In addition to the Silvadene cream, there are silver-containing wound dressings that are touted for their antimicrobial activity. Again, in these cases systemic absorption of the silver is supposed to be minimal-to-zero.
[QUOTE=xtisme]
I’m…unsure. That was kind of why I came here. He claims it does everything short of raising the dead. I am highly skeptical. I was wondering what, if anything, it DID do.
That was before I found out it was not only BS but possibly dangerous as well.
Lots of herbal type cures and potions. Another one that he is always going on about is (something like) Acenatia and Goldenseal. Whatever that is. Another supposed cure all.
I used the mercury (Chinese) and lead (Romans) ones on him. He was unphased…
-XT
[/QUOTE]
Hey, thanks for using my suggestions!
He doesn’t sound like the sort who would understand scientific testing, but you could try:
If you take numerous medicines, how can you tell which ones work?
If you’re not sick, how can you tell if any treatment works?
If something works, why aren’t companies making lots of money out of it?
(This one is a bit dangerous, since copper bracelets sell :rolleyes: )
If something works, why doesn’t the medical profession recommend it?
If you want to, I would try to find out exactly what he says this works against.
And tell him about the man walking along(in the city you live in), while tearing up money and chanting “Wild elephants away!”.
“Why do you do that?”
“It keeps wild elephants away!”
"No it doesn’t. 
"
“It certainly does - do you see any wild elephants around here?!” :smack:
[QUOTE=glee]
Presumably his evidence is that it has cured him of … what?
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=xtisme]
Well, my friend says he’s been using it for 20 years…and he isn’t blue.
[/QUOTE]
Sounds like it works as an antidepressant, then 
Si
[QUOTE=Broomstick]
Silver is still used medicinally for burns and wounds in the form of silver sulfadiazine, in a topical 1% solution to prevent growth of bacteria and fungi in the wound (I used it while while healing up from a rather notable Face Volcano made famous in a thread around here somewhere). “Skin discoloration” is listed as a side effect, although I’ve never seen it specified in detail. Well, if I had extensive 3rd degree burns I’d probably take blue skin in preference to no skin, but if it does occur it must be pretty rare. You absorb very little through use of this cream - quite different than drinking it.
[/QUOTE]
Broomstick
I had a friend with large-area third-degree burns back in the '70s. (gasoline fire) He was covered in thin bandages and what I recall as being silver-nitrate. He did indeed get skin discoloration. Over the course of a day, the light would turn his skin coal-black. It had to wear off, as well. Rinsing didn’t help at all.
Regards
Testy
Pretty much a pile-on by this point, but here’s the NIH’s take on it:
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/alerts/silver/index.htm
Silver does have some antimicrobial properties, but so does bleach, and that doesn’t mean you should drink bleach.
[QUOTE=xtisme]
Well, my friend says he’s been using it for 20 years…and he isn’t blue. So, obviously he knows how to make it right. And it hasn’t killed him or his wife (yet).
[/QUOTE]
You could say the same thing about Keith Richards and heroin, or me an cigarettes. Doesn’t make it a good idea though.
[QUOTE=xtisme]
Is it because in a lab it acts as an ant-bacterial agent
[/QUOTE]
If I ever run into any blue ants (or ant-bacteria), I’ll know how they got that way.
RR