Part One: Homemade Colloidal Silver Vindicated

From Perceptions Magazine, May/June 1996 Issue

by Mark Metcalf

"We now know what 'wealth' is. Wealth is the ability to re-generate forward life. How many people can you take care of for how many days?" Buckminster Fuller

You can purchase a Colloidal Silver kit by calling Mark Metcalf at 213-462-5453. Reprinted by permission from Perception Magazine.

Imagine having your own hospital. Not just any hospital either. After all, the mortality rate generally drops when hospitals go on strike.(1,2,3,4) Death due to toxic drugs, unnecessary treatment, rampant ignorance and a sea of antibiotic-resistant bacteria make most hospitals the Devil's own playground. No, I'm talking about a hospital that makes people well again. Now, imagine that your new hospital is essentially cost free, works anywhere and is the size of a transistor radio, neatly fitting in your shirt pocket. Impossible? Not at all. The only thing unbelievable about it is that any American is without one.

The "hospital" I am talking about is a Colloidal Silver generator. Silver is a powerful, natural prophylactic/antibiotic, used for thousands of years. Ancient Greeks lined their eating and drinking vessels with silver, as did many other cultures throughout the world.(5) Pioneers of the American West would put a silver dollar in a jug of milk to keep it fresh without refrigeration.(6) Did you ever wonder why silverware was made from silver? One of the properties of silver is that it kills bacteria on contact in six minutes or less.(7) It may be that gold and silver were first used as valued currency because of their medical properties.

Dr. Robert O. Becker, author of The Body Electric, recognized a correlation between low silver levels and sickness. He said silver deficiency is responsible for the improper functioning of the immune system. Dr. Becker's experiments conclude that silver works on the full spectrum of pathogens without any side effects or damage to the body. He also states that silver does more than kill disease-causing organisms; it also causes major growth stimulation of injured tissues. Burn patients and even elderly patients notice more rapid healing with silver application. According to Dr. Becker, all strains of pathogens resistant to other antibiotics are killed by the element. He even discovered that silver can change cancer cells back to normal!

What is Colloidal Silver?

Colloidal Silver is the result of an electro-magnetic process that pulls microscopic particles from a larger piece of silver into a liquid, such as water.(8) As tiny particles, the silver can more easily penetrate and travel throughout the body. Colloidal Silver works as a catalyst, disabling the enzyme that all one-celled bacteria, fungi and viruses use for their oxygen metabolism. In short, it suffocates the bad guys. Unlike with antibiotics, resistant strains have never been known to develop. In fact, antibiotics are only effective against perhaps a dozen forms of bacteria and fungi, but never viruses. Because no known disease-causing organism can live in the presence of even minute traces of the chemical element of metallic silver, Colloidal Silver is effective against more than 650 different disease-causing pathogens.(9)

Since there is not enough room to list all the diseases against which Colloidal Silver has been used successfully, here is a tiny sample: acne, allergies, appendicitis, arthritis, blood parasites, bubonic plague, burns (colloidal silver is one of the few treatments that can keep severe burn patients alive), cancer,(10) cholera, conjunctivitis, diabetes, gonorrhea, hay fever, herpes, leprosy, leukemia, lupus, lymphangitis, Lyme disease, malaria, meningitis, parasitic infections both viral and fungal, pneumonia, rheumatism, ringworm, scarlet fever, septic conditions of the eyes, ears, mouth and throat, shingles, skin cancer, staph infections, strep infections, syphilis, toxemia, trenchfoot, all forms of viruses, warts and stomach ulcer. In addition it also has veterinary uses, such as for canine parvo virus. You'll also find Colloidal Silver very handy in the garden since it can be used against bacterial, fungal and viral attacks on plants. Simply spray diluted Colloidal Silver on the leaves, and add to soil water.

It would appear highly unlikely that even germ warfare agents could survive an encounter with Colloidal Silver, since viruses like E Bola and Hanta, or even the dreaded "flesh-eating bacteria" are, in the end, merely hapless viruses and bacteria. To top it off, Colloidal Silver is non-toxic, making it safe for both children and adults, as well as pets.(11,12) In short, anything bigger than a one-cell animal seems to like it.

Nor does one have to worry about that old FDA (Food and Drug Administration) fox being put in charge of this home remedy hen house. Colloidal Silver is a pre-1938 healing modality, making it exempt from FDA jurisdiction under the grandfather clause.(13)

So why haven't you heard of it?

I suspect the user friendly economics of Colloidal Silver may have something to do with its low profile in the media. Colloidal Silver can't help but shine a spotlight on the expensive and deadly nature of our pharmaceutical industries, who are bigger than the Pentagon economically. For example, the pharmaceutical cartel's relentless promotion of dangerous vaccines for humans and animals through government programs have now been linked to everything from increasing crib deaths in infants (who in many documented cases scream for hours before dying), to the increasingly common disease, feline leukemia, in house cats.(14) Colloidal Silver, on the other hand, is a safe and reliable alternative to expensive pharmaceuticals.

It is possible that consuming large amounts over long periods of time may kill some friendly bacteria in your intestines. If taking large amounts, you should supplement your diet with yogurt or acidophilus, or compensate for possible bacteria loss in some other way. This is not, however, a serious problem, and unlike antibiotics, Colloidal Silver does not weaken the body's immune system. In fact, it is said to give the body a second immune system, creating a shield against disease of all kinds.

As it is currently marketed through local health food stores, colloidal silver contains anywhere from 1 to 5 parts per million (ppm) and sells for as much as $21.95 for two ounces. An average adult dose might be anywhere from a tablespoon per day to a sixteen ounce tumbler, or more, since no toxic dose is known. Thanks to one physicist's(14) brilliantly simple design outlined below, you can now construct your own generator and produce unlimited amounts of high-quality colloidal silver concentrate for the price of water!

How to make your own Silver Colloid Generator.

While it has been discovered that 30 volts is the ideal for Silver Colloid production, 27 volts is very effective and happens to be the convenient result of wiring three 9-volt batteries together. Therefore, you'll need three 9-volt transistor radio batteries, three battery snap-on lead connectors, 2 insulated alligator clips, 1 24 volt 40 mA sub miniature incandescent bulb (28 volt 40 mA will also do fine), a foot of 3/32" heat shrink insulation tubing, a foot of 2-conductor stranded insulated zipper wire for clip-leads, a small box to put it all in, and 10" of pure silver wire (.999 fine). This should cost under $30.00 for everything. Assuming some skill with a soldering iron, you should spend about thirty minutes constructing the generator.

Solder your three snap-on battery clips in series (red to black) to provide 27 volts. Connect a 24V incandescent lamp in series with either positive or negative output lead. Solder the red insulated alligator clip to the positive (anode) and the black insulated clip to the negative (cathode) 2 conductor lead wires. Insulation is shrunk over soldered connections using a heat gun or hair dryer.

Cut your 10" of silver wire in half. Bend top ends of your two 5" silver electrode wires so they can clip over the top rim of a plastic or glass cup (not metal). About 4" of each wire should be submerged. WARNING! Use ONLY pure silver (.999 fine) electrodes. #14 gauge is the preferred thickness. Pure silver is sometimes available at electroplating supply companies. Or, inquire at a jewelry store specializing in silver about who their wholesale supplier is. Do not confuse sterling silver (.9275) with pure silver since sterling also contains other metals. With this in mind, you may want to have a chemical analysis (assay) of your purchased silver in addition to the written word of your supplier.

If the Silver Colloid is to be ingested or injected, be sure to use distilled water. Tap water is fine for other uses, such as for a topical spray or for plants. Also, before beginning to make your Colloidal Silver you will need to make a saline solution for enhancing conductivity. If you are using filtered spring water, no saline solution will be needed as spring water already has a natural saline content. If the saline content of the water is too high, black flakes will begin to appear on the surface of the water.

Saline solution can be made by mixing approximately four ounces of distilled water with half a tea-spoon of sea salt in a separate container. Do not use common table salt as table salt has chemical additives. After stirring the salt solution for a minute, pour some of the water into an eye dropper bottle.

Now you're ready to make Colloidal Silver. Pour eight ounces of distilled water into your glass. Add 1 or 2 drops of saline solution (3 drops at the most; if you use too much salt, you'll be making silver chloride instead!)(15) to water and stir with a plastic/non-conductive utensil.

Insert silver electrode wires. Placement of wires is not critical, but they must not be touching each other or the process will stop. (You cannot shock yourself in this process so do not be concerned.) Attach alligator clips to the ends of the silver electrode wires coming over the outside rim of the glass and you will see a grey mist inside the glass start to peel away from the positive polarity wire while bubbles of hydrogen rise from the other. Laboratory tests show that this method creates a silver colloid of approximately 1 ppm per minute of activation time. Since you are only taking microscopic particles from the silver wire, your silver wire may very well last for years.

The brightness of the light bulb is related to the conductivity of the water. It is not necessarily a problem if the bulb is very dim or even remains dark as long as the process itself is occurring. Of course, when batteries are old, the light will also become dimmer, signaling it's time for a change. Touch the two alligator clips together to test the brightness of the bulb as a battery check. A fresh set of batteries should last a year or more.

When finished, detach alligator clips. Clean silver electrode wire after each use to remove dark oxide on the anode. Use a small piece of 1/4" thick nylon kitchen scouring pad to polish dried silver, then wipe with paper napkin to make ready for next use. Store your Colloidal Silver in dark, non-conductive (and if plastic, non-reactive) containers, like empty hydrogen peroxide bottles. Keep away from light as even room light will degrade colloids rapidly by turning solution grey or black just as exposure to light darkens the silver in camera film. Stir thoroughly or shake each time before using. Keep cool, but do not refrigerate. Also, put a few drops of Silver Colloid in the saline solution to prevent fungus growth.

In using your own home-made silver colloid generator it will become apparent that you now have the power to safely protect yourself, your family, your pets and plants, your community, and (through the dissemination of this information), our nation, from over 650 pathogens, viruses, microbes, fungi and parasites. Upon creating your first batch of Colloidal Silver, you will find it tastes the same as untreated water. And it won't sting, even in a baby's eyes. Congratulations and bon appetit!

c1995 Mark Metcalf, All rights reserved. Originally published by Perceptions Magazine.

References

"Medical malpractice alone kills an estimated 45,000 people annually (in the U.S.), making it the leading cause of accidental injury and death." -- Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD

As many as 14,000 people die in Australian hospitals every year through preventable mistakes, ranging from misdiagnosis to being given the wrong drugs. This makes hospitals the third-largest killer in Australia after heart disease and cancer. For those who survive, between 25,000 and 30,000 patients are left with a serious and permanent disability as a result of such mistakes. -- The Sydney Morning Herald, 6/2/95 and the New Scientist, 6/10/95.

Using statistics from the 1984 Harvard study, the National Safety Council and other sources, the Campaign to Protect Consumer Rights says that more people die in the U.S. from medical negligence than any other accidental cause. If these statistics are valid, medical errors kill more people each year than automobiles, falls, drowning, fires, choking, guns and poisons combined.

"Only 10 to 20 percent of all medical procedures currently used in medical practice have been shown to be efficacious by controlled trial. -- U.S. Office of Technology Assessment

Encyclopedia Britanica, 1910

Health Consciousness Magazine, vol. 15, no. 4

Colloidal Silver is proven particularly effective in cases of intestinal troubles. Dr. Henry Crooks found that Silver in the colloidal state is highly germicidal, quite harmless to humans and absolutely nontoxic. Rather than in a chemical compound, the Silver, in the colloidal state, may be applied in a much more concentrated form, with correspondingly better results. All fungus, virus, bacterium, strep-tococcus, strphylococcus, and other pathogenic organisms are killed in three or four minutes; in fact, there is no microbe known that is not killed by Colloidal Silver is six minutes or less, a dilution of as little as five parts per million, though there are no side effects whatsoever from high concentrations. -- "Use of Colloids in Health and Disease," quoted it "Report: Colloidal Silver," Health Consciousness, Vol.15, No.4.

"(Colloidal Silver) is not a chemical compound containing Silver, but pure metallic silver of submicroscopic clusters of just a few atoms, held in suspension in pure water, by the tiny electric charge on each atom." -- Health Consciousness, Vol. 15, No.4

As an antibiotic, Silver kills over 650 disease causing organisms; resistant strains fail to develop. Silver is absolutely nontoxic. Silver is the best all-around germ fighter we have. Doctors are reporting that, taken internally, it works against syphilis, cholera, and malaria, diabetes and severe burns. -- Bio/Tech News, 1995

Dr. Bjorn Nordstrom, of the Karolinska Institute (Sweden's equivalent of our National Institutes of Health), has used Silver in his cancer cure method for many years. He says the whole thing is quite simple. This brought rapid remission in patients given up by other doctors. -- "Silver, Our Mightiest Germ Fighter" Science Digest, March, 1978.

Metallic Silver (Colloid) is non-toxic, however, silver nitrate and other compounds of silver are and should not be ingested. -- Dr. Bob Beck

Environmental Protection Agency's Poison Control Center reports no toxicity listing for Colloidal Silver, considering it harmless in any concentration.

The FDA has stated that because Colloidal Silver is (by fifty years) a pre-1938 drug, it may continue to be marketed. Sept. 13, 1991, letter received from consumer safety officer Harold Davis, U.S., Food and Drug Administration. Moreover, the FDA has no jurisdiction regarding a pure, mineral element.

The following significant adverse events have occurred following administration of DTP vaccines: inconsolable crying for more than 3 hours (1/100 doses), high-pitched, unusual crying (1/1000 doses), fever higher than 105 degrees Fahrenheit (1/330 doses), transient shock-like (hypotonic, hypo responsive) episode (1/1750 doses), convulsions (1/1,750 doses), sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). (Interestingly, no percentage of SIDS is given-- author.)

Encephalopathy occurring within 7 days following vaccination. This is defined as an acute, severe central-nervous-system disorder occurring with 7 days following vaccination, and generally consisting of major alterations in consciousness, unresponsiveness, generalized or focal seizures that persist more than a few hours, with failure to recover within 24 hours.

Studies have indicated that a personal or family history of seizures is associated with increased frequency of seizures following pertussis immunization. The ACIP and AAP do not consider a family history of seizures to be a contraindication to pertussis vaccine despite the increased risk of seizures in these individuals.

As reported with Haemophilus b polysaccharide vaccine, cases of Haemophilus type b disease may occur... -- Excerpts from Lederle-Praxis Biologicals' own DPT Vaccine package insert. Lederle-Praxis Biologicals is a division of American Cyanamid, which is itself a division of I.G. Farbin, the former Nazi chemical combine who manufactured Zyclon-B. Zyclon-B was the nerve gas used for exterminating millions of human beings in concentration camps. "Concentration" stands for mass "concentrations" of civilian population. In other words, a complete cross section, including infants, children, senior citizens, etc.

15. If you are making silver chloride you will see black flakes appearing at the top of the water along with salt crystals forming at the bottom of the glass. Silver chloride production normally requires one drop of saline solution (or more) per ounce of water.

Part Two: Homemade Colloidal Silver Vindicated

From Perceptions Magazine, May/June 1996 Issue

"We used to think, and some still do, that life came from a chemical soup. Now we know that unless there is an electrical charge there is no life. Life, then, is electrical. And when electrical systems go, although the chemistry is still there, the life does not exist."

---Dr. Valerie Hunt, Prof. Emeritus, Dept. of Physiological Sciences, UCLA

In an earlier issue [Nov/Dec 1995] I wrote of a "hospital" that was safer than and in many ways superior to all others in its ability to promote wellness. It was essentially cost-free to operate and portable as a deck of cards: a colloidal silver generator. With it you can make virtually unlimited amounts of the highest quality colloidal silver for the price of water.

Currently, we the people of the United States are spending $3,700 per person per year to treat our diseases-the highest amount in the world. Ironically, our health problems are getting worse. Absurd as it sounds, the third leading cause of disease and death in the United States is now infectious disease. These deaths are completely preventable.

With the simple act of wiring together three 9-volt batteries, something very profound begins to happen: Ordinary people are able not only to heal themselves, but find themselves endowed with the power to heal others and to protect the health of entire communities. These everyday people's newfound power encompasses even the ability to heal animals, plants and trees. They are also able to grow more nutritious food and to store it for longer periods.

Losing their dependent patients, the multi-billion-dollar, managed-care-of-"incurable"-diseases industry and the deadly, mutagenic vaccine industry begin to crumble. So does the cold-and-flu industry which buys all those prime-time TV ads.

Don't expect these cartels to take their losses lying down. They will do their best to frighten people away from making it themselves, sometimes buying off colloidal-silver manufacturers to act as their agents. You can also expect these drug companies to aggressively market their own substitute products, lust as they pushed antibiotics in the 1940s when colloidal silver was first suppressed.

One of the most effective flimflam ploys involves trotting out an "expert" who confirms that the product he or she is selling is absolutely essential for your well-being. This spokesperson will stress that his/her studies of the competition revealed that Brand X will very likely harm you. Actually, the expert is used as a shill to usurp your freedom of choice and dictate what you should regard as "health" and health-promoting practices.

Similar ploys have been used by colloidal-silver manufacturers, resulting in confusion and fear among those most interested in using it. We can best avoid manipulation by gaining a deeper understanding about different types of colloidal silver, production methods, issues of safety and usefulness.

First some basics. A colloid consists of minute particles that float within a liquid despite the pull of gravity. To stay in suspension, these particles must be smaller than 1 micron (1/1000 of an inch). When fresh produce is processed through a juicer, a colloid results in the form of a glass of juice. Drinking fresh juices makes it possible to consume far more nutrients than by eating. Because juice is the equivalent of a predigested food, the body can process large amounts with minimal effort and correspondingly better health results.

As a colloid sits, the larger particles begin to fall out of suspension and settle to the bottom of the container. To redistribute the contents, one usually shakes a bottle of juice before drinking.

Similarly, with colloidal silver, particles are pulled off a pure silver wire immersed in water by applying a low-voltage electric current which gives each particle an electric charge. Although this charge is long lasting, it is not permanent; daylight, magnetic fields and time will cause a silver colloid to lose its charge. This is referred to as "falling out" or "plating out."¹

Note, while colloidal silver is light sensitive, it is not as light sensitive as camera film. Taken to the beach under the midday California summer sun, it will oxidize in about 10 minutes. Indoors, under ambient and artificial light, this would take about three days. However, that only means that colloidal silver should be stored in tinted or opaque containers.

Many colloidal-silver manufacturers claim that if the silver particles are "too large," the resulting brew will be injurious, but the truth can be found in many science textbooks. When current is applied to silver in solution, the particles that break off will always be the same size: 1.26 angstroms (.00001 microns).² This particle is so small that the next stop on the road to smallness is the atom itself!

Colloids are by nature the smallest particles matter can be divided into while retaining individual characteristics. Reducing a piece of metallic silver to a cloud of microscopic particles greatly extends its total surface area-and its healing properties-while deepening penetration into the body.

Because the silver particles are charged, they strive to combine with other elements. Trace elements exist even in distilled water, and when the charged silver particles combine with a specific trace element, the solution can turn one of a number of colors, like gray, yellow, green or brown. The element the silver chooses is largely irrelevant: Once in the body, the silver releases its bond in search of stronger attachments in order to stabilize its charge. Therefore, as the silver colloid enters the body, the original silver particles (about the size of 15 atoms) quickly pass through the stomach lining and into the blood stream where they circulate for about a week before elimination.

Yellow Colloidal Silver

Yellow colloidal silver is favored by most manufacturers, not because it is more effective than other types, but because it has a longer shelf life. This stability in solution does not automatically translate into smaller combined-particle size of the silver ion and the trace element. Some trace elements are simply more water soluble than others. Either way, particle size is a moot point: Freshness and density (parts per million, or ppm), not color, determine effectiveness.³

A disadvantage of the yellow colloidal silver is its bitter taste-unlike the silver-colored one. Also, the yellow solution is more difficult to make. When using a 27-volt generator, it is helpful to reduce the water volume to shorten the much-longer activation time the yellow solution requires. I could find no medical evidence that a yellow colloid is more effective than a silver one. Of course, you can create both for yourself and compare their effects.

To make the yellow solution, use a tall, narrow glass with 6 to 8 ounces of distilled water. Use no saline solution. The water will not gain conductivity, as it does when a saline solution is added, so the process will take about 45 minutes. It will produce a concentration of approximately 10 ppm. Keep an eye on the color of your solution, or it will eventually turn murky brown and then black. If this happens, just throw it out and start over.

How To Make High-concentration Solutions

High-concentration solutions cannot be made by simply extending the process time.

As more silver ions travel through the water, the conductivity increases which begins to alter the process. The result is a time limit of about 15 minutes when using distilled water plus saline solution at room temperature.

To create high concentrations of silver, simply heat the water. For every 10 degrees that the water rises above room temperature (72 degrees), the ppm figure doubles: If 5 ppm resulted after seven minutes of activation with 16 ounces of water at 72 degrees, 82 degrees would yield 10 ppm, 92 degrees would deliver 20 ppm, etc.

You should not boil the water, but you will find plenty of leeway between 72 and 212 degrees (boiling). Also, do not use a teapot because of its calcified residue. A cleaner pot, like a stainless steel, ceramic or glass one used for cooking, will work fine.⁴ Then pour the warm/hot water into a glass.

Zero Toxicity

The body's ability to process the tiny atoms of colloidal silver makes silver build-up in the body impossible. The Environmental Protection Agency's Poison Control Center reports a "No Toxicity" listing for colloidal silver. In fact, it appears that harmlessness is one of the attributes of the colloidal state, regardless of content. For example, examining a bottle of colloidal minerals from a local health food store, I noticed arsenic, nickel and lead among the 65 trace minerals on the ingredients list: If the particles are small enough, you can even drink arsenic!⁵

Since the body has a vital need for silver-to maintain the immune system and to produce new, healthy cells-and since our blood is also a colloid, the harmonious way in which colloids enter the body may well make colloidal silver the safest medicine on earth.

Just to prove a point to myself, I made a 16-ounce solution of well over 250 ppm and drank it. I repeated this procedure four days in a row, daily ingesting at least the equivalent of 50 16-ounce glasses of a 5-ppm, solution! I did not eat yogurt or acidophilus or compensate for friendly bacteria loss in any way. The only side effect was that I seemed to feel better!

According to pharmacist Ron Barnes, R.Ph. (Capitol Drugs, Los Angeles), this makes sense because:

Many strains of pathogenic microbes-viruses, fungi, bacteria or any other single-celled pathogen-resistant to other antibiotics are killed on contact by colloidal silver and are unable to mutate. However, it does not harm tissue-cell enzymes or friendly bacteria.

A Rejuvenating Elixir

My next experiment was a little different. I cut two flowers in the back yard and left one on a shelf without water for 24 hours. When I picked it up the next day it was completely limp. I made a fresh cut at the bottom of the stem and placed it in a glass of high-concentrate colloidal silver. Each day it got better. By the third day, the stem had become firm again, as if it had just been cut. Not a single petal was lost.

I had placed the second flower into ordinary water immediately. By the third day, many of its petals had fallen; though it had been in water from the start it was already dying.

It seems that something in silver is tied to the very core of the life process itself. Dr. Robert 0. Becker, MD, agrees. Writing about his experience with older patients, the noted biomedical researcher from Syracuse University and author of The Body Electric and Cross Currents said:

Silver did more than kill disease-causing organisms. It promoted major growth of bone and accelerated the healing of injured tissues by over 50 percent.

He also discovered that silver "profoundly stimulates healing in skin and other soft tissues in a way unlike any known natural process..." and that it promotes a new kind of cell growth which looks like the cells of children!

These cells grew fast, producing a diverse and surprising assortment of primitive cell forms able to multiply at a great rate, then differentiate into the specific cells of an organ or tissue that had been injured, even in patients over 50 years old.

A Broad-spectrum Remedy

The healing properties of silver are so wide ranging that we see researchers expressing amazement time and time again. Alfred Searle, founder of the pharmaceutical conglomerate, wrote in 1919:

Applying colloidal silver to human subjects has been done in a large number of cases with astonishingly successful results. For internal administration. orally or hypodermically, it has the advantage of being rapidly fatal to parasites without toxic action on its host. It is quite stable. It protects rabbits from ten times the lethal dose tetanus or diphtheria toxin.

I received a call from a man with a Ph.D. in computer science who had read my original article, made some colloidal silver and applied it with a dropper chronic eye infection. He said the infection went away almost immediately. In passing he mentioned that the solution also got rid of the plaque on his teeth. I had been wondering what happened to the plaque on my own teeth but had not put the two together.

The power of silver still reigns worldwide in many modern-day applications: Physicians use silver compounds in 70 percent of all the burn centers in the United States, while British Airways, Swissair, Scandinavian Airlines, Lufthansa, Olympic, Air France, Canadian Pacific Airlines, Alitalia, KLM, Japan Airlines and Pan Am all rely on silver-process water filters to curtail waterborne diseases. NASA uses a silver water-purification system on the space shuttle as do the Soviets. Japanese firms even remove cyanide and nitric oxide from the air with silver.

So, how do you frighten people away from the safest medicine on earth? You tell them that the bogeyman will get them. If they're too sophisticated for that, tell them they will get a strange, archaic disease like argyria. Actually, there is no record of anyone ever contracting argyria from colloidal silver made by the electrolytic method.

(Argyria is a harmless and infrequent cosmetic condition in which some body parts take on a slight bluish cast due to the presence of chemical compounds of which silver is only a component. It did not seem to bother the royal, "blue-blood" families of Europe, who stayed healthy through the plagues of the Middle Ages by ingesting large amounts of silver.)

Surviving With Colloidal Silver

Were I to end up in the midst of a calamity, I would need only water to have one of the most powerful medical resources in the world at my disposal. (Technically, colloidal silver can be made in a variety of common liquids, including beer and soup, but I'm not recommending anyone do this in the normal course of events.)

In a remarkable clinical trial with 14 elderly patients, Dr. Becker inserted a pair of silver electrode wires directly into each wound, using the body's own juices as the liquid solution and applying current to the external ends. (The voltage one uses is so low it produces no sensation.) With this technique, he was able to heal infections inside broken bones--one of the hardest types to control-and to mend previously unhealing fractures and breaks.

In some cases he left the silver surgically implanted in the body. In others, he sewed the wound up around the protruding electrode. Once the wound had healed, "The implanted silver wire was easily withdrawn from the wound manually without the need for surgery or anesthesia."

Regarding the ability of metallic silver to control infection, he said, "All of the organisms that we tested were sensitive to the electrically generated silver ion, including some that were resistant to all known antibiotics." Concerning the safety of inserting it into the body, he added: "In no case were any undesirable side effects of the silver treatment apparent.

Under emergency conditions it would be good to remember that U.S. silver coins from 1964 and earlier contain 90 percent silver, nine percent copper and one percent zinc, all of which are known to have beneficial properties if used in a colloidal state. Just scour the coins until they are clean and shiny (I mention this purely as an intellectual consideration and not to recommend that anyone undertake such an action under normal conditions. Silver wire is much easier to use.)

What Doesn't Colloidal Silver Do?

It does not interact with any other medications or upset the stomach; in fact, it is a digestive aid. It does not sting the eyes. Medical-journal reports and documented studies spanning the past hundred years indicate no known side effects whatsoever from oral or intravenous administration of colloidal silver in animal or human testing. It has been used with good results under the most demanding health care circumstances.

Without overstating the case, it may be time to recognize colloidal silver as not only the safest medicine on Earth, but also the most powerful!