In 2008, Paul Karason, a 57-year-old man from the Pacific Northwest, appeared on the Today Show looking like a real-life Papa Smurf.
1. The Beginning
From head to toe, he was the color blue. But Karason wasn’t born this way. Many things happened along his way.
2. Early days
For most of his life, he was a fair-skinned redhead. Pretty different from what he became a few years later.
3. A Life-Changing Solution
However, one day, he saw an ad in a magazine promoting a life-changing solution containing silver ions in water known as colloidal silver.
4. Paul Tried It
He once said: “Well I figured I might as well drink it too if it was such wonderful stuff”. And so he did.
5. Every Day Drink
Suffering from dermatitis, arthritis, and acid reflux, Karason bought a device to make colloidal silver at home, consuming it daily and, eventually, applying it to his face.
6. The Ad
It was advertised as “just a liquid that you make through electrolysis with silver and distilled water”. But what was it?
7. More Than Enough
He stated that he used to drink at least a 10-ounce tumbler a day. A lot more than the recommended portion.
8. A Rare Disease
This well-intentioned experiment led to argyria, a rare and irreversible condition causing a blue-gray discoloration of the skin.
9. The Silver Lining
Paul Karason asserted that the benefits greatly outweighed the blueish disadvantages. And that was all that mattered.
10. A Healthy Version
He was happy that he had no more acid reflux and no more sinus troubles. Moreover, his arthritis went away.
11. Properties of Silver
The history of using silver for its antibacterial properties dates back to ancient times. However, not many people are aware of them.
12. Ancient History
Precious metals have been used for centuries. Actually, for a millennium.
13. Side Effects
Nonetheless, over the centuries, colloidal silver fell out of favor in mainstream medicine due to adverse effects, and antibiotics took its place.
14. Antibiotics
The first antibiotic was silver. They used to put silver coins in milk to keep the milk clean and basically ancient therapies.
15. More And More Popular
Despite the warnings, colloidal silver’s popularity has surged again in recent years, mostly among skeptics of conventional medicine.
16. Celebrities Tried It, Too
Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow enthusiastically endorsed it. According to her words: “The research says that colloidal silver really keeps viruses away. It’s a real viral repellent”.
17. Paul Died At A Young Age
Sadly, at 62 years old, Paul Karason died of a stroke. Though his death was unrelated to his argyria, he had struggled during the final years of his life.
18. People’s Reactions
He even struggled to find a job. He once stated: “People were rather reluctant to hire blue people or people that are noticeably different”.
19. Paul Isolated Himself
He became more reclusive to avoid the stares. “I do tend to avoid public places as much as I can”, he confessed.
20. He Never Regretted It
Even so, Paul Karason never stopped taking colloidal silver. But this was not the only precious metal ever used for health.
21. Ancient Uses
This metal and other metals have been used for health for thousands of years. There is evidence that gold was used in ancient China for treating diseases ranging from bone disorders to skin conditions, measles, and smallpox.
22. India Used Metals Too
The Ayurvedic system of medicine from India dates from about 5000 BCE and includes such metals as copper, gold, lead, and mercury.
23. The Ebers Papyrus
One of the oldest written records of the use of metals in medical treatment comes from the Egyptians. The Ebers papyrus, written in about 1500 BCE, had treatments such as the use of copper for headaches and the topical application of iron-rich meat for wounds.
24. The Egyptians Used Metals In Their Makeup
Moreover, the distinctive eye make-up of the Egyptians was more than cosmetic: malachite, a copper ore used as eye-liner, offered germicidal protection; and kohl, which contained galena (lead sulphide) had antimicrobial properties and deterred flies.
25. Galen’s Meds
By the time of the preeminent ancient Greek physician, Galen, pharmacology and botany were closely linked, and materia medica, the pharmacology of the day, was predominantly plant-based. Galen’s influence held in the western world for the next 1300 years.
26. Paracelsus
This Swiss alchemist and physician, born in 1493, was among the first to think of the body, its diseases, and their cures in terms of chemistry. He believed that the new and stronger diseases of the day required medicines that were more potent than traditional herbal remedies.
27. Treating Diseases
His training as an alchemist may have led him to look to metals. Among his additions to the materia medica were mercury, arsenic, tin, lead, and antimony, which were used in treating a variety of conditions, from digestive issues to venereal diseases and mental disorders.
28. Alternative Treatments
These treatments may have killed as many patients as were cured and, not surprisingly, Paracelsus and his fellow practitioners were not immune to charges of murder.
29. Improving The Medical System
The use of metals and metal salts in drugs increased gradually over the next centuries. Better systems were found for screening medicines as the 20th century progressed.
30. Metals In Medical Treatments
Currently, metals are used in medicine for nutritional needs, medical diagnoses, and treatment. Metals are used to treat a wide range of conditions, from heartburn and arthritis to cancers and tumors. Gold compounds are still the only pharmaceuticals to halt the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. So, as you can see, metals have played a significant role in medical treatment throughout history.
