Colloidal Silver

I've done some research on this...my cat has ringworm and it's driving me batty! I only see good reports on Colloidal Silver. What kind of problems can it cause in a cat? What if the wounds are open wounds - does that cause more problems? I do not want to hurt my cat - but locking him up in the bathroom is no fun for him either. Neither is bathing every day and constant cleaning!!!

If it's really bad - I won't do it. But if it's one of those things that causes a problem when used everyday for a year - then I'm not going to worry!

Please weigh in!!

TIA

There is no evidence that colloidal silver has any anti-microbial properties except in a test tube...snake oil.

Don't squander your money, time and your cat's health on things like this. Standard treatments like anti-fungal cream twice a day on the infected spots (like Lotromin), off label use of Program (consult your vet) and in bad cases, a sulfer dip will get results.

There are no reputable studies I've ever heard of, and I've consulted the Tufts Vet school of medicine about this) support the use of C.S. Low dosages aren't toxic in humans, but higher doses can cause a permanent silvery discoloration to the skin that never goes away.

Originally Posted by stephenq

There is no evidence that colloidal silver has any anti-microbial properties except in a test tube...snake oil.

Don't squander your money, time and your cat's health on things like this. Standard treatments like anti-fungal cream twice a day on the infected spots (like Lotromin), off label use of Program (consult your vet) and in bad cases, a sulfer dip will get results.

There are no reputable studies I've ever heard of, and I've consulted the Tufts Vet school of medicine about this) support the use of C.S. Low dosages aren't toxic in humans, but higher doses can cause a permanent silvery discoloration to the skin that never goes away.

Click to expand...

Exactly what I was going to say.. talk to your vet

Originally Posted by stephenq

There is no evidence that colloidal silver has any anti-microbial properties except in a test tube...snake oil.

Click to expand...

Originally Posted by stephenq

Not true -- please check out the following site regarding tests on CS/EIS:
http://www.silvermedicine.org/scientificstudies.html

All virus, fungus, bacterium, streptococcus, staphylococcus, and other pathogenic organisms are killed in three or four minutes upon contact. There are no side effects whatsoever from the highest concentrations."

CS is antifungal, antibacterial, antimicrobial, and too many to list in 1 post here.

Don't squander your money, time and your cat's health on things like this. Standard treatments like anti-fungal cream twice a day on the infected spots (like Lotromin), off label use of Program (consult your vet) and in bad cases, a sulfer dip will get results.

Please look at the side effects of conventional treatment of ringworm (and most other allopathic treatments)....in my opinion, side-effects is a policitially-correct term for poisoning.

There are no reputable studies I've ever heard of, and I've consulted the Tufts Vet school of medicine about this) support the use of C.S. Low dosages aren't toxic in humans, but higher doses can cause a permanent silvery discoloration to the skin that never goes away.

Click to expand...

Turning blue -- Argyria has occurred once in 40-years from high silver consumption...CS/EIS particles are too small & minute for that to ever occur.

I would not jump on any bandwagon unless I have witnessed the results with my own eyes. Personally, I take CS every single day as a preventative, my 12 felines get CS every single day also as a preventative...I have successfully treated ringworm, URI, eye infections, mange and strongly recommend CS for almost any ailment in human, feline or otherwise.

Please do some research on it before you shake your head...if I was stuck on an island & could bring only 1 thing medically...it would be gallons of CS/EIS.

Originally Posted by leesali

Turning blue -- Argyria has occurred once in 40-years from high silver consumption...CS/EIS particles are too small & minute for that to ever occur.

I would not jump on any bandwagon unless I have witnessed the results with my own eyes. Personally, I take CS every single day as a preventative, my 12 felines get CS every single day also as a preventative...I have successfully treated ringworm, URI, eye infections, mange and strongly recommend CS for almost any ailment in human, feline or otherwise.

Please do some research on it before you shake your head...if I was stuck on an island & could bring only 1 thing medically...it would be gallons of CS/EIS.

Click to expand...

There are multiple studies showing that is it likely to cause not cure... now yes they are in medical journals in the US so there is a bit of a bias .... I only take it when needed as safety for long term use is questioned by various dr s in natural medicine.... I have about 15 different studies on it ,....

Originally Posted by sharky

There are multiple studies showing that is it likely to cause not cure... now yes they are in medical journals in the US so there is a bit of a bias .... I only take it when needed as safety for long term use is questioned by various dr s in natural medicine.... I have about 15 different studies on it ,....

Click to expand...

Again, I say seeing & trying is believing. We can all be sheep following the herd...we can read & read until our eyes blur...we can absorb just so much information until our head pops...

As far as the "multiple studies" and the "medical journals"...well I wonder what they have to say about that little Thalidomide disaster way-back-when. Yet another allopathic drug invented by the $$ pharmaceutical Co's, doctors, & anyone else looking to profit...

I wouldn't mind you forwarding over those 15 different studies...am very curious to see where they were studied & by whom. Ok to email: [email protected]

In either case, I have personally used it on ringworm...new hair growth began in under 7-days without spreading to other fosters and/or my own crew.

Originally Posted by leesali

Again, I say seeing & trying is believing. We can all be sheep following the herd...we can read & read until our eyes blur...we can absorb just so much information until our head pops...

As far as the "multiple studies" and the "medical journals"...well I wonder what they have to say about that little Thalidomide disaster way-back-when. Yet another allopathic drug invented by the $$ pharmaceutical Co's, doctors, & anyone else looking to profit...

I wouldn't mind you forwarding over those 15 different studies...am very curious to see where they were studied & by whom. Ok to email: [email protected]

In either case, I have personally used it on ringworm...new hair growth began in under 7-days without spreading to other fosters and/or my own crew.

Click to expand...

Sorry slight hyjack
I will send them when I can ie the file is at home and I am too dumb to get the new scanner to email ... I was taking silver daily for a while till my aunt sent some of the studies to me ... now I use it as needed only... I only know a holistic vet said no to it so the girls haven t ever had it ....I have read many article s about the thallidomide issue( can u beleive it is back in use??)

I'm sorry but quoting an organization that advocates a specific treatment (http://www.silvermedicine.org/scientificstudies.html) carries no scientific weight at all. It's like asking the Tobacco Institute to discuss the safety of smoking.

Poorly designed studies are at best misleading. It takes well designed double blind studies to reveal flaws in drugs and in research. It is completely established that if researchers simply have the knowledge of whether a patient is getting the drug or the placebo changes the outcomes of studies despite their best efforts not to let that knowledge influence them. This is why double blind studies exist, and this is also why anything short of that distorts data and twists results. Good science isn't about advocating anything, its about the discovery of truth, and even in the best of studies the truth can be elusive.

Also, anecdotal stories are completely meaningless with respect to being evidence of anything.

Also, anecdotal stories are completely meaningless with respect to being evidence of anything.

Is trying something over & over again with 100% success evidence of anything?

Again, I would not jump on any bandwagon unless I personally witnessed the results.

I had 4 fosters & an adult with ringworm in my home which houses 12 resident felines. All fosters including adult were given CS topically 2-3 time per day & administered CS internally. Nothing else was used to treat the ringworm.

Within a 7-day time period, I saw...really saw new hairgrowth on all the fosters. My resident crew had access to "the foster room". None of my cats ever got ringworm, I did not get ringworm and nor did my family who handled the fosters constantly. How could that be? The spores just suddenly died? All the fosters were misdiagnosed? The fosters lost their hair & suddenly it just started to grow back?

Something nailed those spores dead in their tracks without any side effects to those fosters and I will stand firmly on what CS is capable of doing.

Again...the government, the pharmaceutical companies, and yes, even our beloved vets. would like us to believe something else so we have no option but to turn to them for $$help$$.

Seeing is believing.

....I have read many article s about the thallidomide issue( can u beleive it is back in use??)

Click to expand...

Why shouldn't it be? It's a very useful drug so long as women taking it avoid pregnancy.

Is trying something over & over again with 100% success evidence of anything?

No it isn't evidence of anything. Ringworm is a self limiting condition and will egt better in time without treatment at all, so saying you saw hair re-growth in seven days isn't particularly interesting. Until you compare it to other cats with ringworm who receive placebo treatment (and without you knowing which cat is getting plain water and which isn't) the info you're providing isn't useful to others. You may find it useful to yourself especially since you think its working, but its meaningless for others to make medical decisions based on anecdotal reporting. The very simple fact that you believe it works skews your ability to even report on it objectively.

How do you know that rubbing the ringworm with water 3x a day (or however many times you do it with CS) won't have the same effect? You don't, because I'm willing to bet you haven't done that.

Ringworm is a self limiting condition and will egt better in time without treatment at all, so saying you saw hair re-growth in seven days isn't particularly interesting.

Yes, ringworm will disappear on its own without any treatment whatsoever BUT from my experience with 100's of fosters, drugs like Sporonax or untreated ringworm, take months to see new hairgrowth. I find it odd that you don't find it "interesting" that new hair growth was seen after a very short period of time with the use of CS.

Until you compare it to other cats with ringworm who receive placebo treatment (and without you knowing which cat is getting plain water and which isn't) the info you're providing isn't useful to others.

I am sorry that you don't find any of this information useful to others...I have received emails claiming different than that but thats ok.

You may find it useful to yourself especially since you think its working, but its meaningless for others to make medical decisions based on anecdotal reporting. The very simple fact that you believe it works skews your ability to even report on it objectively.

Wow...you sound almost angry about the use of CS. Not sure what the tone is about but all I can suggest to you or anyone else is what I have personally found effective against ringworm, URI, eye infections, etc. I thought this site was about sharing experiences with our feline friends?

How do you know that rubbing the ringworm with water 3x a day (or however many times you do it with CS) won't have the same effect? You don't, because I'm willing to bet you haven't done that.[/quote]

Okay...you win the bet. No, I have not "tested" foster kittens with some getting CS and some not. I see an ailment & react...I don't experiment on my fosters. I will tell you that about 1-year ago, I got ringworm on my arm & it stayed put on my arm for probably 12-weeks or so...fading as time went on. I do take a shower everyday and I do suppose that arm was exposed to "just water" on a daily basis. Without the use of CS, I am here to tell about it and I am not covered in ringworm.

So maybe we should suggest water 3x a day as treatment for ringworm...that sounds useful to others.

I have seen positive results using CS for ringworm, URI, and various eye conditions at the shelter where I volunteer. There was an outbreak of ringworm last summer. Initially, the ringworm was treated with the "traditional" medications, but the ringworm was slow to resolve and new cases kept popping up. Finally, one of our volunteers convinced the skeptical "powers that be" to try treating the ringworm cases with CS. It worked; the ringworm cases resolved quite rapidly. CS has also been used for URI and various eye conditions with success. Seeing/experiencing is believing.

The reason i dont find hair re-growth in a week or so particularly interesting is that I've seen the same re-growth in the same time frame with traditional treatments and conversly I've seen regrowth take much longer using both regular treatments and CS at the same time. My rescue group uses CS routinely for colds and ringworm and our cat colds take the usual amount of time to clear up (the same amount of time as they do in our adopters homes without CS) and ringworm remains inconsistent in the time it takes to clear up (and its a highly variable illness).

Having listened to many CS supporters in my rescue group over the years swear by it while I see the same cats they see doing no better than one would expect them to do, I feel that the argument I'm having is similar to a religious one. The difference is that with matters of religion one is expected to take it on faith, but in matters of science one isn't. This is a scientific issue, not a religious one.

If anyone can post any reference to a reputable study by an accepted scientific body (like an accredited vet school, animal hospital, etc) that shows CS to be effective then I would love to read it. This excludes groups that are advocates of CS, seek to promote it above other treatments, or try to profit from it.

The argument (if anyone wants to float it) that there are no reputable studies because no one wants to study it, since it isn't a patentable substance and hence not profitable, is specious since there are *huge* numbers of scientists and doctors, (as in university scientists as an example) who study all sorts of things without any hope of financial reward.

Most illnesses (in this case I'm referencing humans) will eventually get better without treatment. Some won't get better despite all treatments. Others will get better as a result of treatment. Distingishing the first group, from the second and the third accurately without control groups simply isn't possible despite all the magical thinking one might engage in..

Wow!! I didn't mean to start a war here! Thanks everyone for your input. Here's my update...I decided to get the CS. So far so good. No new spots!

I'm also bathing both cats once a day (oh joy!) with betadyne and cat shampoo (from the vet). Once they are dry I add the CS topically. The Trasederm they were on was just not working. My sis-in-law's aunt is a vet and is going to give me some Program as well as a new topical. But I don't get that until this weekend when I can get to see my sis-in-law (they live 2.5 hours away).

anyway - I think it's time for a new vet...mine just isn't being aggressive enough. I've called for oral meds or more help and he tells me to just bath them and treat with trasederm. IMO...it's not enough. My poor guy gets sick easily so this has been a battle.

So far we're finally seeing some results...even if those results mean it's not getting worse.

Keeping my fingers crossed...thanks everyone!

Try Lamisil. Used it on Tammy-Timmy, once a day for 10 days. Ringworm gone, never came back. No one else got it, had three other cats in the house and did NOT quaranteen Tammy-Timmy.

Good luck, I'm sure your kitty will be fine!

Well, I'm the type of person who would take Tylenol Flu over alternative medicine anyday. But, when one has a daughter, and later on a kitten covered with it and conventional medicine isn't doing one thing, in my particular case, I'm game to alternative methods. Colloidal silver worked like a charm. So yes, it's completely anecdotal on my part, and maybe it had ran it's course coincidentally in both cases. I really don't think it would hurt to try for a little while.

Studies are funny things. I read from just as much anecdotal, if not more than studies. Sure, a lot of alternative medicine out there is probably useless. That doesn't mean that there aren't a few gems out there. There aren't a whole lot of double blind studies out there; not much funding for those.

And in the case of the colloidal silver, orally and topically, we didn't do for very long because I treated it like an antibiotic. I'm not really comfortable taking anything long term.