Argyria

Have you ever seen a blue person? I’m not talking about someone who’s sad or depressed – I mean a person whose skin has a distinct blue coloring.

A recent issue of The New Yorker magazine carried an article about the Libertarian candidate for the US Senate from Montana, Stan Jones. Jones stood out politically (he advocated the dismantling of the F.B.I., the C.I.A., and the Departments of Energy and Education, among others), and he stood out personally because his skin is a light shade of blue.

This rare condition is called argyria (from the Greek word for silver: “arguros”), and it’s caused by excessive intake of silver. There was a time when silver was a typical ingredient in nose drops and other medicines for colds. Before its use was discontinued in the 1950’s, a number of people suffered from argyria, which is a permanent condition. In Jones’ case, argyria was caused by colloidal silver.

Three years ago, Jones was using a colloidal silver preparation in anticipation of possible shortages of antibiotics due to Y2K. But apparently he overdid the treatments. According to Dr. Spreen: “Amounts needed for antibacterial effect tend to be far below doses that cause argyria. Dr. Wright suggests adult doses of 1 tablespoon of colloidal silver at a 40 ppm (parts per million) concentration at the first signs of any infection and 1-2 teaspoons three to four times daily until the infection is gone. Then stop!”

The key word in those instructions, of course, would be “stop!” As Dr. Spreen has already pointed out – no antibiotic treatment should be used on an extended basis.

I’ve heard of argyria cases where people who were treating infections with colloidal silver felt that it wasn’t working and upped their dosage. Not a good idea. And there are proponents of silver that claim argyria can only be triggered by ingesting impure colloidal silver.

By all accounts, argyria is a difficult condition to live with. So if you do decide to try colloidal silver, be absolutely certain that you’re using it properly. Because, as noted in The New Yorker article, if you do develop argyria, one of the hardships you’ll have to endure are the predictable Smurf jokes.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute