Dr. Hildegarde Staninger Labels Colloidal Silver a “Health Hazard” in New Study…But Is It a Legitimate Conclusion, Or Is It Self-Serving?
[Important Update: In the below opinion article, I included many links to web pages documenting Dr. Staninger’s views on Morgellons disease, as well as her negative views on colloidal silver as expressed in a “study” she wrote and published. It appears Dr. Staninger or her associates have now removed all of those web pages, perhaps so readers of this article could no longer see the documentation. The links all now lead to blank pages. She has now placed her anti-colloidal silver material on other web pages, which can easily be found with a simple Google search.]
Dr. Hildegarde Staninger claims to have conducted a study that proves colloidal silver is not only a serious “health hazard,” but it is also a “possible bio-accumulative threat to the environment.”
Is it a new “landmark study” proving the dangers of colloidal silver, as some backers of Dr. Hildegarde Staninger’s work would have you believe…or is it just another re-hash of the same, tired old anti-colloidal silver hysteria from the past that has never held water upon closer examination?
Since I’ve received a number of online messages from concerned colloidal silver users, I decided to take a look at Dr. Staninger’s claims and see if I could determine what merit they may or may not have.
Since we’ve covered the ridiculous “threat to the environment” nonsense in many other articles, including this one, I’m not going to focus on that small portion of her study in this commentary in which she speculates about environmental harm.
Rather, I’ll focus chiefly on her claim that colloidal silver use represents a “health hazard” to humans.
But first, some crucial background information: Who is Dr. Hildegarde Staninger? Why is she slamming colloidal silver? What might she have to gain from doing so? And does her alleged “evidence” against colloidal silver really hold water?
The Morgellons Disease Diva
A little background on Ms. Staninger, first, if you please…
She apparently spends much of her time doing “research” on so-called “Morgellons disease,” and writing papers that hysterically warn of the alleged dangers of invisible “nano-materials.”
Based upon web sites she is quoted on or referenced by, Dr. Staninger apparently believes the so-called “Morgellons disease” is caused by some kind of weird nanotechnology that, once established inside the human body, causes colored threads and fibers to begin sprouting out of one’s skin like weeds in the springtime.
According to self-described Morgellons victims, these threads and fibers are apparently produced inside the human body by sub-microscopic “self-replicating nano-machines” that the victims have somehow inadvertently managed to ingest or inhale.
Yes, you read that right. Sub-microscopic nano-machines.
Or, more precisely, “…self-assembling, self-replicating nanotubes, nanowires, nanoarrays with sensors, and other nano configurations, some carrying genetically-altered and spliced DNA/RNA. These nano machines thrive in extreme alkaline ph conditions and use the body’s bio-electric energy and other (unidentified) elements for power.”
Honest…I’m not kidding you in the least. That’s what many self-described Morgellons victims believe.
When pressed for an explanation as to where these alleged sub-microscopic nano-machines come from, the most frequently given answer from self-described Morgellons victims on the internet seems to be, “They escaped from a laboratory.” Some even say they are being “purposely sprayed on us from airplanes by the government, and we inhale them.”
Uh, huh.
And when asked to show what these supposed “nano-machines” look like, the most frequently touted answer seems to be, “They’re so small they can’t be seen by the naked eye. They are mechanically engineered on the molecular, nano-scale level.”
In other words…they’re invisible.
Yes, invisible nano-machines that either (take your pick) escaped from a laboratory, or are being purposely sprayed on us from airplanes, are invading our bodies and turning them into…thread and fiber factories.
Blame It On the Rain
And who’s doing this to us? Why (drum roll, please) the Illuminati, of course, through their “depopulation agenda to remove 90% of the world’s population” via aerial spraying!
Or wait…others claim these tiny invisible nano-machines are being sprayed on us through aerial chemtrails as part of a NATO plot.
Surprisingly, the good Dr. Staninger apparently agrees, at least in part, that people are becoming infected with these nano-materials through some kind of aerial spraying campaign.
The bottom line is that modern medical science does not yet even recognize the validity of this so-called “Morgellons disease,” of which Dr. Staninger is one of the world’s foremost proponents.
In fact, most reputable medical doctors believe “Morgellons” victims actually suffer from a modern, high-tech, internet-fueled version of delusional parasitosis…
…which is a mental disorder in which the allegedly afflicted individual believes he or she is being infested by something that, in reality, simply isn’t there.
In the old days, people believed they were being infested by parasites. And they picked at these supposed parasites on their bodies until they were covered in sores.
But in today’s modern, high-tech world, people with this supposed affliction tend to believe they’re being infested by “self-replicating nano-materials” that produce multitudes of brightly colored threads in their skin, which they then compulsively pick at with their fingers or tweezers or other implements, until large bodily sores are produced.
The Cure for Morgellon’s Disease?
Nevertheless, if you sincerely believe that Morgellons disease is being caused by an insidious campaign to infect the human race with nano-materials, and are worried about it, have no fear…Dr. Staninger has discovered what is apparently the one and only sure-fire cure for the thread producing nano-substances!
Through an internet shill she’s apparently associated with, Dr. Staninger touts a special concoction she calls the “Introductory Detox Kit.”
Victims of the so-called Morgellons disease simply bathe in this concoction, and miraculously are healed of the tiny colored threads and fibers being produced by the mysterious sub-microscopic nano-thingys!
According to the main web site touting Staninger’s concoction, it is said to relieve the following symptoms:
“…fatigue, headache, joint or muscle pain, frequent colds and flu, allergies, hormonal imbalance, chemical sensitivity, sinus congestion, psoriasis and other skin conditions, loss of dexterity, insomnia, and more. Psychological symptoms include poor concentration, memory loss, mood changes, mental confusion, and changes in behavior.”
Choo-Choo!
According to Dr. Staninger’s own web site, this concoction is made from Opaline Dry Oxy™ Granules (whatever that is) and something she calls “Dr. Willard’s Water”…
…which, it turns out, is apparently nothing more than old-fashioned Willard’s Water, used in the early 1900s as an industrial cleanser to degrease and clean railroad train parts, and which gained notoriety in the 1960s as something of a whacky cure-all, somewhat akin to the old myth of spraying WD-40 on your knees to cure arthritis.
Of course, there’s more strange and nifty stuff you can buy through Dr. Staninger’s shill in order to cure even the nastiest case of the Morgellons nano-fibers, as well as other diseases. Much more. But the “Introductory Detox Kit” is apparently the must-have foundation for recovery from the dread disease.
(And don’t worry, folks. If Dr. Staninger’s highly touted cure for the nano-bot skin threads doesn’t work for you, there’s always this “instant cure” unrelated to Dr. Staninger’s work, but which also requires you to take a bath: Just pour some Sun brand powdered laundry detergent with Colorsafe Bleach into your bath water, along with copious amounts of alfalfa tablets! Works like a charm, I’m told. Or maybe it’s just bathing that helps remove the mysterious threads and fibers?)
Corroborating Evidence?
Dr. Staninger straightforwardly claims her highly touted concoction is effective “for the removal of hazardous materials from the skin.”
I assume by that she means it will remove the mysterious nano-fibers being produced by the invisible nano-bots that victims of Morgellons Disease have somehow inadvertently swallowed or inhaled.
Staninger apparently believes beyond any shadow of a doubt that her concoction is the one true cure for the thread-bearing set, because she has performed a study herself (called, quite appropriately, the “Detox Bath Study”) and found it to be true, and has subsequently written about it on her web site.
And as late night TV host Craig Ferguson says, “If it’s writ down, it must be true!”
Unfortunately, there do not appear to be any corroborating studies. And of course, Staninger’s study is not peer-reviewed.
Not to worry. Pesky details, all.
More Staninger Research
According to Dr. Staninger’s own web site, from which she apparently solicits funding for her various projects through a 501(3)c non-profit foundation (er…ahh…could that be so she doesn’t have to pay taxes on the money?), her research activities also include:
“…the applications of far infrared and oak wood charcoal vinegar in maintaining cellular integrity and cellular detoxification via lymphatic and molecular endocrine systems.”
Umm…right. We certainly need some more of that, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Here’s another one of her studies, on how “smart dust” (yes, dust) represents a dire threat to the existence of all mankind, and how it’s apparently being used in a nasty conspiracy to “depopulate” the globe.
She states,
“The world is in the cataclysmic reactor of the universe where mankind is desperately trying to protect his nations through the advancement of science, medicine, and technology. And at the same time, the use of his bionanotechnology architecturally designed commercial products are at a fork in the road with the possibility of killing many of its inhabitants without the destruction of a single building.
…This is the time for all people to listen to their hearts and realize, that through the advancement of nanotechnology and its bridge to artificial biology, their greatest creation, “Smart Dust”, will be the way something nearly invisible could become our greatest national security threat. Its use as a monitoring tool has taken many tolls on the global population of plants, animals, and mankind. Whether it was designed as a universal surveillance tool or the monitoring tool of the rate of death of a tree, it is here and is part of the global dominance race involving smart nanotechnology.”
Of course, if you agree with Staninger, and are worried about TEOTWAWKI (i.e., The End Of This World As We Know It), and if you’d like to donate money to her “research,” then just scroll down to the bottom of this web page on her official internet site, and watch for the donation link. It simply says “Donate.”
Be sure to dig deep. Be generous.
Piled Higher and Deeper
Dr. Staninger, by the way, is not a doctor.
At least, not in the medical sense. She’s a Ph.D., which we all know can mean you’re a very, very smart person. But it can also mean “Piled Higher and Deeper.”
In her case, I think it means Piled Higher and Deeper.
And what’s convinced me of this is her recent hysterical attacks on colloidal silver, which seem to be little more than a ploy to discredit colloidal silver usage among so-called Morgellons victims.
Why would she do such a thing?
Could it be she prefers victims of the thread-producing nano-bots to purchase her recommended Willard Water-based “Detox Kit” and other recommended products, instead?
You’ll have to decide the answer to that question for yourself.
Dr. Staninger Attacks Colloidal Silver…But Why?
You see, several years back some self-described Morgellons disease victims began widely touting colloidal silver as a cure-all for the disease.
And after awhile, the idea that colloidal silver could cure Morgellons disease really began to catch on. All you have to do is Google the phrase “Morgellons and Colloidal Silver” and you’ll get over 6,000 hits for that phrase across the internet.
Apparently, if you can believe the web sites and blogs, more and more people began buying colloidal silver in order to cure their mysterious ailment.
What’s more, some of these blogs and web sites even began to quote from Dr. Staninger’s “research” on Morgellons. But rather than tout her favored “Introductory Detox Kit”– which is to say, her Willard Water-based bathtub remedy – they touted the use of colloidal silver instead.
Ooops…that was apparently a mistake!
So much so that in January of this year, Staninger’s recommended shill web site began attacking colloidal silver, quoting some of Staninger’s “research” as evidence that colloidal silver is dangerous.
Apparently, once you have the one and true remedy for the thread-and-fiber crowd, no other remedies are allowed– even for a disease that is in large part most likely make-believe (at least, the “nano-bot” part)!
Contrary to all of the web sites claiming dramatic cures from the use of colloidal silver for Morgellons, the attack articles touting Dr. Staninger’s “evidence” even went so far as to claim that taking colloidal silver will actually make the Morgellons symptoms worse:
“…silver will act as an antenna for this stuff. Meaning because the contamination from advanced nano materials is present with all Morgellons patients that Dr. Staninger has consulted, adding silver in to the diet as a supplement is literally feeding the nanos and further encouraging symptoms to present.”
Ahh…the nano-bots apparently feed on colloidal silver!
I assume this means more thread and fiber will be produced by colloidal silver-chugging Morgellons victims. Better alert the quilting industry. This may be the cheapest source of sewing material yet. (Seamstresses can thank…yes…the Illuminati!)
Nevertheless, apparently none of Dr. Staninger’s self-serving warnings have stopped the self-described Morgellons victims from publishing their stories online regarding the miraculous cures they’ve been achieving through the use of colloidal silver.
Indeed, to this day colloidal silver continues to be one of the most widely touted Morgellons remedies on the internet.
Staninger’s New Study Attacking Colloidal Silver
The non-stop testimonials on behalf of colloidal silver as a remedy against so-called Morgellons disease must have really gotten Staninger’s goat, because in June 2010 she published a self-described “study” on her web site which her supporters claim provides proof of the many “health hazards” of colloidal silver usage.
Indeed, the title of the study is “Health Hazards of Colloidal Silver and Its Possible Bio-Accumulative Threat to the Environment.”
Clearly, scary stuff. And Staninger’s shills who sell the Morgellons “Detox” bath product have latched onto the “study” as proof that Morgellons victims should not use colloidal silver at all, claiming “Dr. Staninger Proves Colloidal Silver Toxicity.”
But upon closer examination, Staninger’s new “study” appears to be little more than a re-hash of older papers covering the negative effects of caustic chemical silver compounds such as silver nitrate and silver arsphenamine.
The papers she references in her study were published chiefly during the 1940s to the 1970s, long before modern, electrically generated colloidal silver really came into vogue. Information from these papers is strewn haphazardly together in Staninger’s “study,” and applied to modern colloidal silver out of context, apparently to give the reader the impression that colloidal silver has the same negative attributes as the caustic chemical silver compounds of old.
For example, Staninger states in her “study”:
“Silver nitrate dust and solutions are highly corrosive to the skin, eyes, and intestinal tract. The dust of silver nitrate may cause local irritation of the skin, burns of the conjunctiva, and blindness. Localized pigmentation of the skin and eyes may occur. The eye lesions are seen first in the caruncle, and then in the conjunctiva and cornea. The nasal septum and tonsillar pillars also are pigmented.”
To which I feel compelled to reply, “So what?” After all, who on God’s green earth is using “silver nitrate dust” these days? Certainly no one in the nutritional supplement community. And I sincerely doubt any of the self-described Morgellons victims– as crazy as they seem to be sometimes– are using it either.
Staninger goes on to state:
“Large oral doses of silver nitrate cause severe gastrointestinal irritation owing to its caustic action. Lesions of the kidneys and lungs and the possibility of arteriosclerosis have been attributed to both industrial and medical exposures. Large doses of colloidal silver administered intravenously to experimental animals produced death due to pulmonary edema and congestion. Hemolysis and resulting bone marrow hyperplasia have been reported.”
What Does This Have to Do With Modern-Day Colloidal Silver?
So what does this have to do with modern-day electrically generated colloidal silver, which is generally taken by the teaspoonful by an estimated ten million colloidal silver users across North America and around the world?
Even Staninger apparently doesn’t know. She just seems to make these frightening statements about silver nitrate, silver arsphenamine and other caustic chemical compounds of silver for their own scare value, assuming the reader will think they apply equally to safe, natural colloidal silver.
She then goes on to state:
“Colloidal silver products are one of three types of products being sold as ‘colloidal silver.'”
To which I can only reply, “WTF?!” (Let’s nominate her for a Nobel Prize in literature for that statement. Hell, Al Gore got the prize for writing a book and directing a film that was not quite as obtuse as that, and he didn’t even have a Ph.D.!)
Lions and Tigers and Bears…Oh My!
Staninger then switches gears and continues her “study” by ranting about the alleged dangers of “silver protein products.”
She even attempts to make the case that colloidal silver ingested by people who have been exposed to the invisible thread-and-fiber creating “nano materials” will turn into the inexplicably much-dreaded silver protein the body.
And what’s her evidence for this contention? Well, you probably won’t believe this, but for evidence of her contention, she quotes herself:
“Recent studies conducted by Staninger (2010) showed individuals who were exposed to advanced nano materials that were of thin film nano composite materials and exposed to colloidal silver could make silver protein as the colloidal silver materials would coat the surfaces of the cell membranes and interfere with the transportation of oxygen and carbon dioxide as carbon monoxide would bio-accumulate in peripheral blood. Analysis of the colloidal silver composition revealed to be composed of 96% silver in composition. The advanced nano material composite was further identified to contain a coating of silane and /or siloxanes, which will decompose into silica, silicon, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the presence of oxygen.”
Now that’s a mouthful, isn’t it? Setting aside for a moment the extremely unprofessional act of quoting yourself as the authority for one of your own contentions in a medical study, can you even remotely make out what her point is?
Me neither.
I’ve read a lot of medical studies, but never one that strung so many forty dollar words together without making a lick of sense.
And never one where the study’s author quotes her own unduplicated and non-pear reviewed previous research in order to demonstrate the validity of a contention in her newer research. That would never pass peer-review standards. And in her heart of hearts, I suspect Ms. Staninger knows it.
Huh? (Once Again)
Staninger’s so-called study then goes on to describe four study subjects who “were exposed to advanced nano materials that were from advanced nano thin film composite materials.”
There’s no explanation of what these “advanced nano materials from advanced nano thin film composite materials” were. But it sure sounds ominous, doesn’t it?
There is also no indication in the published version of the study as to how the individuals in the study were exposed to these “advanced nano materials.” Nor by whom. Nor for what purpose. Or even what the point is.
But apparently, best I can tell, these four study subjects are so-called Morgellons sufferers who think (or have been told) they have the mysterious, submicroscopic nano-bots in their bodies that produce fibers and threads in their skin.
2 Colloidal Silver Subjects
Staninger goes on to state, “Two of the females were given oral colloidal silver as a therapeutic therapy for exposure by their physician. The other two did not use any form of oral colloidal silver materials in their therapy.”
Hmmm. Two of the study subjects were given oral colloidal silver as a “therapeutic therapy.” As opposed to…what…a non-therapeutic therapy?
Okay, I’m nitpicking. But this is supposed to be a research study by a Ph.D. for goodness sakes. So why not be clear? And why not explain why these two subjects were given the colloidal silver in the first place? Did their physicians believe they had an infection?
All we know from Dr. Staninger’s description of her study is that the study subjects were supposedly “exposed to advanced nano materials that were from advanced nano thin film composite materials.”
So again, apparently all four study subjects had been exposed to those insidious, submicroscopic nano-bots, and two of the subjects were trying to get rid of them by ingesting colloidal silver.
Can you see where this is going?
Gross Professional Deficiences
Staninger’s study is supposed to prove her contention that colloidal silver poses dire “health hazards” and apparently should not be used by Morgellons victims.
Yet Dr. Staninger doesn’t even bother to document which type of colloidal silver product was used by the two subjects in question. This is particularly questionable considering her earlier contention that “Colloidal silver products are one of three types of products being sold as ‘colloidal silver’.”
So which type of silver did her “study” subjects use? Mild Silver Protein? Silver arsphenamine? Silver nitrate? Or just common (ionic) colloidal silver? Or something else?
What’s more, she doesn’t explain what source or brand of “colloidal silver” was used in the study.
And most importantly of all, she doesn’t even document what concentration of “colloidal silver” was used by the two main study subjects. Again, was it a common 10 ppm ionic silver solution? Or the highly concentrated 20,000 ppm silver protein product she discusses earlier in the study? Or one of the caustic chemical silver concoctions she rails about? Or something else?
Who knows? Dr. Staninger simply doesn’t tell, even though this is vital information that could go a long way to explaining the study results.
In my view, these are all gross professional deficiencies in the reporting of any legitimate medical study.
But then again, the person who conducted and wrote this study apparently believes invisible nano-materials are invading our bodies and turning us into thread-and-fiber producing bio-factories. And that she has discovered a special bath concoction based on an old railroad degreaser and some other products that will help cure victims of this horrific malady.
So what did you expect?
A Conclusion that Means…What?
In her study Staninger goes on to explain that the two colloidal silver-using subjects took 60 drops of “oral colloidal silver materials,” three times a day, for 30 days prior to blood tests for silver exposure.
Dr. Staninger concludes her study by claiming her analysis of the study results demonstrate that the two individuals who had taken these “oral colloidal silver materials” three times a day for 30 days ended up with silver levels in their bodies that were above guideline levels established by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Agency.
What’s more, the two individuals in the study who did not take colloidal silver did not have silver levels exceeding the OSHA guidelines.
All I can say in response is, “Uh…Doh!”
After all, if you take large amounts of an undisclosed form of colloidal silver, at an undisclosed concentration, for 30 straight days, there’s every possibility you could end up with overly high blood levels of silver afterward.
Study Subject Had Kidney and Liver Disease
Finally, Dr. Staninger openly admits in her “study” that one of the only two colloidal silver-using subjects began the study with kidney and liver disease (i.e., “polycystic liver and kidney disease”). And she explains that it was this particular subject who had the highest levels of silver in her body after the 30-day exposure.
Again…”Doh!”
After all, depending upon the severity of the kidney and liver disease (which, like other crucial information, was undisclosed in the study), this could have dramatically limited that person’s excretion of colloidal silver in the first place.
Not a particularly good study subject, if you ask me. And that was one of the only two patients who took colloidal silver.
In other words, the way I read the study is that half of the study results in relation to colloidal silver were effectively skewed from the start.
A Controversial Contention
What’s more, under the sub-headline “Primary Harmful Effects of Silver,” Dr. Staninger states, “All forms of silver are extremely cumulative once they enter body tissues, and very little is excreted.”
This of course flies directly into the face of the 1999 Altman Study (i.e., “Colloidal Silver: Where Does It Go When You Drink It?How Long Does It Stay There?”), which concluded:
“Ingestion of properly prepared CS does not result in silver accumulating in the body. There is no evidence that silver deposits significantly in hair or fingernails and, in fact, the data support the conclusion that after taking more than 2 mg of CS per day for several months, silver seems to be purged from the body (mostly through urine) at about the same rate at which it is consumed.
Furthermore, upon terminating CS intake, it appears that as much as half the silver residing in body tissue will be purged (through urine and feces, but more and more through feces as time goes on) in less than a month. Even this relatively short residence time could be reduced substantially if several liters of water were consumed daily.”
The Dartmouth University Toxic Metals Research Program is even more adamant about the safety of ingested silver. They state:
“Trace amounts of silver are in the bodies of all humans and animals. We normally take in between 70 and 88 micrograms of silver a day, half of that amount from our diet. Humans have evolved with efficient methods of dealing with that intake, however. Over 99 percent is readily excreted from the body.
Is silver harmful to humans? Unlike other metals such as lead and mercury, silver is not toxic to humans and is not known to cause cancer, reproductive or neurological damage, or other chronic adverse effects.”
According to researchers Drake and Hazelwood, in the study “Exposure-Related Health Effects of Silver and Silver Compounds: A Review”:
“Silver in any form is not thought to be toxic to the immune, cardiovascular, nervous, or reproductive systems (ATSDR, 1990) and is not considered to be carcinogenic (FurstandSchlauder, 1978).”
Interestingly, researchers point out that in India the native population consumes some 605,000 pounds of edible metallic silver foil per year in food.
That’s because they wrap certain foods in very thinly beaten silver foil, and the food is consumer foil and all.
What about the consequences of such egregious intake of silver? As stated in the journal Materials Research Innovations, Vol. 11, No. 1, (2007) pages 3-18, there are none:
“A recent paper by Das et al. provides the remarkable datum that some 275,000 kg [i.e., 605,000 pounds – ED] of edible metallic silver foil are consumed every year (in food) in India.
No known adverse health effects have ever been recorded. This epidemiological evidence that silver as a metal is not toxic in any way needs no further comment.
Further support for the obvious safety of consuming metallic silver (Ag0) is in the worldwide consumption of (so called) silver colloids, often made at home in primitive electrochemical cells by probably some millions of citizens, again with no ill effects.”
As Britain’s greatest expert on the use of silver in healthcare, Dr. Alan B.G. Lansdown has stated:
“Contrary to statements that all forms of silver are cumulative once they enter body tissues and that very little is excreted, silver is actively metabolized in the human body and a large part eliminated eventually via the liver, urine and hair…
…there is very little substantive evidence that silver acts either as a cumulative poison in the human body like lead and mercury, or that it reaches toxic levels in any tissue.
Silver does accumulate preferentially in the basement membrane region of the dermis, but no evidence has been seen to show that this is either life-threatening or a clinical manifestation of toxicity.”
– “Silver in Healthcare: Its Antimicrobial Efficacy and Safety in Use,” by Alan B.G.Lansdown, pg. 45, 59, 60
Finally, as stated in an article titled “Nanosilver: Naughty or Nice?”, published by the Society for Science & the Public:
“Jim Hutchison is a chemist and an expert in nanoparticles at the University of Oregon in Eugene…
…So far, Hutchison’s research suggests nanosilver and the silver ions it sheds probably aren’t harmful to people…
‘You can never prove every technology is going to be safe before you use it,’ he says. ‘But silver doesn’t seem to be toxic to us.'”
Also, according to the University of Oregon’s Jim Hutchinson:
“Andrew Maynard, an environmental health scientist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, is doing similar research into silver’s effects on the body. His team has not published their data yet, but they are willing to share some early findings.
Chief among them: Maynard says his group ‘saw virtually no ill effect’ of feeding mice very high levels of nanosilver for up to 28 days.”
Biased?
In the end, the Staninger study has every appearance to me of being specifically designed to scare so-called “Morgellons disease” victims away from using colloidal silver.
The study is prominently plastered on Dr. Staninger’s official web site where you can also learn more about her recommended Willard Water-based (i.e., “Introductory Detox Kit”) bath therapy for the treatment of Morgellons.
To the best of my understanding, this is known in scientific circles as study bias. And, of course, it is a big no-no for professionals of Dr. Staninger’s supposed caliber.
Now I’m no scientist. I’m a journalist. And these are merely my humble, uneducated opinions. I’ll let you form your own opinions as to whether I’m right or wrong.
My Final Thoughts…
Although I am a long-time advocate of the safe, responsible, common-sense usage of colloidal silver, I find it ridiculous to have to defend colloidal silver usage in relation to a “disease” that may or may not even exist…
…particularly when the vast majority of its proponents appear to be claiming it is caused by “self-replicating, submicroscopic nano-bots” that cause the human body to sprout colored threads and fibers.
But since Dr. Staninger’s “research” is now being touted by others across the internet as concrete proof of the alleged “dangers” of colloidal silver, I felt it was necessary to take a broader journalistic look at the whole story, and allow readers to decide for themselves how much merit her study should be accredited.
Post Script
As a post script, I’d like to state that I’m not claiming all self-described Morgellons victims are delusional. Or that they have nothing wrong with them at all.
Indeed, some Morgellons victims may have legitimate skin conditions or infections, such as dermatitis, psoriasis, ringworm, staph, or even topical fungal infections (or a combination of some of these) that might very well respond positively to colloidal silver treatment.
Topical bacterial or fungal infestations could very well explain the incredible success stories many Morgellons victims have discussed online in relation to colloidal silver usage. After all, historically, colloidal silver is a well-known remedy for topical infections of all sorts, and for the healing of the skin in general.
Another possibility is that some cases of so-called Morgellons disease– or at least some of the symptoms – may be strange manifestations of the better-known Lyme disease. Earlier today I received this interesting tidbit of information from George Foss, former general manager of Kayser Nutrition:
“Three members of the Morgellons Research Foundation, including Raphael Stricker, Director and former President of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), and Ginger Savely, also an ILADS member, authored an article about Morgellons published by the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology in early 2006.
The authors wrote that “Morgellons disease may be linked to an undefined infectious process,” and reported that many patients with Morgellons disease have positive Western blots for Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, and treatment with anti-bacterials appropriate for Lyme disease leads to remission of Morgellons symptoms in most patients.”
Now I know that’s not half as interesting as the “…self-assembling, self-replicating nano-bots…” that many Morgellons victims believe they have operating inside of their bodies. But it could go a long way toward explaining why colloidal silver seems to work so well for so many Morgellons sufferers.
After all, if treatment with “anti-bacterials appropriate for Lyme disease” (I’m assuming the journal authors are referring to prescription antibiotic drugs) is leading to remissions of Morgellons symptoms “in most patients,” then colloidal silver should work too.
You see, over the years many Lyme disease victims have reported significant relief of their symptoms after use of colloidal silver.This includes Dr. M. Paul Farber, a Lyme disease victim who was so enthused with his success with colloidal silver that he wrote a 600-plus page book about it called The Micro-Silver Bullet: A Scientifically Documented Answer to the Three Largest Epidemics in the World: Lyme Disease, Aids Virus, Yeast Infection (and the Common Cold). (Read more about Dr. Farber’s book, here.)
On the other hand, researchers from the State University of New York at Stony Brook have also claimed that Morgellons skin fibers could come from Agrobacterium, a plant-infecting organism known to induce cellulose fibers at infected sites within plant tissues.
Agrobacterium is already known to be responsible for opportunistic infections in humans with weakened immune systems, though it has not been shown to be a primary pathogen in otherwise healthy individuals. But so many self-described Morgellons victims also report weakened immunity that the Agrobacterium may be a real possibility. Of course, as Dr. Robert O. Becker, M.D., reported many years ago, silver seems to be a potent immune system booster, which, once again, could explain why many Morgellons victims report significant benefits from colloidal silver usage.
Finally, some open-minded health professionals believe that Morgellons disease is a condition with unknown etiology, likely to be discovered and confirmed by future research.
Now I don’t know. I don’t in the least bit claim to be a Morgellons disease expert. But as a 20-plus year victim of chronic fatigue syndrome, I certainly can sympathize with self-described Morgellons disease victims who have had to suffer through hearing their doctors tell them that their very real symptoms are “all in their head.”
Something is causing their symptoms, and though I personally lean toward the idea that it’s an infection of some kind, I can’t be sure. Nevertheless, I think victims of this strange malady are being taken for a ride by the crowd telling them they’ve been infested with “submicroscopic, self-assembling, self-replicating nano-bots” that have turned their skin into thread factories. This kind of chicanery can only make their suffering – and their victimization – worse.
Finally, I personally know of individuals who claim to have Morgellons disease, and who use colloidal silver, and who claim that it provides them with significant relief. None of these individuals seem crazy to me.
What I do know is that until Dr. Staninger’s “study” depicting colloidal silver as a human “health hazard” is duplicated by bona fide clinical researchers with no vested interest in the results or in competing health products, the conclusion she has come to will always stand suspect in my mind.
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