Nanosilver Seen as a "Serious" Health Risk
The widespread popularity of nanosilver products as a cure for everything from colds to conjunctivitis is being questioned by a number of scientists, who say the products could lead to serious toxic reactions and disease. Nanosilver drinks, eyedrops and tablets are made with ultra-tiny particles of silver metal - so tiny that 800 of them fitted side by side could span the width of a human hair. Since silver is toxic to most living things, the particles are said to be able to kill harmful bacteria - hence the alleged health benefits.
Products made with nanosilver, or colloidal silver, are currently used very successfully and safely in external applications, such as medical bandages that thwart infection of wounds to socks that prevent feet from smelling and even stain-resistant ties. But some experts fear that the metal, when ingested, could build up in the body, damaging the brain, liver and blood. These scientists say there is no clinical research on the internal use of nanosilver.
For example, Ken Donaldson, chairman of respiratory toxicology at the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland, said: "We bought some nanosilver samples from the Internet and found that some had very high levels of toxicity. Others were not even silver, and the particles were not nano-sized, but as there is no regulation, people were selling them anyway. There are entire textbooks written on the toxicity of metals," Donaldson continued, "and you don't want to disturb the balance in your body. There are studies where animals have been fed nanosilver, and you can detect the harmful effects on their weight and general health. I would like to see how these products are testing themselves and claiming to be safe for children. The same dose of silver would be diluted less in a child because they have less body water."
Research by Max Fung of the University of California, done in 2005, pointed to the possibility that nanosilver ingestion could cause argyria, a disorder in which the skin turns bluish-grey, and that high doses could produce comas and anemia. Ken Lawton, a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said, "I am very concerned that patients are taking an untried and untested product, particularly a metal, because there is evidence they accumulate and will target organs like the liver, the brain and bone marrow."
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