Colloidal Silver and Valley Fever: Anecdotal Accounts

Experts say Valley Fever is on the rise in the western United States, with tens of thousands of deaths every year.

Can the fungal infection behind this dread disease be eradicated with colloidal silver? 

Here’s what we know so far…

Hi, Steve Barwick here, for www.TheSilverEdge.com...

According to a recent Associated Press article, a fungal infection called Valley Fever is striking tens of thousands of people in the western U.S. farming regions.

And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says the annual rate of hospitalizations for Valley Fever have doubled over the past 12 years in California alone, costing more than $2 billion in hospital charges.

Valley Fever is “a potentially lethal but often misdiagnosed disease infecting more and more people around the nation,” and “has been on the rise as warming climates and drought have kicked up the dust that spreads it,” according to the AP.

Experts explain that the disease is caused by a fungal spore called Coccidioides that lives in dirt and is kicked up when the wind blows over dry, parched areas.

It can be contracted, apparently, “by simply breathing in the fungus-laced spores from dust disturbed by wind as well as by human or animal activity.”

In other words, anything that stirs the dirt up, stirs the fungus up with it.  And if you breathe it in, you could end up with an infection that could potentially take your life.

Apparently, the number of cases of Valley Fever rose by more than 850 percent from 1998 through 2011 (the last year for which figures are presently available) when there were nearly 22,000 cases in California and Arizona alone, and an estimated 150,000 cases nationwide. 

Experts expect the rise to continue as dry weather causes additional drought condition.

According to the AP article:

"Valley Fever is a very common problem here, and it devastates people's lives," said Dr. Royce Johnson, professor of medicine at UCLA and chief of infectious diseases at Kern Medical Center.

"But many patients don't know about it, and some physicians are only vaguely aware of it because half of our physicians come from out of state."

Dale Pulde, a motorcycle mechanic in Los Angeles County, said he contracted the disease three years ago after traveling to Bakersfield in Kern County and was coughing so hard he was blacking out; he spit blood and couldn't catch his breath.

For two months, doctors tested him for everything from tuberculosis to cancer until blood tests confirmed he had the fever.

After two lung operations, Pulde gave up his job and is on disability. He says he has to take anti-fungal medication that costs him more than $2,000 per month out of pocket.

He had to sell his house in Sylmar, Calif., to raise money for his treatment.”

Obviously, a Valley Fever infection is nothing to sneeze at.  And apparently it’s very difficult to cure even with the best medical treatment.

Colloidal Silver to the Rescue?

Unfortunately, I’ve seen no clinical evidence whatsoever that colloidal silver would be effective for this particular fungal infection. 

But I have been privy to one very interesting and enlightening anecdotal account of colloidal silver curing a very serious case of what was thought to be Valley Fever, which I’ll share with you in just a moment.

Of course, colloidal silver has been demonstrated in clinical studies to be effective against a variety of fungal pathogens – sometimes even more effective than the top prescription antifungal drugs. 

For example, one recent study demonstrated colloidal silver to be more effective than the powerful prescription antifungal drug Amphotericin B (i.e., Fungizone), as well as more effective than Fluconazole (i.e., Diflucan) against Candida yeast fungal pathogens and Trichophyton (i.e., the cause of athlete’s foot, jock itch and ringworm) fungal pathogens. 

Colloidal silver is also used in textiles for its broad array of antifungal properties, as documented in this clinical study titled Antifungal Textiles Formed Using Silver Deposition in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide.

And as far back as 1976, Dr. Robert O. Becker, M.D. and associates demonstrated the powerful antifungal properties of electrically generated silver ions in their study, Antifungal Properties of Electrically Generated Metallic Silver Ions.

More recent studies (see here and here) have demonstrated colloidal silver nanoparticles to have a profound antifungal effect against the biofilms (i.e., protective coatings) of fungal pathogens such as Candida albicans and Candida glabrata as well as a profound effectiveness the pathogens themselves.

And a clinical study titled The Silver Nanoparticle: A New Model for Antifungal Agents documents the phenomenal effectiveness of antimicrobial silver against fungal pathogens.

What’s more, anecdotal accounts demonstrate colloidal silver to be astonishingly effective against the fungal pathogen that causes toenail fungus, as well.  

And of course, many people use colloidal silver for athlete’s foot and other topical infections, as documented in this article. 

An Interesting Anecdotal Account

So it comes as no surprise to me, really, that I would receive the following very interesting anecdotal account from a reader who used colloidal silver against what he claims to be a very serious case of Valley Fever, and beat the dread disease. 

Here’s his dramatic story:

“I’ve been retired since January of 2009. We’ve spent the last three winters around Wickenberg Arizona.

We enjoy prospecting and finding gold. We had been in Arizona for approximately three months. The last week we were in Arizona I became sick, nauseated and just felt awful.

We’ve had a Silver Edge colloidal silver machine for about 5 years. We received the machine as a present from my mother.

We always take the machine with us, so I took a small amount of colloidal silver for 2 days and felt better. Then we decided to head for home.

We had just arrived home when the sickness hit me again so I started back on the silver, taking about 1/2 cup in the morning and 1/2 cup at night.

It didn't seem to help me. I was drastically losing my breathing capability, sweating profusely at night and I felt like I was going to check out.

On about the third day I could hardly get any breath. I called my mother and explained the situation to her.

Mom asked how much silver had I been taking. I told her about 1/2 cup night and morning. I also told her about the sweating and that I had lost 25 pounds in about 3 days.
Mom told me to drink all of the colloidal silver I could stand through the day and night. I did what mom told me to do.

I had talked to mom on the morning of the third day, and by noon the next day I was feeling way better and knew that I was on the way to recovery.

About four days after I had started drinking full glasses (12 ounces per glass) I had pretty much recovered from the sickness.

I had lost 32 pounds in a little over a week’s time. I was still quite weak but my appetite had come back and I was on the mend.

I later found out from some friends who also winter in the same area that I had Valley Fever, which I believe is from some kind of a spore in the ground where the ocean had been. I had been dry washing and I was breathing dust from that.

After my episode, I heard that 11 people die from Valley Fever each year. I’m therefore very thankful for colloidal silver.

I’m also diabetic, which means cuts and scratches in the leg or feet are sometimes difficult to heal. If I get a scratch or a cut on my legs, I rub colloidal silver up and down where the wound is. The silver heals the wound twice as fast.

I also use the colloidal silver for athlete's foot -- clears it up immediately. 

My relative uses the silver water for earaches. And we use it to clear the sinuses, which helps keep us from getting colds.

We give our dog the silver water almost weekly. And all of our neighbors in the Challis, Idaho area that live close to us borrow ours all of the time.

Some have purchased the Silver Edge machines. And we’ve purchased the machines and have given them away as gifts to our kids and relatives. I will not go anywhere without my machine. Thank you,

-- Mike T., Challis, ID

Not Proof of Efficacy

Of course, anecdotal accounts like the one above are not proof of efficacy.  Nor would I ever recommend the extremely high dosages of colloidal silver described in the above account -- at least, not for long periods of time. 

(See my previous article here, on determining a safe daily dosage of colloidal silver based on your body weight and the ppm of the colloidal silver you’re using.)

And since Valley Fever can be extremely serious, even lethal, I always recommend obtaining medical treatment from a bona-fide medical health professional under such circumstances, if at all possible.

Nevertheless, as a natural health journalist I find it quite fascinating to see that a man with all of the symptoms of a very serious Valley Fever infection did indeed use colloidal silver and ultimately beat the disease, in spite of the fact that the infection at one point appeared to have been well on its way to taking his life. 

While the above anecdotal account is very interesting, it’s certainly not enough to go on to recommend colloidal silver as a nutritional adjunct for Valley Fever. 

After all, while colloidal silver’s effectiveness has indeed been studied extensively in relation to fungal pathogens, there have been no clinical studies to my knowledge on the specific fungal pathogen (Coccidioides) that causes Valley Fever. 

So no one knows for sure whether or not the pathogen is even remotely susceptible to silver (though I suspect Mike T. from the above anecdotal account wouldn’t hesitate to argue the case on behalf of colloidal silver). 

Nevertheless, I suspect if I had Valley Fever, and the doctors weren’t getting it under control, out of a sense of self-preservation I’d probably take my chances and down some large doses of colloidal silver. 

That’s not a “prescription,” mind you.  I’m just musing out loud, so to speak, about what I might do under similar circumstances at Mike T’s. 

As I stated earlier, for serious and potentially life-threatening situations, always obtain the guidance of a good, licensed medical professional whenever possible.

Here’s another interesting anecdotal account I found on the MotherJones.com website, in a comment under an article on Valley Fever.  It’s from a woman who was camping outside of Quartzsite, AZ, and who claims to have come down with a nasty case of Valley Fever and defeated it with colloidal silver:

“I had Valley Fever while dry-camping in Quartzsite, AZ, mid-Jan, 2009. Since childhood, I've craved sleep when ill.  But that time, it was more like a semi coma for 4 days and nights.

A fellow camper brought over a small glass jar of colloidal silver he'd made and told me how to use it. I started getting better within hours and continued until I felt like being up and around even though I was pretty weak for a few days.

News came later that another woman had been hospitalized for 3 weeks with pneumonia from her VF attack.

I now make and use my own colloidal silver any time I feel something like a cold coming on and it hasn't failed yet.

In spite of negative reports, hospitals are using silver-impregnated bandages and they're especially useful for burn patients. Google it to learn and decide for yourself. It's an amazing ally.”

-- Violet F.

And here’s another anecdotal report in which a woman from Central Texas ended up with a serious lung infection after breathing in a “very different type of fungal growth” that had cropped up on her property, and used colloidal silver to beat it:

Saved Me From a Fungal Infection of the Lungs! 

“Last summer, (2009) we here in Central Texas were in an exceptional drought. From May to the end of August, we had negligible rainfall.

Then in September the skies opened up and it did not hardly stop raining until the middle of October. The ground stayed soggy and saturated until late October. Nearly 24 inches of rain in those 2 months.

I had noticed on several areas of our property, a very strange white, fuzzy fungus type growth that had appeared in several places. I don’t know what this stuff was, all I know is that it was a very different type of fungal growth than I had never encountered.

Well needless to say, by the time we could get back on the lawnmower or shredder, our hay pastures and our lawn were a bit overgrown, but it had to be done. Fungus or no fungus.

I knew from the first moment that I hit one of those fungal spores with the lawn mower, I had better put a mask on.

Well the mask did NOT help. 3 days later I was the sickest I have ever been in my life. I could hardly breathe. I had the worst rattling chest I had ever heard in my life. I have been around a lot of rattlers, since emphysema was a common thing in our community. But mine was worse!!

I had no fever, just a choking cough. It just seemed like I could not ‘pull’ all the mucus out of my lungs. For the first time in my 47 years of life, I actually thought I might not make it through this.

This, of course, was against the backdrop of the supposed ‘Swine Flu’, so, of course, everyone naturally thought this is what I had. I KNEW BETTER!  In my heart of hearts, I knew that I had gotten a lung full of that fungus.

Now, I had been regularly taking a daily dose of a tablespoon of Micro-Particle Colloidal Silver for quite some time. So I started taking 1 oz. in about 16 oz of water 3x daily.

On the third day of absolutely no sleep, and drinking only broths, and using an old time remedy for lungs -- steaming with thyme -- I was seriously considering going to the emergency room. Something that I loathe!

So on that third day I upped the dose.... I started drinking the silver solution undiluted, about 6 oz 3x a day...the very next day, I was considerably better.

Now don't get me wrong, I was not out of the woods yet, but at last, I could see some light at the end of the tunnel. I am normally a very upbeat, strong-willed person, but this little episode, scared me alot. A LOT.

Within a week I was much better. DID NOT have to go to the Dr. or the ER...saving 1000's of dollars and I did not have to take the pharmaco toxics.

I wish I had taken some of that spore to have it analyzed, but I have no doubt in my mind that that is what caused my sickness. This hit me the last day of October, I was still sick on Thanksgiving.

Whatever hit me did not want to let go without a fight. I gave it to it with the Colloidal Silver...IT WON!  So did I!!

By the second week of December I was feeling much more like my old perky self. I have no doubt that without the colloidal silver, I would have been in the hospital...no doubt at all!

Thank you for your life saving product. P.S. All of our farm animals get a daily dose of this as well. Dogs & Cats too!!  NO vet bills in 2 years!!”

-- Lori F., Rockdale, TX  

While there’s no way to know whether or not that was a case of Valley Fever, it is indeed another interesting example of how a fungal infection can wreak havoc on one’s life, and how colloidal silver can come to the rescue.

Learn More About Colloidal Silver

If you’d like to learn more about the immune-boosting and infection-fighting qualities of colloidal silver, feel free to check out some of my other short articles by clicking the link in this sentence. 

To read how hundreds of experienced colloidal silver users have successfully used colloidal silver for literally dozens of different health conditions, just click the link in this sentence. 

And to learn how to make your own high-quality colloidal silver, in the comfort and privacy of your own home, for less than 36 cents a quart, just click the link in this sentence. 

Meanwhile, I’ll be back next week with another great article on making and using colloidal silver…

Yours for the safe, sane and responsible use of colloidal silver,

Steve Barwick, author
The Ultimate Colloidal Silver Manual

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Important Note and Disclaimer:  The contents of this Ezine have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  Information conveyed herein is from sources deemed to be accurate and reliable, but no guarantee can be made in regards to the accuracy and reliability thereof.  The author, Steve Barwick, is a natural health journalist with over 30 years of experience writing professionally about natural health topics.  He is not a doctor.  Therefore, nothing stated in this Ezine should be construed as prescriptive in nature, nor is any part of this Ezine meant to be considered a substitute for professional medical advice.  Nothing reported herein is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.  The author is simply reporting in journalistic fashion what he has learned during the past 17 years of journalistic research into colloidal silver and its usage.  Therefore, the information and data presented should be considered for informational purposes only, and approached with caution.  Readers should verify for themselves, and to their own satisfaction, from other knowledgeable sources such as their doctor, the accuracy and reliability of all reports, ideas, conclusions, comments and opinions stated herein.  All important health care decisions should be made under the guidance and direction of a legitimate, knowledgeable and experienced health care professional.  Readers are solely responsible for their choices.  The author and publisher disclaim responsibility and/or liability for any loss or hardship that may be incurred as a result of the use or application of any information included in this Ezine. 

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