Simply put, colloidal silver is a holistic health product that contains microscopic particles of pure silver suspended in demineralized water or another type of liquid. Prior to the invention of modern antibiotics, colloidal silver was used to fight infections and other conditions.
Silver is one of the elements you might have seen on a periodic table during a chemistry or biology class (the symbol is Ag). It is a transition metal, meaning it is great at conducting electricity and heat. Usually particles of silver are gathered as a byproduct of refining other metals such as copper and lead.
The “colloidal” part of colloidal silver refers to how the product is submicroscopic silver particles suspended in another substance, usually a water-based solution. In this case, the particles are the colloid and the water is the substance in which it is suspended.
Colloidal silver products, commonly marketed as silver water, often come in a liquid form or “hydrosol” that can be ingested. It can also be applied topically, typically with colloidal silver gel, with a nasal spray, and even colloidal silver eye drops are available from select manufacturers.
There are also gels marketed as first aid colloidal silver-based ointments similar to NEOSPORIN. Some consumers go so far as to try injections on themselves or pets.
There are other types of silver that have similar effects and are subject to the same regulations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA]:
- silver salts
- silver proteins
- mild silver protein
- strong silver protein
- silver
- ionic silver
- silver chloride
- silver cyanide
- silver iodide
- silver oxide
- silver phosphate
People often use “colloidal silver” as an umbrella term for all of these silver-containing materials, even the ones that don’t have the aforementioned colloidal structure.
