As the COVID-19 virus continues to be a problem, many people and companies are looking at new ways of disinfecting. Antibiotics, while very useful, have a serious price to pay when it comes to their long-term use. Over time, antibiotics result in the creation of super-powered viruses that are way more dangerous than nature intended. With that in mind, let’s look at a new approach to an old solution: The use of silver derivatives as a disinfecting agent.
What Is Silver Dihydrogen Citrate?
This is a new and proprietary form of silver, which is intended to be a replacement for traditional disinfectants. The patent is held by a company called PURE Bioscience, so it might be helpful to look at their publicly-released data on the subject. As you can see, this is basically just a stabilized form of colloidal silver.
Before the advent of modern antibiotics in the 1940s, it was very common to use colloidal silver as a disinfectant. The high price of silver was never really an issue because these medicinal silver solutions contain only trace amounts of the precious metal that we all know.
Ionic silver technically isn’t the same substance as solid silver metal. Rather, it is an ion: A variation of a common molecule. By using electrolysis, they removed just one electron from the silver molecule, allowing it to dissolve completely in water. It thus retains the antimicrobial properties of elemental silver in a more easily-digested form.
What Is Ionic Silver?
Silver dihydrogen citrate is an example of ionic silver, as opposed to colloidal silver. Chemists chose to go with an ionized form because it has a much longer shelf life. Colloidal silver loses its potency after 6 months to a year of storage, which is a relatively short shelf life. Silver dihydrogen citrate, on the other hand, can be stored for at least five years without a problem.
An ion is basically just a non-standard form of a known molecule. In the case of ionic silver, they just removed one electron from the standard silver molecule. Thus, it is still silver but has been rendered into a different form. Colloidal silver is different because it contains tiny trace amounts (nanoparticles) of pure elemental silver.
Which Is Better: Ionic Or Colloidal?
That brings us to an important question: Is ionic silver better than colloidal silver? We already know that ionic silver can be stored for much longer, so that’s one advantage. We also know that ionic silver is much easier to make. We easily found a video that explains the entire process, and it doesn’t require a lot in terms of equipment or knowledge.
In terms of side effects, neither of these forms would seem to be superior or inferior. Neither of them is associated with significant side effects, but there is one health condition that can result from taking too much silver (either colloidal or ionic). That condition is called argyria, and it will make you blue. No, we don’t mean that it will make you sad…we mean that it will literally turn your skin blue like this guy. Thankfully, this is a rare situation that results from severe overuse.
We did find one respectable scientific study that compared the effects of ionic and colloidal silver, which can be read here. Although the researchers emphasized that these substances work in different ways, both were found to have strong antibacterial effects. As far as we can see, no real difference was found in their effectiveness.
How Does Silver Dihydrogen Citrate Work?
When colloidal silver is ingested, the body will gradually turn it into an ionic form of silver. Thus, the use of ionic silver represents a biological “shortcut.” Because of this fact, ionic silver works in pretty much the same way as its more common counterpart. Basically, those silver ions will sabotage every bacteria cell that they can find.
They start by breaking down the walls of each cell, allowing the silver ions to invade the interior. Once inside, they start bonding with all the essential parts of the cell, including the DNA found in its nucleus. This effectively blocks the cell from performing its essential functions, and cellular death soon follows. The remains of the bacteria are then harmless excreted in urine or fecal matter.
According to recent research, this process of sabotage is even more nefarious than previously believed. Researchers have documented something that they call “the zombie effect.” once destroyed by silver ions, bacterial cells can continue infecting other bacterial cells. They can continue to serve as carriers of the silver ions long after their death, making it even easier for the bacteria to be massacred. Ordinarily, sabotage and massacres are not good things, but this is one of the rare exceptions.
Does It Work Against Viruses?
Due to the current issues with mutated coronaviruses, you might be wondering if ionic silver can kill viruses in the same way it kills bacteria. As far as we can tell, the answer is yes. Take a look at this study, for one example of the evidence. Although some concerns are raised about potential side effects, they have found that the use of colloidal silver as an antiviral agent is valid and effective. Since silver ions work by the same mechanism, it stands to reason that they will be equally effective.
Are There Any Dangers?
We already mentioned the unfortunate story of Paul Karason, the man who turned himself blue by drinking too much silver. We scoured many articles about this man and his situation, and we find one consistent fact: He never seems to have suffered any ill effects apart from his unusual color change. Mr. Karason died last year, but he was 62 years old and died from pneumonia complications rather than anything related to his silver ingestion.
Here is some toxicity info from the CDC about silver. It states that large amounts of silver nitrate have been shown to be fatal in rats and other animals, but it took a very high dosage for this to happen. Even in the high-dose group, most of the rats survived. So, although you should be careful to stay within established dosage limits, silver poses very little risk to your health.
Conclusion
If you are thinking about using soluble silver as a medical remedy, it is important to go into the matter with eyes wide open. The medical professionals will discount the benefits of these substances, even as research confirms its effectiveness. We advise you to learn the facts and proceed with the appropriate level of caution, but there seems to be relatively little danger here. We thank you for reading this article, and we hope you will fill out the contact form below.
