One of the websites that is most impeding the public acceptence of
colloidal silver is YOUR US National Centre for Complementary and
Alternative Medicine. (Although it should be called the Uncomplementery
Centre!)
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/alerts/silver/index.htm
The following quote from the NCCAM is continually quoted wordwide on
sites that are happy to spread fear about colloidal silver.
" 4 . What are the risks of using these products?
..... Other side effects from using colloidal silver products may
include neurologic problems (such as seizures), kidney damage, stomach
distress, headaches, fatigue, and skin irritation. ...5 " <#5>
It's a basic rule when citing references that 'Exceptional claims
require exceptional sources.' So what's the exceptional source for
these claims by the NCCAM that CS can cause these serious illnesses?
Quite simply there isnt one.
Reference 5 cited at the end of the quote takes you to the Natural
Medicines Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com/ (Requiring a $10
monthly subscription) . This site is simply another collection of
statements and references. Apart from Argyria, the exact side effects
listed on this site are "neurological deficits, diffuse silver
deposition in visceral organs, renal damage, and metal flume fever (5525
<Search.aspx?cs=NONMP&s=ND&pt=101&sh=2&id=779&id2=5525#5525>,8148
<Search.aspx?cs=NONMP&s=ND&pt=101&sh=2&id=779&id2=8148#8148>,10647
<Search.aspx?cs=NONMP&s=ND&pt=101&sh=2&id=779&id2=10647#10647>)."
The important reference here is '5525'. (Fung MC, Bowen DL. Silver
products for medical indications: risk-benefit assessment. J Toxicol
Clin Toxicol 1996;34:119-26
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8632503&dopt=Abstract>
). I couldn't find this article anywhere free on the internet so I
had to buy a pdf copy for $26 through the National Library of Australia.
I've often seen this reference cited elsewhere so I thought this might
be the 'holy grail' of CS research but, alas, its another
disappointment. Basically its just 7 pages of old news. It contains no
original research, barely mentions side effects other than argyria and
contains almost nothing that seriously supports the life threatening
claims made on the NCCAM and Natural Medicine websites. (Unless you
include some not very convincing theories based on 25 year old
experiments of feeding massive doses of silver nitrate to vitamin
deficient mice).
So where do these NACCM claims of stomach distress, headaches, fatigue,
and skin irritation really come from? I can only assume they are based
on (of all things) the claim on the that CS can induce 'Metal Flume
Fever'. 'Metal Flume Fever is primarily caused by exposure to zinc
oxide fumes. The main cause is exposure to fumes from welding, brazing
or cutting galvanised metal . Symptoms of Metal Fume Fever include
headache, fever, chills, muscle aches, thirst, nausea, vomiting, chest
soreness, fatigue, gastrointestinal pain, weakness, and tiredness'
(http://files.aws.org/technical/facts/FACT-25.PDF)
So it appears that most of the symptoms on the NCCAM site are actually
based on the idea that drinking colloidal silver is akin to breathing
lung-fulls of zinc rich welding fumes. I dont know where that idea comes
from. I couldnt find an exceptional source for that exceptional claim!
Any of you US citizens care to take this up with your NCCAM?
David
(In Australia).
Footnote. The NCCAM site also says that 'Colloidal silver may interfere
with the body's absorption of the following drugs: penacillamine,
quinolones, tetracyclines, and thyroxine." <#5> When you follow that
claim to the Natural Medicines database you find that the risk of these
adverse interactions is 'moderate' and 'theoretical')
T