Coloidal Silver

[Tara]

Hey everyone, I'm back after a episode of computer failure.
Has anyone heard of the medicinal benefits of (I'm probably murdering the spelling of this) Colloidal Silver? It's big in Alaska as a natural alternative to antibiotics and is supposed to kill all kinds of single cell baddies. I had someone tell me it has been used successfully in curing Parvo in some cases. And I'm wondering if anyone has any real knowledge of the stuff? If anything anyone is saying is true it might be a helpful thing to have around for the Rat (and every bodies) First Aid kit.
Inquisitive as usual. :wave:

 

[mamarat2]

Have heard good things and bad things about it. In this case the bad outweighs the good. Can't recall all of it offhand but it can turn people colors from ingesting it for long periods and can cause silver poisoning.

 

[jorats]

I've heard the same as mamarat2. It's somewhat of a risk because when you think about it, your are putting a metal in your body. With rats being so small, I'm not sure if it could harm them more than anything else. A lot research would have to be done.

BTW, welcome back!!

 

[Tara]

Interesting.... Colors like as in purple? That's weird.
So probably only to be considered for short term use. Good to know... Well, there's lots of other things out there that will kill you deader than a doorknob if you take them too long, but are good for single treatment of things.

 

[mamarat2]

I think it turns you blue.

A friend of mine swears by it, but it is also one of those things that everyone reacts differently to certain substances and you never know how the next person (or animal) may react whether that be bad or good.

Personally, if I won't put it in my body, the rats don't get it.

 

[Tara]

I've heard the same as mamarat2. It's somewhat of a risk because when you think about it, your are putting a metal in your body. With rats being so small, I'm not sure if it could harm them more than anything else. A lot research would have to be done.

BTW, welcome back!!

Thanks! Yeah, I was just interested because I'd heard about it and old folks like my Grandmother kinda swears by it. LOL... But I was thinking the same, that it would be difficult to dose such a small animal. I definitely wouldn't try unless I was 100% sure. Just trying to broaden my intellectual horizon. :lol:

 

[chicky82]

The guy who used it was on Oprah the other day he said he started using it when the fear of Y2K made him afraid that antibiotics would be in short supply but I'd also be afraid of messing up the dose and although colloidal silver is fairly harmless once in a while it can kill you or cause damage
*from wikipedia: Long-term intake of silver products may result in a condition known as argyria, one symptom of which is a blue or gray discoloration of the skin. It occurs when sunlight interacts with silver deposited in the skin, in the same way that silver particles in photographic film darken when exposed to sunlight. It can occur both via ingestion of silver, or through topical application of silver to the skin. While generally considered permanent, some have claimed to have reversed it. Death from argyria has been reported from as little as four months use of oral colloidal silver, and cases of kidney damage, stomach distress, and headaches have been reported, as well as cases of brain and nerve damage.

Here's the story of the man with blue skin: (there's a pic) http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... om=mostpop
I don't think I'd want to spend the rest of my life looking like a smurf :lol:

 

[jennifervb]

if you want to turn purple or blue....

just chew on a piece of gum like the one Violet Beauregard chewed on in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... :wink:

 

[Godmother]

I'm a skeptic about that kind of stuff. Give me a couple of solid clinical trials any day.

 

[Good Karma]

There is a product out there called "Peace and Kindness" made by Chris Christensen (dog grooming products). It is a topical spray containing colodial silver. I have used it on minor cuts and rashes and it seem to work quite well. I have only seen it in the topical form - i have never hear of it used internally.

 

[G~Ratified]

Just thought I might add a few comments. I use alot of herbal remedies... and have a few books about them. There are some simple herbs that have antibacterial properties: aloe vera, golden seal (anit -inflamatory too), ginger (antimicrobial agent for sores and wounds), red clover (antibiotic - bacterial infections), rhubarb (antibiotic), parsley (substance prevents multiplication of tumor cells) - my mom used it to draw out puss from sores. plantain (antibiotic) ( can also be used for sores, and nasal congestion, has more vit. C than oranges), rosemary (anticancer/tumor). There are others that help heal urinary infections, mucus/congestion, inflammation... etc.... I saved my cats life years ago when she had a urinary infection. ... the vet didn't think she would make it thru the surgery ( she was going to spay her and clean her up. She wasn't eating, just lying around... I took her home and made a tea with 3 herbs for urinary - peach , bayberry and I think black cohosh... and the next day she was eating and walking around. I cannot advise anyone as to how much herb to use or what herb to use on rats, I do not have much knowledge of them as yet, but a health food store, may be able to help possibly in letting you know about which herbs not to try.... some herbs have cautions, such as prolonged use, etc.....but may be worth while to google some of these natural remedies. I also tried noni juice on my rattie, she loved it, and it helped to make her tumors shrink.

 

[G~Ratified]

OOOoops! there was an error in my last post.... it was parsley that had the vitamin C, not the plantain... sorry!

 

[Jessimica]

Stay away from Colloidal Silver. its causes argyria. Which is basically silver poisoning. It can also lead to brain damage. Its bad news. Once silver gets into your body, your body can never flush it out. Thats why eventually with prolonged exposure you can turn silver or blue. If its that horrible to humans, I can only imagine it'd be worse for rats!

Tea tree oil and witch hazel are better alternatives.

 

[jorats]

Tea tree oil is very toxic to animals so be careful with that as well.

 

[Jessimica]

Jo, I wasnt aware of that! Thanks for letting us all know.

 

[G~Ratified]

Hi everyone. I know alot of you are very happy feeding your beloved rats and yourselves with all these man-made drugs. I am not gonna try to tell you not to, but I am going to ask you to be open minded about herbal/natural remedies. Do you have any idea how much $$$$$$$ the drug industry and research (cancer etc.) companies make off of us. With all their advertising and scare tactics. Look at most of the adds for some of these drugs they are pushing..... may cause ??????? or ?????? Sometimes I think the side affects are much worse than the ailment they are meant to supposedly help. Alot of these medications are derived from a natural source... but they try to improve what OUR CREATOR (GOD - for those of us who believe) perfectly provided for us. I know you may think I'm nuts.. but, I remember an episode of the original "Star Trek" that came out in the '60's or 70's. Captain Kirk was on a planet alone with another alien. and they were provided with everything they would need (in a natural state) to combat and survive. That has always stuck in my head all these years. I do use natural remedies for myself my family and even my pets. Yes we do have to learn how to use things safely. some herbs cannot be used by certain conditions, or for long periods we have to research or as a professional at a health store perhaps. I came across a website today while I tried to learn more about C - silver. w.all-natural.com and found more information about something that shocked me somewhat. Read " Your own perfect medicine" it's about our own urine. I have heard about 3rd world countries using urine to cure the yeast infection in their babies mouths (thrush). And I have seen it cure warts. There is so much we don't know about. These antibiotics, kill the good bacteria in our intestines(I think) which makes it difficult for us to properly digest our food and also causes over growth of yeast . Tell me, how can that be good for us or our dear pets. Not intended to offend anyone. have faith.

 

[mamarat2]

Having faith and taking antibiotics to cure my pneumonia are two entirely different things.

There are many types of herbs that are very helpful, I'll be the first one to tell you that, and some may have some antibiotic qualities, but they are not antibiotics.

Antibiotics can be extremely helpful when not overused. Doctors have begun to be much more conservative with prescribing them so as many resistant bugs are not produced.

Colloidial silver is not an herb. Its a metal. Ingest enough of it and you will get heavy metal poisoning.

 

[SQ]

Even if a person has the knowledge of herbs , how to use them, and amounts - which most of us don't, there is a big problem using herbs sold commercially.
There have been investigations done and what is on the label isn't necessarily what is in the bottle, particularly with respect to concentration. That alone makes me concerned about using them.

 

[dubchick]

hey .. there was this guy on oprah the other day who was blue.. literally blue... im sure that was the stuff he took... it changed his skin color from top to bottom gradually over time.. poor guy looks like papa smurf...

 

[Ratmom]

I would never give my rats this stuff either esp w/their metabolisms how they are.
I'm all for using natural remedies to support their systems, but you cannot so call "cure" them just by herbs alone esp when they are really sick w/myco or pneumonia. That's why I loved my vet in texas so much she used conventional medicine with alternative medicine and it did help. Now I'm not big on homeopathics yet I have yet to see something work for the rats. Yet again I think it has to do with their metabolism. The best thing by far that we use daily for years now is grapefruit seed extract that stuff works wonders