Colloidal Silver Doses
Philosophies of Use

This document is designed to look at the prevalent ideas concerning the use of colloidal silver, and provides a broad outline regarding how-- and how much-- colloidal silver users generally utilize, and why. In other sections, we'll share our own philosphy based upon our experience over the years.

The Ideas Behind Different Dosage Levels

The way colloidal silver users calculate dosage methods and levels is quite varied, and built around several central ideas. It should be noted that while colloidal silver use is quite widespread, there are no standardized formulas due to the fact that no conclusive research has been conducted that demonstrates an ideal ( or effective ) dose for any single condition. However, every "dosage philosophy" addresses one or more of the following issues:

• Eliminating any personal concerns about the potential for silver toxicity
  
• Delivering enough colloidal silver to maximize the probability that the silver reaches the target destination in a high enough concentration to be effective
  
• Maintaining an ideal level of silver in the body for a sustained effect
  
• Minimizing the possibility of desensitizing the body to silver through long term use

The Silver Mineral Supplement Ideology

Many people believe that mineral depletion in the world's farming soils has seriously reduced the amount of natural minerals in the average diet necessary to maintain a state of good health. Those who use colloidal silver as a daily mineral supplement generally take about one tablespoon of 5 ppm colloidal silver daily ( about 75 micrograms of silver ). Taking colloidal silver in these small amounts on a daily basis is generally felt to be an illness preventative measure with no associated risks from use.

Silver: Oral Therapeutic Doses

Many people use colloidal silver on a need only basis. Generally, one ounce is considered one therapeutic dose. How many doses are taken during a twenty four hour period is quite varied among users.

The quantity of doses range from one ounce to sixteen ounces taken daily. Users that practice multiple doses usually take colloidal silver three to four times daily, feeling that this produces a sustained and cumulative effect throughout the period of use. However, it may be more beneficial to break the total daily doses down into much more frequent doses, using colloidal silver every fifteen minutes to an hour for accute conditions. Colloidal silver should be held in the mouth at least 30 seconds to three minutes prior to swallowing.

Once symptoms subside, users generally stop taking colloidal silver. The duration of the treatment for more severe and chronic conditions can be from three weeks to four months ( even longer ), and will be explored in later sections of the website.

Special Treatments with Silver: Chronic and/or Terminal Illness

A growing body of users are turning to colloidal silver to help treat a wide variety of chronic and "incurable" conditions. Many of these users feel that small amounts of colloidal silver are not effective, and sustain larger doses for extended periods of time, ingesting up to a liter of colloidal silver daily.

In fact, anecdotal reports suggest that it can take 16 ounces of colloidal silver use daily for one month before significant improvement is noticeable, especially with conditions involving chronic viral infections. In such cases, the quality of colloidal silver is also a major consideration.

Non-oral Colloidal Silver Use

Some users feel that taking colloidal silver orally is the least effective method of use. People operating under this ideology use a wide variety of methods to deliver colloidal silver into the body, usually in much smaller doses than normally would be taken by oral ingestion.

The operative idea is deliver the colloidal silver into the body in a manner which avoids the digestive system in an attempt to maximize the bio-availability of the silver ( silver via IV, nebulizer, ect. ).

The result is a greater amount of silver working in the body, in a less diluted state.

External Silver Use

Colloidal silver is often used externally to address skin conditions and to reduce the spread of bacteria. The general usage philosophy is to apply as needed, since it is widely believed there is is little or no associated risk with external use.

Many experienced users believe that the colloidal silver must be applied to the area via a dressing or bandage, and henceforth keep the bandage hydrated with colloidal silver. Once the silver dries, it definately becomes less effective.

Others simply place their silver in a spray bottle and apply when needed.

Homeopathic Doses of Silver

Many practitioners of of homeopathy utilize colloidal silver under the ideology that subtle changes can be made within the body using minute doses of various substances. Practitioners using this philosophy utilize colloidal silver by the drop, attempting to stimulate metabolic response.

Under this philosophy, larger doses of substances delivered into the body respond quite differently than the nearly undetectable doses.

New Age and Fringe Science

New Agers, and those experimenting with seldom-accepted science modalities, often use complex colloidal and ionic solutions as a carrier solution for programmed electrical, crystalline, and electromagnetic signals. The idea that substances with a high energy potential can be manipulated to produce pre-patterned effects dates back thousands of years.

The colloidal silver is pretreated with devices such as a standing wave generators or crystal matrices, then delivered into the body in homeopathic doses.

Further Notes

Upon initial usage of higher doses of colloidal silver, it is a good idea to pay attention to the body, especially the skin, for the first indication that a saturation dosage level has been reached. This is often indicated by slight rashes and slight skin irritations that clear up quickly. This is not a negative sign, it is simply an indication that the amount of colloidal silver used should henceforth be slightly reduced.

What causes this phenomenon? When the kidneys/liver are introduced to substances in quantities that can not be processed as a normal part of the body's elimination system, the body redirects excess amounts to the skin for elimination. This is known as a toxic response, and occurs instantly with substances like garlic. A toxic response is not always negative. With garlic, it is this exact toxic response that allows the body to harness garlic's curative properties.

The often talked about Herxheimer effect is not a toxic response to silver. In actuality, a Herxheimer effect will often trigger a toxic response, but not to the silver itself, rather, to infections being rapidly eliminated within the body and the subsequent change in the biological terrain. The difference is important, especially if one is attempting to treat a chronic condition with larger doses of colloidal silver.

For those using colloidal silver experimentally in an attempt to treat very severe and chronic conditions, the operative idea is to reach a level of saturation, then maintain a dose JUST below this saturation point. Occasionally, it is a good idea to adjust tolerance by increasing the dosage level again until this saturation level is reached. Again, this is mentioned for those who are involved in the experimental use of colloidal silver.

A very few people report digestive problems upon colloidal silver consumption. Any digestive imbalances can often be quickly corrected by adjusting one's diet to include any natural yogurt product.

Colloidal Silver In-Vitro Efficacy

Dr. Ronald J. Gibbs ( "Silver Colloids, Do they Work? 1999, Newark, DE ), a notable colloidal silver researcher, conclusively demonstrated colloidal silver's ability to significantly reduce bacteria counts in test tube experiments. While this fact alone is interesting, the significance of his research centers around his findings regarding how much colloidal silver is needed to effect this change.

By measuring the ratio of colloidal silver compared to the amount of "bacteria-rich" water, Dr. Gibbs was able to chart the efficacy of what he classified as a high quality colloidal silver. He found that a 9:1 ratio to a 20:1 ratio ( colloidal silver:bacteria ) was required to sharply and quickly reduce bacteria population counts. He found that a 1:1 ratio was effective only for a short period of time, whereby the bacteria would "overcome" the effects of the colloidal silver.

A 20:1 solution would eliminate the bacteria in under an hour. A 6:1 solution would do so in six hours. A 1:1 mixture would slightly drop the bacteria colony count for up to six hours, but would not significantly reduce this count even during the "effective" time frame.

How colloidal silver might be "used up" during the process, thus becoming ineffective ( such as in the 1:1 mixture ) is unknown, and may be key in understanding exactly how silver works against pathogens. In such cases, however, Dr. Gibbs demonstrated that adding more colloidal silver after the bacteria count again begins to rise IS effective.

It is generally assumed that silver inhibits the reproductive cycle of pathogens and "suffocates" them. In particular, the Silver Institute, in a paper entitiled "Silver, The Healthful Metal", notes that this deactivation of bacteria occurs by silver ions reacting with exposed peptidoglycans. Mammalian cells do not contain peptidoglycans, which explains the selective action of silver; ionic silver is not disease specific but cell-structure specific.

Of course, there is a world of difference between how a substance works in a test tube and how it works in the body. An effective concentration is not likely to be the same in the body, particulary due to conditions such as osmotic pressure and dilution factors.

The above data, however, is key to understanding how to use colloidal silver to achieve maximum effectiveness. Only a fraction of the test-tube efficacy would be needed in order to augment the body's natural defenses to make a significant impact on the illness itself.

This article has been viewed