Colloidal silver for fungal and bacterial infections?

[ALToronto]

I saw a mention of colloidal silver when I was looking at some articles on aspirin. I use it for healing skin cuts and abrasions, cold sores, sinus and eye infections, and eczema flare-ups. Has anyone used it to cure rot on plants? Might be worth a try.

 

[SlipperFan]

Where do you get colloidal silver???

 

[TyroneGenade]

1. Silver is toxic to plants at low concentrations: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/etc.2131/abstract

2. Good news: plants recover from acute toxicity: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01904168009362742#.Uk4DytKKIuc

Whether orchids can bounce back as well as fast growing plants I don't know. You must decide if it is worth the risk. The silver has antibiotic properties for sure: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3385153/ but it is only effective at about 100 mg/L which is already 100x more than what is needed to poison a plant.

 

[ALToronto]

Dot, you can buy it in health food stores. It's usually sold in dark brown or blue bottles in 10 ppm concentrations. It's just distilled water with nanometer-sized metallic silver particles. They're small enough to remain in suspension.

Tyrone, I don't doubt that silver is toxic to plants, but in what form and by what delivery method? I'm sure if I injected it into the stem, it would harm the plant. But would a topical application with a Q-tip to a mushy spot on a leaf or pseudobulb really be all that harmful to the entire plant? I'm not talking about spraying it, not for $25 for a 500 ml bottle.

 

[Lanmark]

Paul Karason suffered from Argyria, a condition which caused his skin to turn blue permanently. This was the result of consuming colloidal silver "health" preparations. Google the condition and Google his name -- and he's not the only one who has turned blue from exposure to this substance. It's a well-documented disorder. I'd be careful of this stuff! :wink:

 

[TyroneGenade]

AL, I don't have an answer to your question that I would put money on. But several of the links, from my quick literature search, suggest that colloidal silver is what is applied (i.e. nano particles). How much of it can be taken up by orchids I don't know and simply because of this uncertainty I advise caution. I think careful application to a defined area would greatly minimize the risks but then why not just use H2O2?

 

[ALToronto]

Paul Karason suffered from Argyria, a condition which caused his skin to turn blue permanently. This was the result of consuming colloidal silver "health" preparations. Google the condition and Google his name -- and he's not the only one who has turned blue from exposure to this substance. It's a well-documented disorder. I'd be careful of this stuff! :wink:

He drank 2 tablespoons every day for 10 years before his skin turned gray. If you swallowed 20 aspirin tablets every day, how healthy would you be? Does this mean that aspirin is of no benefit?

 

[Lanmark]

I didn't say, "Don't use it!"

I'm simply advising caution while handling and using this substance. I have a friend who turned grayish white over 15 years ago from exposure to small amounts of colloidal silver while working at a job for just under four months. He's never lost the haze on his skin since that time. But what do I know? I'm not a scientist nor an expert. I'm just a fellow orchid grower putting in his two cents.

Mayo Clinic discusses colloidal silver here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/colloidal-silver/AN01682

I'll shut up and go away now. :wink:

 

[SlipperFan]

Hey, Mark -- welcome back!

 

[Secundino]

Having a lot of 'remedies' that do work and are less harmful, I see no need to use colloidal silver. For a topical application you could even use sea salt! It just shouldn't get to the roots...
That concentration makes the poison is well known and this is true even for cinnamom. But why introduce silver to the sistem when you can use H2O2?
The advise Lanmark gave is a good one. Be careful when handling and using it.