A lot of people are worried about the Covid-19 pandemic right now, and there seems to be ample cause for concern. Although we don’t see the kinds of massive death tolls that were predicted by some, this problem has also proven to be very real indeed. As such, a lot of people are talking about cures and treatments. To save you some time (and disappointment), let’s be clear: There is currently no known cure for Covid-19. There are treatments, but none of them has proven to be the magic bullet that the world presently needs. Today, we are going to look at one of those potential treatments: Silver nanoparticle technology, better known as colloidal silver.
Why Silver?
When you first hear about this, it is easy to scratch your head, thinking that silver is far too expensive for something like this. However, there is a good explanation here. Silver nanoparticles are not at all the same thing as pure silver metal. They might be composed of the same element, but the difference lies in the concentration. It only takes a tiny amount of silver to be effective as medicine, which keeps the cost down to a reasonable level.
For many centuries, silver has been known for its ability to ward off disease. The ancients didn’t fully understand why, but they knew silver just didn’t spread disease in the way that other materials do. Incidentally, this is also why people would eat with silver utensils whenever possible. As you can see by reading this study, colloidal silver was the standard for antimicrobial treatment until the introduction of modern antibiotics in the 1940s.
Are Silver Nanoparticles Recommended For Treatment Of Covid-19?
At this time, the Covid-19 virus is not so well-understood. It is a relatively new problem, even if it is similar to an old problem. As such, no doctor is going to take the chance of recommending a particular treatment. They simply have too much to lose in the event that the treatment leads to a problem (and, potentially, a malpractice lawsuit).
To see why that is so, we need only look at this statement from the Food and Drug Administration. It is a warning directed at manufacturers of colloidal silver. They were told that they would not be allowed to market their products as a treatment for the novel coronavirus.
Is The FDA Correct?
The FDA speaks in very condemning terms about the companies that have been selling these products. Admittedly, it does seem a little bit irresponsible to label anything as a “Covid-19 treatment” unless it has been specifically proven to work for that illness. So, that brings us to the obvious question: Is there any evidence to suggest that silver nanoparticles can treat or cure the novel Coronavirus?
Surprisingly, the answer is yes. In fact, there are several pieces of evidence to which we might point. Let’s start with this study, conducted mostly by Chinese scientists. Various forms of colloidal silver (with various particle sizes) were tested on a virus that is quite similar to Covid-19. Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus (TGEV) is a member of the coronavirus family and has a similar molecular structure.
To make a long story short, the researchers found that the silver-based treatments were effective in reducing the effects of the virus. The ability of the TGEV cells to infect other cells was reduced, and the study says that it was reduced significantly. The silver treatments also limited the rate of cellular decay (apoptosis), effectively stopping the disease in its tracks.
More Evidence
Of course, one study is never enough to confirm anything, so let’s take a look at another one. In this scholarly review of the evidence, we can see quite a bit of correlation. Although they did not test the silver nanoparticles on the Covid-19 virus, they did test it on a wide variety of other viruses.
They found that the silver treatment was effective against HIV, Hepatitis B, Herpes Simplex, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and Monkeypox. Metal particles such as this work because they are about the same size as the virus itself. This allows them to bond with the virus, blocking its ability to grow and reproduce. There is a lot of interesting research on this subject to be found.
Some of you may remember the SARS outbreak in 2003, another mutated flu virus from the same region. Many people do not know that this novel coronavirus is basically just a new form of SARS. So, let’s look and see if there is any evidence to show that colloidal silver is effective against the SARS virus. Upon looking, we found this excellent and enlightening study.
This study was based on a simple experiment in which samples of the virus were placed in a suspension of metal nanoparticles. Both copper and silver were used, and they even tried a mixture of the two. In all cases, they found that these nanometals were able to significantly harm the virus, limiting its ability to grow and spread. Overall, it seems that the mixed solution of copper and silver was the most effective.
Conclusion
Surprisingly, we found that there is a lot more evidence on this subject than previously believed. While we cannot find a single study in which colloidal silver has been successfully used to treat Covid-19, we do find a lot of other evidence. Specifically, we find a lot of evidence to show that silver nanoparticles are effective against several close relatives of the novel Coronavirus, including those that belong to the same family. Thus, we have to wonder why the government has not acted on these promising leads instead of condemning and warning those who have tried!
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