Are some pathogenic
microorganisms resistant to colloidal silver?
The answer is “yes” and
“no.” And it depends largely on who
you’re listening to, and how their studies were conducted.
Indeed, it turns out
that many reported cases of bacterial resistance to silver have been either
exaggerated, mistaken or based on poor study design by researchers.
Here’s the bare-bones
truth no one else is telling you…
Hi,
Steve Barwick here, for TheSilverEdge.com...
Some
resources claim there are only eight pathogens that are resistant to the
infection-fighting qualities of colloidal silver. Others say there are 20.
Actually,
it’s a little more complex than that.
There
are over 20,000 catalogued pathogens in existence, and probably 20 million uncatalogued pathogens.
So
it’s quite inevitable that sooner or later you’ll run across a silver-resistant
pathogen, which is to say, a pathogen that will not be killed by oral or
topical use of colloidal silver.
After
all, colloidal silver is not “God.” It’s
just a natural substance that happens to have some very powerful antimicrobial
and disinfectant properties.
Researchers
claim antimicrobial silver is effective
against over 650 different pathogenic microorganisms, whereas most traditional antibiotic
drugs are effective against only several dozen pathogens, at best.
So
this certainly makes antimicrobial silver the most broad-spectrum of all
natural infection-fighting agents. But it cannot kill every single pathogen on
the face of the earth.
The
“complex” part is that while a certain species of pathogen might be quite
susceptible to silver, a sub-species of that same pathogen might demonstrate
at least some degree of resistance to silver.
Partial Truths…
So,
for example, you have some researchers claiming that the Enterobacteriaceae pathogen is silver-resistant. (See “Colloidal Silver Medical Research Before 1940”)
But
that’s only a partial truth, because it
is only a sub-species of that family
of pathogens that clinical studies have demonstrated to be
silver-resistant.
On
the other hand, there are multiple other sub-species of Enterobacteriaceae that are very
susceptible to the antimicrobial qualities of colloidal silver, including some
of the antibiotic-resistant “superbug” forms. (See “Colloidal Silver Versus
Antibiotic-Resistant CRE Bacteria”)
There
are also researchers who claim colloidal silver is ineffective against E. coli.
(See “Colloidal Silver Medical Research
Before 1940”)
But
this too is only a partial truth,
because it’s only a sub-species of E. coli that’s been demonstrated in a
handful of studies to be silver-resistant.
Indeed,
many other strains of E. coli have
been demonstrated to be very susceptible to the antimicrobial qualities of
silver. (See “Colloidal Silver and E. Coli” as well as “7 Deadly Microbes Killed by Colloidal
Silver at Very Low Concentrations: Study”)
I’m
not trying to complicate the issue; it just is what it is.
Just
because a bacterium is said to be “silver-resistant” doesn’t mean every single
member of that family of pathogens is silver-resistant. It might only be a single sub-species that’s
demonstrated silver-resistance, as in the above-mentioned cases.
When “Silver-Resistant”
Pathogens Aren’t Really Resistant…
The
situation gets even more confused, because some – and perhaps a majority -- of
the research that’s ostensibly demonstrated silver-resistance in pathogens
turns out to be misleading.
In
some cases, for example, researchers have labeled a certain pathogen as being
“silver-resistant,” when in reality the pathogen was only resistant to the type of silver being used in the study.
According
to a clinical research white paper from the Immunogenic Research Foundation titled
Microbial
Multi-Drug Resistance (MDR) and Oligodynamic Silver:
“Over the past two decades, multiple studies with
differing designs and speciations of silver-based drugs have indicated that
certain bacterial species and strains have physiological mechanisms that
circumnavigate silver’s toxicity.
These mechanisms are essentially plasmid based or
chromosomal based; the later expressing as ATPase translocating mechanisms.
In neither case did investigators employ nanoscalar
oligodynamic silver. Instead, the
experimental designs typically utilized silver salt compounds, which deliver
poor amounts of bioactive silver.”
In
short, in studies that supposedly demonstrated there to be silver-resistant
pathogens, the type of silver used was typically a silver salt compound such as
silver nitrate, rather than “nanoscalar oligodynamic silver,” meaning
electrically-generated ionic silver with very small particle size.
This
is true as well of other silver compounds.
For example, at least one sub-species of the common Enterococcus pathogen is known to be resistant to silver
sulfadiazine cream. So you’ll find many
clinical resources listing this pathogen as being “silver-resistant.”
Yet
other clinical researchers have found that the very same pathogen is killed
quite easily by electrically-generated colloidal silver (i.e., ionic silver).
This
makes sense, because the Enterococcus
is a very hardy pathogen. And silver
sulfadiazine cream is designed to release a very slow trickle of silver ions to
help keep microbial populations from spreading throughout burn wounds.
But
Enterococcus is not easily affected
by such a slow release of silver ions. On
the other hand, if you expose this same pathogen to higher quantities of silver
ions by applying enough pure, unadulterated electrically-generated colloidal
silver, it dies rapidly.
That’s
because electrically-generated colloidal silver is composed chiefly of pure
silver ions. And silver ions are the active, infection-fighting
“specie” of silver.
So
“carpet bombing” a pathogen like Enterococcus
with pure silver ions all at once, rather than exposing it to a very slow
stream of silver ions being released from a silver compound like silver
sulfadiazine (which you could think of as a weakened solution), does the
trick.
This
means the pathogen is not silver-resistant at all. It’s simply that the right “specie” of silver must be utilized, and
the right dosage of silver must be
utilized, if the pathogen is to be effectively killed.
Bacterial Culture
Contamination
Another
problem that’s confused the issue is when researchers neutralize silver’s
antimicrobial qualities before the silver can kill the bacteria in a Petri dish.
This
usually happens when the researchers grow the bacteria in a nutrient growth
media containing substances such as strong salts, minerals, sugars, amino acids
and proteins such as soy casein.
When
silver is applied to pathogens being grown in such laboratory nutrient media,
these substances tend to bond strongly with silver and reduce its
effectiveness.
In
essence, the researchers unwittingly dampen
silver’s effectiveness without realizing it. They then conclude they’ve
discovered another type of bacteria that’s become resistant to silver.
But
if the silver were to be applied to the very same pathogens outside of the presence of the
artificial growth medium, it would easily destroy the pathogen.
As
revealed in the clinical research white paper from the Immunogenic Research
Foundation, Microbial
Multi-Drug Resistance (MDR) and Oligodynamic Silver:
“Another most common problem of these experimental
designs was the inadvertent culture contamination with various salts, something
which will reduce silver efficacy.
The colloidal state and dynamics of living tissues is at
odds with typical culture techniques and mediums, and brings about the
unfortunately situation of requiring readers to compare apples to oranges.”
In
other words, the nutrient growth media used in laboratories to grow bacterial
colonies is quite different from living tissue.
So
all the researchers have actually demonstrated is that silver won’t work as
well against the bacteria being tested when
they’re grown in the laboratory in an artificial growth media that reduces
silver’s effectiveness.
Indeed,
as far back as 1983, in a study titled Silver
and Its Compounds (pg. 335; Disinfection, Sterilization and Preservation),
a researcher named Grier demonstrated the fact that:
“Some so-called silver-resistant microorganisms may
result from an apparent neutralization of the metal’s inhibitory action [by
assay artifacts – ED]...
…these include the presence of chelators such as serial
amino acids, constituents of hard water, different buffers, light, incubation
temperature, and particularly, soluble components of soy agar (TSA) and
tryptose glucose extract agar (TGE)”
Once
again, in artificial laboratory growth media there can be components that
neutralize silver’s antimicrobial qualities.
On
the other hand, in the human body there are transport mechanisms such as the metalloprotein transport system that are specifically designed to
“escort” silver intact through harsh chemical environments so it can do its
work when it comes into contact with a colony of pathogens.
According
to the above-cited clinical research white paper, Microbial
Multi-Drug Resistance (MDR) and Oligodynamic Silver:
“More specifically stated, the ‘apparent’ resistance of
microbes to silver-based drugs is typically due to (1) an inadequate protocol
or procedure, or (2) neglect of the necessary parameters so carefully reviewed
by Goetz, Zhao and a NASA commissioned study.
“Hamilton-Miller
et al., have reported that bacterial strains completely resistant to the salt
speciations of silver have proved erroneous when proper study designs were
employed.”
In
other words, when pathogens that had previously been demonstrated to be “silver-resistant”
were instead raised in a growth medium that didn't neutralize silver, and when proper procedures were followed by the researchers,
the supposed “silver resistance” suddenly vanished, and the pathogens were
killed.
In
such cases, the supposed “silver resistance” of the pathogen was actually
non-existent.
Dosage Also Matters
In
other studies in which researchers claimed to have discovered silver-resistant
pathogens, the dosage used in the study was simply not strong enough for that
particular pathogen.
Indeed,
when later studies were conducted using stronger-than-average doses of silver,
these same pathogens were either killed outright, or so badly disabled they
could no longer create infection.
In
other words, in some cases the original researchers who claimed to have found “silver-resistance”
in the pathogens simply hadn't used a strong enough dose to fully affect the
pathogen.
Finally,
in some studies unusually weak forms of antimicrobial silver were used, when
stronger forms were called for. So
killing the pathogens would simply have been a matter of switching to a more
powerful form of silver. But the
researchers instead concluded that the pathogens had become “silver-resistant”
when in fact they hadn't.
What
this means is that of the very few instances of silver resistance on record, at
least some of them – and perhaps a majority
of them -- were not even true.
Additional Information…
Back
in the 1980’s when researchers compiled the list of 109 pathogens and related
medical conditions shown in the older medical literature (pre-1940’s) to be
treatable with antimicrobial silver, they included a list of eight pathogens known to be silver-resistant.
You
can find that list of eight pathogens that are said to be silver-resistant in
my article “Colloidal Silver Medical Research
Before 1940”.
Of course, that was previous to 1940. And in truth, only certain sub-species of those eight pathogens have been demonstrated to be silver-resistant in clinical studies, and as I’ve pointed out above, some of those studies demonstrating “silver-resistance” are highly suspect, at best.
Of course, that was previous to 1940. And in truth, only certain sub-species of those eight pathogens have been demonstrated to be silver-resistant in clinical studies, and as I’ve pointed out above, some of those studies demonstrating “silver-resistance” are highly suspect, at best.
At
this point in time (2014) there are now said to be some 20 different pathogens (out
of the 20,000 catalogued pathogens) that have been demonstrated in clinical
studies to “exhibit various degrees of resistance to the bactericidal effects
of silver-based drugs.”
But
“various degrees of resistance” is not the same as actual
silver-resistance. It just means that in
many cases, higher doses or stronger forms of silver would do the trick.
For
a more complete overview of the issue of silver-resistant microbes – including
a list of the 20 bacterial sub-species that are said to “exhibit various
degrees of resistance to silver” -- you might want to read my earlier and much longer
article “Can Pathogens Develop Resistance to
Antimicrobial Silver?”
at this link:
Make Your Own
High-Quality Colloidal Silver
Making
your own high-quality, electrically-generated colloidal silver is one good way
to make sure you have the most effective colloidal silver solution possible.
Many
commercial brands of colloidal silver are adulterated; one study demonstrated that
only about 43% of bottled colloidal silver products tested actually contained
the concentration of microscopic silver particles listed on the label.
Some
colloidal silver products contained no silver particles at all!
In
other cases, the silver particles in the commercial solutions have proven to be
so large, they’re extremely difficult for the body to absorb, assimilate,
distribute and afterwards excrete.
And
in other cases, the potency of the colloidal silver solution has been
demonstrated to be extremely weak because the solution had been sitting on
store shelves for so long the silver particles were beginning to precipitate
out of suspension and fall to the bottom of the bottle!
But
when you make your own colloidal silver with a high-quality Micro-Particle
Colloidal Silver Generator
from TheSilverEdge.com:
·
You
get fresh, pure batches every time!
·
You
control the strength and potency!
·
You
get uncommonly small, completely bioavailable silver particles as low as .8 nm -- a fraction of a single nanometer!
·
No
hidden fillers, dyes, protein or gelatin coatings or other additives, just
fresh, pure colloidal silver!
·
You
get the superior ionic form of colloidal silver!
·
You
can make it fresh, whenever you need it for maximum potency!
·
Your
total cost is under 36 cents a quart,
compared to health food store prices of up to $30 for a tiny, 4-ounce bottle!
To
learn more about making and using colloidal silver with a high-quality Micro-Particle Colloidal
Silver Generator, just click the link in this sentence.
Or
watch some of the short colloidal silver videos at the link in this sentence.
And
don’t forget, I’ll be back next week with another eye-opening article on colloidal
silver. So be sure to stay tuned…
Yours for the
safe, sane and responsible use of
colloidal silver,
Steve
Barwick, author
The Ultimate Colloidal Silver Manual
The Ultimate Colloidal Silver Manual
Helpful Links:
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.
Copyright
2012 | Life & Health Research Group, LLC | PO Box 1239 | Peoria AZ
85380-1239 | All rights reserved
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