Introduction
Argyria is a condition of the skin which is caused by the ingestion of colloidal silver or elemental silver. Over a long period of heavy silver ingestion the skin begins to turn blue, then a blue slate, and eventually a dull grey. This condition is permanent and there is no cure, but it is harmless in all other respects.
Colloidal Silver
Around 1900 colloidal silver was introduced as a kind of cure all miracle drug that claimed to cure everything from shingles to sore throats. It has never been proven that colloidal silver can actually cure anything. In fact the FDA restricts colloidal silver from being sold with the claim of being able to cure anything. It can, and is, sold as a dietary supplement.
The Blue Senator
Probably the most famous case of Argyria on record is the case of Stan Jones. Amid fears that the Y2K bug would render the world helpless and without antibiotics for such diseases as anthax, Stan begin a heavy regiment of colloidal silver. Unfortunately the Y2K bug never produced any chaos, but colloidal silver did turn poor Stan into a replica of Papa Smurf.
Moderation
As with most anything moderation is the the key. Leave it to Americans to think that if ingesting a little of something is good for you, then ingesting a lot must be great. There are some possible health benefits to drinking colloidal silver, but that doesn’t mean you should start licking bars of silver.
Further Reading
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloidal_silver
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argyria
http://www.colloidal-silver-about.com/colloidal-silver-dosage.html
http://www.argyria.info/
Rather cool. they can be robots
Bless. Love the Imitation of Papa Smurf!
Yep, its the foolishness of some (over ingesting silver products) that have caused such a stir and hysterical response to some legitimate colloidal silver products that if used responsibly could cure many an ill.