Is Colloidal Silver Safe? The Stories They Don’t Tell You

Colloidal silver is sold on Amazon right now, marketed as an immunity booster, for about £20 a bottle. According to the FDA, it has zero proven health benefits. And it can permanently turn your skin blue. Here’s the story of what actually happens to people who take it — and why it’s still being sold.

What Is Colloidal Silver?

Colloidal silver is tiny silver particles suspended in liquid. It’s been sold as a natural health supplement for decades, marketed for immune support, infection prevention, and general wellbeing. The FDA has repeatedly stated there is no credible scientific evidence that colloidal silver is safe or effective for treating any condition.

Why Does Colloidal Silver Turn You Blue?

When you swallow colloidal silver, the silver reacts with your stomach acid and converts into a silver salt. That silver salt travels through your bloodstream and eventually deposits in your skin. When your skin is then exposed to sunlight, the silver salt converts back into actual silver particles — permanently staining your skin blue-grey. The medical term is argyria, and once it happens, it cannot be reversed.

What Happened to Paul Karason?

Paul Karason was a regular man from Bellingham, Washington. In the early 1990s he came across an advert in a new age magazine promoting colloidal silver as a health supplement. At the time he was dealing with acid reflux, arthritis, dermatitis, and sinus problems. He decided to try it — and went further than most. He made his own using filtered water, solid silver, and an electrical current. He didn’t just drink it; he rubbed it on his skin too.

At first Paul believed it was working. His arthritis, which had been so severe he couldn’t pull a t-shirt over his head, seemed to improve. By 2008 his skin had turned a permanent blue-grey colour. The internet nicknamed him Papa Smurf. He appeared on national television, still convinced colloidal silver was helping him. He kept taking it until he died in 2013.

Who Was Amy Carlson and What Does She Have to Do with Colloidal Silver?

Amy Carlson founded a cult called Love Has Won. She called herself Mother God and claimed to be a 19 billion year-old being and the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Her followers believed her. The group funded itself by selling colloidal silver as a healing product — and Amy wasn’t just selling it, she was consuming it in massive quantities daily.

Her skin began turning blue. She lost more than 50 pounds, eventually weighing just 75 pounds. She lost the ability to walk. At one point Amy asked to go to hospital, but her followers refused — they believed she was taking on mankind’s pain and would ascend to the fifth dimension. HBO made a full documentary about the group. Amy Carlson died on April 16, 2021, aged 45. Her body was found mummified in Keystone, Colorado, surrounded by eight brown bottles all labelled colloidal silver. The thing she had built a religion around selling as a healing product had been destroying her the entire time.

Why Do Celebrities Keep Promoting Colloidal Silver?

In 2013 — the same year Paul Karason died — Gwyneth Paltrow appeared on a major daytime television programme and recommended colloidal silver, claiming it keeps viruses away and that she sprays it on her seat when flying and under her tongue. The host agreed enthusiastically, mentioning their family uses it as a daily throat spray. Neither mentioned that it can permanently turn your skin blue. Neither mentioned the FDA’s position. That programme was watched by millions of people.

This is the core problem. The people promoting colloidal silver have far more reach than the FDA telling people not to take it. And the marketing — natural, immunity-boosting, ancient antibiotic — sounds convincing enough that people don’t question it.

So Is Colloidal Silver Safe?

No. The FDA has found no evidence that it is safe or effective for any health condition. The risk of argyria — permanent blue-grey skin discolouration — is real and irreversible. The cases of Paul Karason and Amy Carlson show what happens with sustained use. And yet it remains freely available to buy online for under £20.

I’m not anti-supplement. I test supplements regularly on this channel and report honestly on what works and what doesn’t. But colloidal silver made me stop and think about how easily people believe marketing claims when there’s no evidence behind them — and what can happen when they do. Always check what the evidence actually says before putting something in your body.

Author

Stuart Patrick

Stuart Patrick is a health and fitness lifestyle journalist who writes for ListedFit.com.

“I've spent a lot of time trying to get in shape and change my body and I realised there are so many untruths in the health and fitness industry that can slow down or stop your progress, so I share my knowledge and experience to help others to cut through the BS.”

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