The title of this post fits me to a T and holds more meaning for me than the name suggests! I am a sworn optimist and so looking for the positive is what I do but more importantly, having a range of natural remedies at hand when my kids are sick (being a need-to-be-prepared-in-every-situation type of gal) just makes me feel even more positive. Of course the pun on the word silver was the icing on the cake and we all know how much I love cake. And icing.
So, when my naturopath recently recommended a product called "Argentyn 23" to help kill any nasties in my body that were causing hives (long story, separate blog post warranted!), my mommy antenna perked up and started doing the rounds to see how I could incorporate it into my first aid box.
Colloidal Silver (the word colloid means a solution in which particles, in this case silver, have been dispersed and do not settle) has been used for many, many years as a natural antibiotic. In fact, physicians used to use silver to cure infections until antibiotics were invented and in ancient Rome & Greece, people stored liquids in silver containers to prevent spoilage. Silver lost its popularity in the 1940s with the advent of antibiotics since those were easier to use and had a longer shelf life. In recent years, however, silver has regained its popularity due to the discovery of new ways to extend its shelf life and the improvement in ease of use.
Despite its efficacy, there has been a lot of controversy about using Colloidal Silver, primarily due to the fear of it causing 'argyria', a condition that causes the skin to turn blue. Fear not, my friend as this product will not turn you into a Smurf!!! My reading/research has shown that this only happens with Colloidal Silver 'imposters' and that too at very high levels of ingestion which go far beyond the recommended dosage. Always use a reputable company/brand but if you are still cautious, do not give it to your child daily as a preventative and instead limit use to when you are in need of fixing a stubborn infection. One of the biggest pros of this product is that it has no taste. When your child has high fever and dosing with garlic, GSE or even Vitamin C is hard, this is a very good quality for a natural remedy to have! You can even give "Argentyn 23" to toddlers (I would not give it to a child under 1) and just limit the dose to 1 drop a few times a day when they are really sick. I recently used it to help Z get over a chest cold and it cut her illness time in half, not to mention she took it happily vs. the garlic honey I usually give that makes her run for cover!
What I really loved about the silver though was the fact that you can also use it topically for a range of ailments. Drop a little into ears for an ear infection, a little into the eyes for conjunctivitis, put some on eczema patches to help heal the skin and I have even heard from some mothers that they used it to heal their children's yeast infections!
Leaving you today with a recycled quote from Gandhi :-)
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