Pain: In the burn ward of any hospital, the number one priority is fighting infection. Because other disinfectants are too painful when applied to large areas, and because of silver's longlasting properties, silver sulfadiaine is the most used disinfectant for treating burns in hospital.

Alcohol, iodine, and hydrogen peroxide are other substances used to disinfect wounds. All of them have one distinct diadvantage as a disinfectant when compared to silver: they STING!

Imagine you have fallen on pavement while bicycling or running, and the skin on the palms of both your hands as well as your knees is completely raw to the point that the wounds throb with your pulse. Now imagine how much worse it would feel to pour iodine or alcohol over your tender flesh! Colloidal silver will spare you the extra agony!

In addition, a fairly large percentage of people are allergic to iodine, although they may not have become aware of it yet. Alcohol is useful for sterilizing objects, but it is just plain poisonous to humans and germs alike! By comparison, silver is toxic to microbes but actually beneficial to humans.

Silver is completely nonirritating and without side-effects.

What benefit could there be for taking silver internally?

Some doctors are reporting that, taken internally, silver works against cholera, malaria, and syphilis. Even tiny amounts of silver wipe out huge amounts of disease organisms in drinking water. To guard aginst diseases such as cysentery, nearly all the world's airlines now use silver water filters. The Space Shuttle program uses silver in their water purification device. Silver's ability to prevent and cure diseases caused by micro-organisms is not completely understood, but it is well documented that the inability to asimilate silver in the diet is directly related to immunodeficiency, or the ability to ward off disease. Analses of individuals with severe immune problems often indicate a below - normal level of silver. There seems to be good reason for this.

It is true that a certain amount of bacteria in the diestive system is necessary for it to function properly. The concern over whether silver will also kill this bacteria is a question of relative amounts. Theoretically, if you drank bottles of colloidal silver on an empty stomach, you could sterilize your intestines, and this would not be good.

However, this event is extremely unlikely. In the first place, this would require a dose so large as to defy good judgment. In the second place, your environment, including the food you eat, constantly replenishes this supply of bacteria.

Finally, the number of bacteria in your intestines at any given time is probably far greater than what is required for optimal function. When this bacteria count reaches a certain point, the result is gastric upset. While this condition is very common, having too few bacteria is extremely rare.

What is the best type of colloidal silver to take?

A colloid is different than a solution of something. When you dissolve table salt in water, the crystals completely dissolve. Silver colloid is a solid suspended in deionized water. In a true colloid, the solid particles of silver are very small, on the order of .015 to .005 microns or micrometers. This means the colloidal silver particles of the modern variety are about one 4 millionth of an inch in diameter.

The evidence has been deduced that the action of the silver is based on the particles size being as small as possible. The ideal colloid would have particles small enough that they will not clump together.

In colloidal silver the idea, is the maximum number of individual particles of the minimum possible size. The larger the clump,the more likely gravity will pull the particles out of the solution.

Also, look for color. The ideal, 200 parts per million ultra-microscopic, colloidal silver particle solution will look golden in color. Larger size particles will change the color from golden to red, violet, then blue. On the worst end of the spectrum, the color will be a muddy, dirty grey. Look for a golden yellow color and read the labels to be sure no food coloring has been added.

Product Highlight: Advanced Colloidal Silver ($17.99), (4 ounces): Advanced Colloidal Silver contains the best available ultra-high purity elemental silver.