Some commercially available silver products are bound to proteins or citrates in order to achieve colloids with very high concentrations. Any silver product with a concentration greater than 70 parts-per-million (ppm) is likely to have been altered in this way.
Concentrations of some of these products (mild silver proteins) can be as high as 250 to 500 ppm. In fact, the binding of the silver to any other molecule reduces its antimicrobial effectiveness as demonstrated by simple in-vitro Minimum Bacteria-Cidal (MBC) testing on common pathogens like staph and strep. Mild silver protein products should be avoided as they require a far greater dose to achieve the same results as a pure silver colloid or an enhanced silver colloid.
Claims are constantly being made about the surface-area-to-volume ratio of the silver particles, the shape of the silver particles and even the size of the silver particles as they relate to the effectiveness of the particular product. The best rule of measure is the most direct rule of measure.
The products should simply be ranked in terms of antimicrobial effectiveness. The bottom line is that this therapy is administered specifically for its ability to kill fungus and bacteria. A pure silver colloid of good concentration and quality will produce the greatest antimicrobial effect.
Some products are sold in a bottle with instructions to drink a teaspoon or take several drops under your tongue. This is quite pointless as a sinus infection is not in your mouth and certainly not under your tongue.
The systemic dilution of colloid ingested in this manner would produce tissue densities of only a few nanograms per milliliter. This is at least 1000 times below the established MBC (minimum bactericidal concentration).
Other products are sold in fancy nasal spray bottles that suggest application twice per day. This is equally as useless as the normal mucosal flow will carry the applied agent from the region of the infection within 10 minutes, leaving the remaining bacteria to double every 20 minutes for the next 10 hours. Sprays applied twice per day cannot possibly get ahead of a bacterial or fungal infection.
In fact, an ideal product (covered by patent numbers 6,454,754 and 6,749,597 ) is an enhanced silver colloid of greater than 35 ppm in a simple nasal spray bottle that is labeled to direct the user to re-administer the product every 20 to 30 minutes. This produces the desired tissue concentration in the infected region and maintains this presence throughout the treatment process. This product is Sinus Relief from Nature’s Rite.
One synergistic advantage that can be gained is to enhance the effectiveness of the pure colloid by augmenting it with a surfactant. Tests indicate that the surfactant action of 0.2% polysorbate-20 can improve the antibacterial effectiveness of a basic silver colloid from 20 to 200 times.
The advantage gained will vary depending on the bacteria used in the assay (scientific test). The polysorbate-20 does not bind with nor will it hinder the silver in colloidal suspension. It is an FDA-approved food additive. In low concentrations it is an effective synergistic enhancement to a basic, pure silver colloid. This advantage is used in the Sinus Relief and Super Neti Juice products from Nature’s Rite.
The silver colloid is an extremely well-tolerated substance and offers little or no irritation to the nasal passages. Since it is not ionically balanced, it can present some sensation upon aerosol administration. This tends to be transient, lasting less than a minute.
In fact, the addition of any salts to ionically balance the liquid will cause the silver to compound and precipitate out of suspension. This is why the Nature’s Rite Super Neti Juice product is not ionically balanced and can sting a bit upon initial administration. Since the stinging is due primarily to the lack of ions, it is actually the distilled water that it is being diluted with that causes most of the irritation and mild stinging. This can be reduced somewhat by using the Super Neti Juice in an undiluted manner.