Colloidal Silver Benefits For Skin Wound Healing
Colloidal silver is a liquid containing silver ions which may have benefits for assisting skin wound healing as an anti microbial and anti fungal to prevent infections of skin wounds.
Silver was used as one of the earliest antimicrobials in early and ancient civilizations. The ancient Greek polymath Hippocrates wrote about the medical uses of silver. This led to the production of silver cutlery to eat with and ionic silver as a disinfectant of water. Today silver is used in some advanced wound dressings and is used topically as well. Silver ions are also used in some space crafts to cleanse water.
One of the main uses or benefits for silver as colloidal silver today is to prevent microbial growth and therefore assist with optimal wound healing. This is because of the high toxicity of silver ions to microbes in colloidal silver as confirmed by research.
Smart technology now exists which includes silver in wound dressings or antiseptic creams. Silver does have a low toxicity rating to animal life but consuming silver could be dangerous and mildly toxic. Topical application is generally regarded as being safe.
The use of innovative products like ionic colloidal silver has gained more interest with the emergence of multidrug resistant bacteria. Colloidal silver is a superb addition to emergency first aid kits or to keep as a reserve topical antiseptic. Colloidal silver has a very lengthy shelf life.
Here we will look at benefits of colloidal silver to show how colloidal silver could be useful to have available or to know about as an anti microbial antiseptic for skin wound healing.
Does colloidal Silver Kill Microbes
The evidence for silver ions being an anti microbial which may kill microbes is undisputed. Silver ions are very toxic to many microscopic organisms and microbes such as bacteria or fungi.
Research shows that silver nanoparticles have a large inhibitory effect on microbial and fungal growth. Colloidal silver could have very strong actions against biofilm forming bacteria which is a core reason why colloidal silver could have benefits for skin healing.
Colloidal silver has been shown to have a significant effect in reducing the severity bacterial septic wounds. The anti microbial action of colloidal silver ions is thought to be because of various changes induced by silver ions in microbial membrane structures. Silver nanoparticles are thought to be able to interact with various proteins on cell membranes and attach to them. Silver nanoparticles may prevent DNA synthesis and inhibit enzymes in some microbes as well.
There are so many properties intrinsic to silver which may contribute to anti microbial action. Silver ions may disrupt bacterial membrane electric potential. Ionic colloidal silver is pretty much the opposite to an antioxidant for microbes and generates reactive oxygen species. Essentially the microbes begin to absorb silver ions, burst and then ionic colloidal silver kills them on contact. These are all important reasons why colloidal silver is recognised as a topical anti septic with possible skin healing benefits.
Silver ions could also bioaccumulate within some microbes as part of colloidal silver ion or nanoparticle toxicity. Silver ions are thought to be far less toxic to people. This is important to remember for relevance of use.
Current research is looking at the use of nano silver for wastewater treatment because of broad scale anti microbial action. Silver has been used in various interstellar spacecrafts as a water disinfectant for people which kills microbes.
Does Colloidal Silver Heal Wounds
Burns consist of severe damage to the skin outer layers. Sepsis or wound infection is a massive issue for the lifespan of burn sufferers. Recently topical silver has made a resurgence in the prevention of wound sepsis.
Topical silver is approved as a treatment for various degrees of burns too by many internationally recognised health organisations such as the FDA and WHO. Topical silver made a recent list of WHO essential medicines. This is because of the possible benefits of colloidal silver or silver ions against burn wounds and the infection of wounds for optimal skin wound healing.
Silver can come in ionic form in creams such as silver sulfadiazine or as colloidal silver which are liberally applied to the skin directly after wound incidence. Actions of colloidal silver on microbial growth could have benefits in support of optimal skin wound healing and improve survival rate from severe burns or wounds.
While colloidal silver ions initiate oxidative stress they may also activate cellular antioxidant production to support skin wound healing at the right concentration. Silver nanoparticles may also have actions against viral infections because of interactions with DNA and inhibitory effects on RNA production.
Silver is also popular in smart wound dressing materials because of the excellent anti microbial capacity of silver nanomaterials. You can sometimes find these in plasters or standard wound dressings which are bought in the first aid isles of some grocery shops. Some stores also sell colloidal silver in a travel size bottle. This is convenient for those travelling abroad on lengthy expeditions in remote areas of the world.
Supplemental Colloidal Silver
There is a lot of controversy surrounding use of colloidal silver specifically as an ingested supplement or traditional antibiotic.
You should consult with your medical professional or healthcare provider before starting any new supplement routine such as this per guidelines. This is partly because some side effects occur including the greying of skin from a possibly toxic bioaccumulation of silver within the body. Skin greying from chronic colloidal silver use is very difficult to treat.
Overall the research with colloidal silver shows that ionic silver has the ability to prevent the growth of various micro organisms and could support wound healing if used topically.
Summary
Colloidal silver containing ionic silver is used as a topical anti microbial in the prevention of wound infection and could have benefits for skin wound healing. The anti microorganismal effects of silver have been known since ancient times and is why silver cutlery was developed.
Colloidal silver is used to promote optimal wound healing as topical ionic silver prevents microbial growths on wounds. With the emergence of multidrug resistant bacteria additional broad spectrum anti microbial are becoming increasingly popular. Topical silver products are on the current list of WHO essential medicines.
Research confirms that colloidal silver ions are toxic to various microorganisms because of intrinsic properties. This includes fungi and bacteria. There is also some evidence that ionic colloidal silver could be an antiviral.
Silver ions may bind to bacterial membranes and cause serious disruption to microbial membrane activity while generating oxidative stress. This leads to absorption or bioaccumulation of silver ions and death of the infecting microbes. Topical ionic colloidal silver may activate cellular antioxidant production in addition to inhibiting microbes to support early stages of wound healing.
Silver ions are far less toxic to people than microorganisms. Topical application of silver creams and colloidal silver is generally regarded as being safe but may cause skin greying if supplemented orally. Smart wound healing materials have been developed to assist with the wound healing process following severe skin burns. You can also find travel size colloidal silver to take with you on explorations in remote areas abroad.
Overall the research supports the use of ionic colloidal silver when used topically to prevent wound infections and colloidal silver may enhance or have benefits for early skin wound healing.
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