reported that a concentration of just 20 parts per million of silver was proven to be deadly to all known pathogenic life forms, including every known virus. However, these results do not equate to the 10-20 parts per million ratings that can be found on most silver products of today. The reason is that the methods of testing have changed dramatically.

Continued:

skid
4th August 2014, 09:38 AM
Continued:

Alfred Searle used a Tyndall meter to measure how many particles of silver were present in a solution. It is a device that uses light to test for hue and reflection, which are used to determine the particle count and their size. These devices use light wavelengths as the means of measurement. Most modern sellers of silver products instead purchase an electronic device that measures the conductivity of the finished product. The conductivity of different solutions will always vary greatly, so these meters cannot possibly do what they are advertised to do. For example, if salt were added to the water, then it would have a different effect on the conductivity than if copper were added, because of their differing electrical properties. Yet the sellers of these meters claim that they are able to get accurate results measuring particle counts regardless of a solution's ingredients. If salt or another electrolyte exists in the water, the conductivity of the water will increase dramatically, even whilst the number of particles will stay roughly the same. Particle size and the temperature of the solution also effect the conductivity, which the meter has no way of determining. Even a gust of wind will give a different reading, due to the electrostatic effect upon the surface of the solution. In the case of colloidal metals, electrically gauging the concentration is even more futile than it is for other types of solutions, because the metallic liquid is an electrolytic capacitor with a constantly changing capacitance. Electricity cannot be used to measure the amount of metal in a solution when the surface area of the metal cannot be verified, and when the capacitance of the solution is ever-changing. It is like trying to get a consistent light measurement from a fireworks display. The capacitive solution itself will produce its own tiny currents, and it will block currents from the meter, which makes electronic testing an exercise in absurdity. The only way to accurately measure concentration in a metallic colloidal fluid is using light. Thus, the parts per million rating given by most colloidal and ionic silver sellers is meaningless. Since colloidal silver changes the color of the water, clear colloidal solutions are frequently just expensive water, regardless of any measurement that sellers purportedly get. In the case of ionic silvers, it is impossible to measure the particle count, since the particles are too small to reflect light.

TDS Meter, the de facto manufacturer of the new testing equipment, even acknowledges the uselessness of its own meters on its website, in an amusing attempt at damage control:


" ...temperature changes by a tenth of a degree may increase or decrease the conductivity. Additionally, the temperature coefficient (what the reading is multiplied by to adjust for temperature differences) changes slightly depending upon the range of ppm... Even a tiny air bubble that has adhered to one of the probes could potentially affect the conductivity, and thus the reading... Electrical charges off fingers, static eletricity off clothes, etc. on the meter and lingering electrical charges in the water will affect the conductivity of the water... Plastic cups retain lingering electrical charges more than glass. If the meter touches the side of the glass or plastic, it could pick up a slight charge. If the plastic is retaining a charge, it could also affect the water... The amount of water in the sample may affect the conductivity. Different volumes of the same water may have different levels of conductivity. Displacement may affect the conductivity as well... The depth and position of the probe in the water sample may also affect the conductivity. For example, if a meter is dipped into the water, removed and then dipped into the water again, but in a different spot, the reading may change... "

The expensive methods of testing colloidal solutions that are utilized by modern laboratories are likewise grossly flawed. Flame atomic absorption spectroscopy is one of the leading laboratory methods for analyzing colloidal solutions. It uses extreme temperatures to destroy a colloidal solution, and then observers rate the colors of the flames, in an attempt to visually gauge the metal concentration. Fire is impossible to control with the precision that is needed for a valid analysis; and of course, the test results are in the eyes of the beholder. These machines cost about $50,000 (U.S), so it is unlikely that anyone outside of the chemical industry actually owns one. There are similar devices that utilize a beam of light that is projected through the flames during the analysis. These devices have the same inaccuracy issues, and they are even more expensive.

True Colloidal Silver

We have been unable to find any sellers of silver solutions whom we could fully trust, so this is intended to assist people in producing their own colloidal silver. The silver solutions sold at retailers are essentially the homeopathic versions of colloidal and ionic silver products, which means that they are merely high-priced water. Some of the retail products that we examined had plenty of impurities (like iron that biologically neutralizes silver), but we found very little silver. Testing was impossible in the case of ionic silvers, which may be convenient for manufacturers. At many locations, the municipal water supply will contain more silver than the fraudulent retail products. The majority of retail products are fake, and these bogus products are the primary reason why so many people who are new to alternative medicine believe that silver is ineffective. The products that retail shoppers typically buy are usually no more effective than water, because they are water. People can either take their best guess in choosing the commercially-available products, or they can produce their own to ensure that it is real and of the best quality.

Manufacturing Colloidal Silver

The most important step in the production of colloidal silver is obtaining the right materials. Using distilled water is vital. Never use tap or spring water, because even minerals that would normally be beneficial can cause health problems once they are electro-chemically transformed through electrolysis. Ensure that the water has been distilled using steam distillation, which should be written on the container. Some "distilled" water containers have, "distilled through reverse osmosis" on the label, and these labels are entirely dishonest. True distillation uses steam to separate the water from its minerals and contaminants, whereas reverse osmosis is simply a type of pressurized filtration that does not render pure water. It is a much cheaper process, so some of the companies lie about their "distillation". Beware of Food Lion brand distilled water in particular, because our testing during the production of colloidal copper indicated that it is impure, even though it is labeled to have been distilled. Also be forewarned that the formation of black chunks and other strangely-colored precipitates during the electrolysis process is an indication of water impurities. Black is the most common color for these, because they are usually the charred carbon remnants of organic matter and bicarbonates. In batches that produce large particles of silver, because the electrolysis process is continued for too long, the voltage is too high, or the silver plates are too close together, some grayish chucks may form in the water. These particulates are actually safe and produced by the silver. They are especially beneficial for burns and skin infections, but they should be filtered out of the solution for internal use. A coffee filter works exceptionally well for this, and the solution may be drained by gravity through a coffee maker. Silver particles which have not clumped remain in either a colloidal or an ionic state, and these will pass through any filter. In fact, the particles are so small that wooden spoons and plastic utensils will begin to develop a silvery appearance after several batches. Never use metal utensils. The only metals in the process should be the silver itself and the electrical connection wires.

Using chlorinated tap water is especially dangerous, because when chlorine combines with other materials, it has a tendency to form dioxin compounds. It will also produce chlorine gas during electrolysis, which was used as a chemical warfare agent during World War I. Sodium chloride (salt) in the water will also release chlorine gas, so salt should never be added. As an important side note, tap water should never be used inside vaporizers for the same reason, because chlorine gas will be released into the air to actually worsen lung issues.

We recommend that instead of obtaining silver wire, which is used for most colloidal silver manufacture, people instead use silver bullion bars (pictured). Most of the silver wire available comes from China, and it is simply not feasible to check every wire for impurities. Chinese wire should be assumed to be contaminated, because this is normal. When referencing the purity of metals, companies use an obscure way of gauging purity. When a seller of a precious metal refers to it as having a purity of 925, it equates to 92.5 percent, so the metal would be almost 10 percent impure. Most people will assume that a purity rating of 925 means that silver consists of 0.925% impurities, and therefore it would be over 99% pure. Be watchful of this gotcha. A large portion of the silver buyers seem to be ignorant of it. We recommend getting at least 99.9% pure (written by sellers as 999). This is the standard purity of silver bullion bars, and it is why we only recommend using silver bullion bars. All other sources should be considered impure.

Never use silver coins for colloidal silver manufacture, because coins contain a variety of other metals that should not be consumed. High purity silver is vital, because most metals are extremely detrimental to the health. Bullion bars are the only source of silver that are guaranteed to be safe, because it is regulated as a currency. Silver of such extreme purity typically only contains the impurities of copper and selenium, in trace amounts. Both of which are beneficial to health in these small quantities. If fact, both are vital nutrients. The selenium is actually used by the human body to chelate harmful metals.

To avoid any soap or chemical residues, the bullion bars should be soaked in a solution of white vinegar that is nearly saturated with salt for cleaning. They can also safely be cleaned with vodka. It is not absolutely necessary to clean the silver between uses, but we do. Be advised that the silver will never look new again, regardless of the cleaning method.

People may either use three 9V batteries that are interconnected in series, or a 30V DC power supply that has a rated output of at least 3 amps (3,000 mA), to power the electrolysis. A power supply does not have to be exactly 30 volts, but it is the ideal voltage. The range should be kept between 26 and 30 volts, which is also ideal for creating colloidal copper. Those who have no experience with electronics should opt for battery power, instead of using a DC power supply. Serious injury and fire can result from the improper use of a power supply. The electrical danger is elevated because water is being used. For liability reasons, we must officially recommend against using a power supply, and anyone using a power supply does so at his own risk. Batteries must be interconnected, so that the positive terminal of one battery is connected to the negative terminal of another battery. When properly connected, one battery should have an unused positive pole, and the opposite battery should have an unused negative pole. These two remaining terminals should be connected to the two pieces of silver. Most 9V batteries in the U.S. have terminals that can be used to interconnect with other 9V batteries, whereby connection wire is unnecessary for the battery to battery connections. Never use aluminum wire for any of the connections, and we strongly recommend the use of only copper wiring, for the sake of preventing unhealthy contaminants.

To make colloidal silver, fill a completely clean glass or plastic container with distilled water. We suggest cleaning the container with vodka immediately beforehand, to remove soap residues. Connect the batteries to the pieces of silver. Most people do this with alligator clips. We usually make our connections by inserting copper wires through tiny holes in the top of the silver bullion, and then we twist-tie the wires for maximum hold. Never solder the connection to the silver, and it is wise to even avoid soldering the wires to the alligator clips, for solder can leach lead or cadmium into the solution if the metal components become moist. Nobody should be supplementing with lead and cadmium.

The silver bars should be partially submerged in the water, and be about an inch apart. They should never touch, and the wire connections should never enter the water. If the connectors or silver are allowed to touch, the batteries or the power supply will have a dead short. This could cause overheating and an explosion. It could easily mean a quick death for the power supply. The electrical connections to the silver should be clearly above the water, else other metals will become infused into the solution. Nothing except for pure silver should be in contact with the water. We recommend that all other connectors and wires be maintained at least a quarter inch above the water's surface. We should offer one last reminder of the risks of using solder, which include the introduction of tin, lead and cadmium into the product.

The time needed to produce colloidal silver will vary greatly depending on the purity of water that is used, and no commercially-available water is absolutely pure. One of the first indicators that silver is combining with the water can be seen with a flashlight in a dark room. Shining light through the water at certain angles will show what appears to be smoke coming from one of the silver plates. As time progresses, one of the silver plates will turn a flat gray color, and the other plate will blacken. Tiny bubbles may also form around the silver plates. Those producing a large batch over an extended period should gently stir the solution periodically, using a wooden or plastic spoon. Some people can produce a quart in twenty minutes, but our own experimentation in making 2 quarts required a duration of 4 hours to reach the acceptable strength and color. Due to the fact that silver is extremely non-reactive, a slower process indicates higher purity in both the silver and the water. Pure water and pure silver will both be very resistant to the electrolysis process. Readers may notice that many of the online manufacturing videos show colloidal silver being produced very rapidly, using silver wires that were obtained from China. The short manufacture time indicates the presence of other, more reactive metals, and perhaps impure water too. When producing our own colloidal silver, we add about 3 fluid ounces of existing colloidal silver to speed the production time, without effecting the quality of the resultant product.



To make the silver bars last as long as possible, the polarity should be reversed each time. This means that the silver bar that is connected to the positive (red) wire in one batch should be switched so that it is connected to negative in the next batch. Otherwise, one of the bars will rapidly erode.

If a colloidal silver solution is black, brown, or purple, then it indicates that the silver particles are abnormally large. It may also reflect the presence of impurities. The huge particle size of these products makes it debatable if these solutions can truly be called colloidal. It is how most colloidal silvers from online sellers look. The ugly discolorations can also be caused by heating during production, or from the use of high voltages, which are common shortcuts taken by the commercial manufacturers. We recommend that such solutions be avoided, except as a last resort. These products are significantly less effective internally than properly-produced colloidal silver, and the abnormally-large silver particles are more likely to get forever trapped in the tissues. Most commercial sellers have proprietary processes for production, which cannot be trusted, and there is no way to know what is really in their products. We do know from the color of their products that they are not selling true colloidal silver.

Properly Medicating with Colloidal Silver

High quality colloidal silver, at an appropriate medicinal strength, usually looks slightly yellowish in a brilliant white container, under a fluorescent light. Some batches of colloidal silver will instead have a slight silvery tint. The two colors are an indication of a particle size difference, but there should essentially be no difference in effectiveness. Some batches turn yellow about a day after production. We recommend against making stronger concentrations for most uses, because silver appears to create iron deficiencies with extreme dosages. We do not truly know if the colloidal silver causes the increased excretion of iron, or if it simply neutralizes usable iron by bonding with it, or both. We believe that it is both. Either way, there are no real human toxicity issues, but the proper iron level should be nevertheless maintained for optimal health.

During times of sickness, we recommend using 3 fluid ounces of colloidal silver, twice a day. Best results can be achieved by holding the colloidal silver in the mouth for a minute before swallowing it. This technique allows some silver to penetrate through the walls of the mouth, and directly into the blood stream. Expect for it to have a metallic aftertaste.

Storage of Colloidal Silver

Colloidal silver may be stored in either plastic or glass. The ideal plastic is the type that is used to store milk. It is high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and it can be identified in the U.S. by a number "2" embossed into the bottom of the container. It is a very non-reactive plastic, but the microscopic silver particles may stain it.

Colloidal silver should be stored at room temperature, and never allowed to freeze. The silver will coagulate into visible chunks at the bottom when frozen, which will make the solution much less effective and create the possibility that it will cause argyria. Therefore, an interesting experiment to verify the presence of silver in the solution is to freeze a small amount of it, and then examine the clumped silver in the bottom of the container after thawing. If a choice must be made between storage in a hot or cold environment, the warmer environment should always be chosen.

Pure colloidal silver should not experience any of the serious breakdown problems that silver chloride solutions do whenever there is light exposure; but we nevertheless store our colloidal silver in a dark location, because darkness might somewhat help to keep it better preserved.

A good batch of colloidal silver should last for years, because the silver itself is a powerful preservative. In fact, we use it as a substitute for water in risky foods that use uncooked ingredients, such as raw eggs (for mayonnaise production). It is used to ensure that all of the bacteria is dead. A minute of blending with colloidal silver is enough to ensure that no bacteria survives.

Patients Experiencing the Blues

The medical establishment and the big media organizations have demonized colloidal silver by parading people who have developed a condition known as argyria. It is a bluish-gray discoloration of the skin that is reported to be permanent. However, every case that we investigated involved products that were not actually colloidal silver, and most cases were the result of pharmaceutical-industry silver products. Our exhaustive research could not find a single instance of argyria that was caused by pure colloidal silver. The pharmaceutical silver solutions are the most likely to cause it.

Regulators proclaim that the people who turned blue provide evidence of silver's toxicity, but the opposite is actually true. It proves that even after a person is so incredibly saturated with silver from 20+ years of misuse that he turns blue, he still does not suffer from any health problems. The blue patients are actually healthier than normal. Take for comparison: a patient who consumes enough aspirin to turn white. Actually, we cannot use this example, because within 20 minutes of such extreme aspirin consumption, the patient would be dead from internal bleeding -- long before he ever began changing color.

The National Institutes of Health documented one case of argyria that occurred when a man started producing his own silver solution and consumed 16 fluid ounces of it, three times each day, for a period of years. He measured his silver to contain a whopping 450 parts per million, which is 22 times stronger than is normal. This regimen gave his body the same concentration of silver as if he had consumed 1,056 fluid ounces of standard colloidal silver (8.25 gallons per day). The extreme concentration means that the silver had to be discolored and impure, and it almost certainly had salt added. Otherwise, it would have taken him days to manufacture each day's batch at such concentrations, so we can be certain that he was using silver chloride instead of colloidal silver. It is a reflection of the stupidity of turning to pharmaceutical manufacturing processes for the practice of alternative medicine, and then using the terrible results to prove that alternative medicine is bad. It is what we see most often in the politics of silver.

The most popularized case of argyria is that of Paul Karason, the so-called Smurf Man. He internally consumed large doses of a homemade silver solution for years, and then began also using silver externally on his face. He too made his silver solution using salt, which resulted in silver chloride. Despite it being a completely different substance, he refers to his solution as "colloidal silver", as well as the media. We believe that after he noticed some slight skin discoloration, he actually increased his dosage, because he had found a way to become famous and profit from being a freak. He admits publicly to using excessive amounts of his silver chloride both internally and transdermally, daily for 14 years. He still continues to use it, despite his obvious saturation. He further admits that his face turned blue before the rest of his body; and yet he continued to use both silver products, despite the color change. Due to Karason's self-inflicted and intentional cosmetic alteration, the F.D.A. has used him in a public relations campaign that is intended to convince the public that colloidal silver is dangerous. We can only speculate about how much the media networks and the F.D.A. have paid him for his appearances.

Not one death or serious side effect has ever been recorded for pure colloidal silver, during the century of its existence. There are, however, plenty of horror stories from people who used the chemically-altered silvers, made with various proteins, salts, or fermented bacteria.

pioneer
4th August 2014, 10:34 AM
just another USELESS article from some idjit who either never took chemistry or flunked out before they got to the "Ag" section of the periodic table.

ions are not solids
colloids are solids not ions.

homemade silver solutions using wire, water and 3-9volt batteries do NOT produce solids, only ions. simple physics.

size comparison statements have nothing to do with it. nothing.

if people are going to try to deal with ebola by home-brewing up some silver because of some article they read on the net, one can't possibly drink enough ionic silver to do accomplish more than a hopeful placebo effect. if i were to want to home treat ebola, i'd sure want the right silver form, colloidal.



don't swallow everything you read on this DIY Ag topic no matter how well meaning the author or poster.

sorry skid, no can do.

skid
4th August 2014, 11:03 AM
Electron Microscope testing reveals that this method makes colloidal silver in the .001 - .004 micron particle size. From another site:

http://educate-yourself.org/cs/csarticle2.shtml

When 30 volts is applied across silver electrodes held uniformly apart in distilled water, a totally different event happens. First, the reaction proceeds very slowly. Often, for the first 15 minutes nothing seems to be happening. Then finally, a faint yellow mist will begin to form. Within a few minutes, the reaction will speed up, but the particles produced will be a golden-yellow as viewed with a flashlight. Using this method, 8 ounces of distilled water at room temperature can be made into a 3-5 ppm colloidal silver preparation in 20-25 minutes. Made this way, colloidal silver can cost under 10¢/oz to make. Electron microscope photographs of this product show a silver particle size in the range .001 to .004 microns. During manufacturing, the particle cloud is a golden-yellow. These particles will hang in the water at the level they are produced, and for the most part, will not fall to the bottom of the glass. This is what a "colloidal" preparation of silver looks like. After the particles disperse, the water will look clear again, but may turn a light yellow if the concentration is high enough and after the particles have become evenly dispersed.

skid
4th August 2014, 11:07 AM
From the same site:

Colloidal or Ionic?

Another big controversy surrounds the question of whether this method produces "colloidal" silver or "ionic" silver. Most people have been told that colloidal silver is "good" and ionic silver is "bad." Once again, the truth might be unpopular. The word "colloidal" refers to a condition where, in this case, a solid particle is SUSPENDED in a liquid (silver in water). The solid particles are too large to be considered DISSOLVED, but are too small to be filtered out. This colloidal condition is most easily detected by what is called the "Tyndall effect", where a narrow beam of light is shined through the liquid to produce a cone shaped dispersion of the light. The particles so illuminated also exhibit a random, zig-zag activity called "Brownian motion" when observed under a microscope. When something is completely dissolved, both the Brownian and Tyndall effects disappear.

The word "ionic" refers to a condition where a particle has an electric charge. In the case of "electro-colloidal" silver, this electric charge is ALWAYS positive. Silver will not form a negatively charged ion. So, the truth is that electro-colloidal silver is BOTH colloidal and ionic. It is considered colloidal because of the particle SIZE and it is considered ionic because of the particle CHARGE. In fact, most of the biological studies suggest it is colloidal silver's ionic characteristics that make it such a good germicide. It is also interesting to note that the old chemistry books make no distinction between the colloidal and ionic states of the electro-colloidal metals.

Silver Rocket Bitches!
4th August 2014, 11:32 AM
I let my CS generator run all night but I never seem to get more than 14ppm. Whether the water is slightly yellow or dark yellow it's always around 14ppm.

skid
4th August 2014, 12:13 PM
just another USELESS article from some idjit who either never took chemistry or flunked out before they got to the "Ag" section of the periodic table.

ions are not solids
colloids are solids not ions.

homemade silver solutions using wire, water and 3-9volt batteries do NOT produce solids, only ions. simple physics.

size comparison statements have nothing to do with it. nothing.

if people are going to try to deal with ebola by home-brewing up some silver because of some article they read on the net, one can't possibly drink enough ionic silver to do accomplish more than a hopeful placebo effect. if i were to want to home treat ebola, i'd sure want the right silver form, colloidal.



don't swallow everything you read on this DIY Ag topic no matter how well meaning the author or poster.

sorry skid, no can do.

Pioneer,

Ions means that there is a charge, positive or negative. To have a charge there must be a particle. Perhaps you can explain your position in more detail?

Cheers

pioneer
4th August 2014, 12:23 PM
ions are not solids
colloids are solids
colloids are not ions.

is it your position that on an atomic level, an ion is a solid "particle?"

Serpo
4th August 2014, 02:57 PM
New Guidelines for Safe Usage of Colloidal Silver

February 07, 2009 | 375,000 views






http://media.mercola.com/ImageServer/public/2009/February/2.7silverpyramid.pngThe Silver Safety Committee (http://www.silversafety.org/) has announced its creation of the Silver Safety Pyramid, which is designed to enable anyone to easily determine safe usage levels of any dietary supplement containing silver, typically referred to as ionic silver or colloidal silver.
The Silver Safety Committee consists of doctors, chemistry professors and world leaders in health-freedom advocacy.
According to Herbert Slavin, M.D., director of the Institute of Advanced Medicine in Lauderhill, Florida, and a member of the Committee:
"This is an area where confusion and concern developed needlessly. Few things in life are as cut-and-dried as the fact that silver is completely safe when used within normal limits. The U.S. government provides a very clear guideline for the safe oral intake of silver. We've simply provided an easy method for applying that guideline to the safe use of any silver supplement product."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a guideline called the Reference Dose (RfD) for safe limits on daily intake of silver. The EPA's RfD guideline is specifically intended to keep a person's intake of silver below the level that could possibly discolor the skin.
Says Jeffrey Blumer, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Drug Research, the world's largest clinical research center for pediatric drugs, and former director of the Greater Cleveland Poison Control Center:
"Common substances like table salt and aspirin are harmless with normal use, but excessive intake can become toxic and even life-threatening. With normal responsible usage, silver supplements are entirely harmless to humans."

The Silver Safety Pyramid is based on the Committee's Silver Safety Guideline, which recommends that a person's intake of silver from dietary supplements be limited to 25 percent of the EPA's recommended limit for total daily intake of silver.
It utilizes the Silver Safety Calculation, a simple mathematical formula that enables a person to easily determine how much to take of any silver-containing product to remain within the safety guidelines.
The EPA RfD guideline is expressed in terms of micrograms of silver. Virtually all silver supplements, on the other hand, are labeled in terms of parts per million (ppm), which is the concentration of silver in the water, not micrograms. With the Silver Safety Calculation, you just plug in your pounds of body weight and the ppm of silver in whatever silver supplement you're using, and it calculates the appropriate limits for you.
The Silver Safety Calculation is simple enough: 12 times pounds divided by ppm equals drops per day.
The Silver Safety Pyramid provides guidelines for determining safe usage limits from three perspectives:


Daily use
Short-term use
Entire lifetime


"This is useful information for everyone interested in using silver for health," Dr. Baird added. "If people follow these guidelines, they can use silver supplements while remaining fully confident they are not exposing themselves to any risks whatsoever."

The Committee's website includes the Silver Safety Auto-Calculator, which automatically performs the math in the Silver Safety Pyramid for you. The site also has an Education & FAQ section, which helps clarify the meanings of terms like ppm, ionic silver, colloidal silver, and more.
The website is http://www.silversafety.org (http://www.silversafety.org/).



Dr. Mercola's Comments:

(http://twitter.com/mercola)




There are several types of silver products on the market. Some are healthy alternatives to antibiotics while others can be downright dangerous to your health.

Three Types of 'Colloidal' Silver – The Good, the Bad, the Ugly


According to a Commercial Product Report by Silver-Colloids.com,1 (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/07/new-guidelines-released-for-safe-usage-of-colloidal-silver-supplements.aspx#_edn1) a site that provides detailed laboratory analyses of colloidal silver products, there are three distinctly different types of silver products on the market that are all labeled and sold as "colloidal" silver:


Ionic silver
Silver protein
True colloidal silver2 (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/07/new-guidelines-released-for-safe-usage-of-colloidal-silver-supplements.aspx#_edn2)

This misrepresentation of colloidal silver by less scrupulous manufacturers has no doubt led to some of the more negative connotations to colloidal silver. When purchasing colloidal silver, it's very important to make sure you're getting true colloidal silver, because, as you will see, the other two varieties of silver may do far more harm than good.
Since there are health risks involved if you select the wrong formula, I recommend you use colloidal silver only under the guidance and supervision of a qualified alternative health practitioner, who can help you select a high-quality product.
Ionic silver solutions – Silver solutions are typically clear like water or have a slight yellow tint. The producers of ionic silver solutions will tell you that colloidal silver should look like clear water, but this is incorrect, so don't be fooled. The term colloidal means particles, not ions.
To determine whether a solution is ionic silver, add regular table salt (sodium chloride) to it. If silver ions are present, then the chloride ions will combine with the silver ions and create a white, cloudy appearance. For more detailed instructions on how to do this, please see the Silver Colloids website (http://www.silver-colloids.com/Reports/reports.html).
Ionic silver is not entirely without merit, but since ionic silver products contain such a low percentage of silver particles, these products will not be as effective as true colloidal silver, which has a much greater particle surface area3 (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/07/new-guidelines-released-for-safe-usage-of-colloidal-silver-supplements.aspx#_edn3) relative to the total silver content.
Ionic silver is still a strong anti-microbial, and can be effectively used in situations where chloride is NOT present. When chloride is present – such as inside your body – then what little silver particle is present in the solution will survive to produce benefit, but again, not nearly as effectively as a true colloidal solution.
Please be aware that most all "colloidal silver" generators sold for home use produce ionic silver solutions, and not true colloidal silver.
Potential Danger – Low. If you take ionic silver products according to the manufacturer's recommended dosage, ionic silver will not cause argyria, a condition that causes your skin to turn blue-gray.
Silver protein – Silver protein products are the second most prevalent type of so-called colloidal silver products on the market. These products are a combination of metallic silver particles and a protein binder to keep the particles in suspension. One tip-off that it's a silver protein product is if it claims to have high concentrations of colloidal silver (typically in the range of 30 to 20,000 ppm).
Of the three types of colloidal silver, silver protein products have the lowest particle surface area for a given silver concentration, making the silver inaccessible for safe and effective absorption by your body. Because of this, you want to avoid all silver protein products.
To find out whether you have a silver protein product rather than a true silver colloid, look for these characteristics:


Foaming: When shaken, a silver protein product produces foam above the liquid that will persist for minutes after being shaken. This is probably the single most reliable indicator.
Concentration: Silver protein products tend to have very high concentration values, typically in the range of 30 to 20,000 ppm.
Color: The color ranges from light amber to almost black with an increasing concentration of silver.

Potential Danger – High. Due to the high concentration of large silver particles, silver protein products are known to cause argyria (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/01/12/meet-the-man-with-blue-skin.aspx), which turns your skin blue-gray color.
True colloidal silver – True colloidal silver products are the least prevalent type of colloidal silver on the market due to the high cost of production. In true colloidal silver, the majority of the silver content is in the form of silver particles. True colloids will typically contain between 50 and 80 percent particles, while the balance will be silver ions.
Because of the high concentration of silver particles, true silver colloids are never clear like water. True colloidal silver with a sufficient concentration of particles does not look like water because silver particles – even very small particles – block light from passing through, making the liquid appear darker.
Potential Danger – None. Due to the very low concentration of ionic silver and small particle size, true silver colloids do not cause argyria.

What Is Colloidal Silver Useful For?


Colloidal silver has been known as a remarkably effective natural antibiotic for centuries. But in past several decades, research has shown colloidal silver can even eradicate antibiotic-resistant microbes like MRSA,4 (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/07/new-guidelines-released-for-safe-usage-of-colloidal-silver-supplements.aspx#_edn4) the Avian Influenza (bird flu), and Human Corona virus (SARS).
In the mid-1970s, Dr. Robert O. Becker at Syracuse Medical University began his groundbreaking research into colloidal silver. He later concluded:
"What we have done was rediscover the fact that silver kills bacteria, a fact which had actually been known for centuries… All of the organisms we tested were sensitive to the electrically generated silver ion, including some that were resistant to all known antibiotics… In no case were any undesirable side effects of the silver treatment apparent."

However, silver's innate anti-microbial effect was actually common knowledge among doctors some 60 years before Becker's time. In fact, in the early 1900s, Alfred Searle, founder of the global Searle Pharmaceutical Company, had already discovered that silver in its liquid colloidal form could kill even the most deadly of pathogens. In his book Colloids in Biology and Medicine, 1919, Searle wrote:
"Applying colloidal silver to human subjects has been done in a large number of cases with astonishingly successful results… it has the advantage of being rapidly fatal to microbes without toxic action on its host. It is quite stable. It protects rabbits from ten times the lethal dose of tetanus or diphtheria toxin."

Unlike prescription antibiotic drugs, silver does not create resistance or immunity in pathogens killed by it.

Recent Research Espousing the Virtues of Colloidal Silver


Over the past few years, several new studies have demonstrated the fact that silver is one of the most effective agents in the battle against MRSA and other deadly antibiotic-resistant super pathogens, including the:


Brigham-Young Clinical Study – This study, published in the journal Current Science in 2006,5 (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/07/new-guidelines-released-for-safe-usage-of-colloidal-silver-supplements.aspx#_edn5) found that a number of the antibiotic drugs which had previously been able to kill MDR (multiple drug-resistant) pathogens, such as MRSA, could be restored to full efficacy against the deadly pathogens, but only if a liquid silver solution similar to colloidal silver was used in conjunction with the drug.
Iranian Clinical Study – This study6 (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/07/new-guidelines-released-for-safe-usage-of-colloidal-silver-supplements.aspx#_edn6) also found that silver increases the effectiveness of antibiotic drugs against staph infections. The researchers concluded:"The antibacterial activities of penicillin G, amoxicillin, erythromycin, clindamycin, and vancomycin were increased in the presence of silver nano-particles (Ag-NPs) against both test strains. The highest enhancing effects were observed for vancomycin, amoxicillin, and penicillin G against S. aureus."
Taiwanese Clinical Study – Published in the journal Colloids Surface B Biointerfaces7 (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/07/new-guidelines-released-for-safe-usage-of-colloidal-silver-supplements.aspx#_edn7) in 2007, this study demonstrated that colloidal silver, by itself, eradicates both MRSA and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, another deadly and extremely opportunistic superbug.
Czech Clinical Study – Likewise, this Czech study published in the prestigious Journal of Physical Chemistry B8 (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/07/new-guidelines-released-for-safe-usage-of-colloidal-silver-supplements.aspx#_edn8) in 2006, also demonstrated that colloidal silver was a highly effective agent against MRSA:"…silver particles with a narrow size distribution with an average size of 25 nm, which showed high antimicrobial and bactericidal activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including highly multi-resistant strains such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The study further demonstrated that very low concentrations of silver could be utilized to destroy MRSA, as long as the silver particles were very small, averaging 25 nm."

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/07/new-guidelines-released-for-safe-usage-of-colloidal-silver-supplements.aspx

Serpo
4th August 2014, 03:49 PM
The Famous HIV Study

In June 2005, the prestigious journal Nanobiotechnology published a ten page study that rocked medical science.
The study was the result of seven scientists’ exploration into the virus inhibiting qualities of nanosilver – very tiny, invisible particles of silver measured in nanometers. (A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, or one-ten thousandth of a hair’s breadth.)
What the study demonstrated is that these tiny nano-scale particles of silver were able to inhibit HIV-1 (i.e., the AIDS virus) from binding to host cells, in vitro.
What this means is that in the test tube, when the researchers placed the AIDS virus alongside human cells in a medium that would normally allow the virus to bind with the cell (and thus cause viral infection), the introduction of tiny nano-particles of silver into the medium prevented the binding from taking place.
In other words, the silver particles stopped the infection from taking place.

http://www.colloidalsilverkillsviruses.com/

Serpo
4th August 2014, 11:55 PM
http://store.raytechcatalog.com/msm/wateroz.htm