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Social media posts claim colloidal silver is a treatment for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other infectious diseases in both adults and young children. But medical experts and health authorities warn this is unproven and that the supplement can lead to serious health risks, pointing to numerous studies and guidance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) dating back to 1999. An Instagram post published November 26, 2022 and liked more than 700 times recommends the use of pure, undiluted real silver in a nebulizer as an alternative to medications & Antibiotics. YES you can use colloidal Silver on babies birth + pregnant or breastfeeding, it’s safe for ALL ages ! the post caption says. Screenshot of an Instagram post taken on November 30, 2022 A separate Facebook post published the same day calls colloidal silver nature's antimicrobial that does NOT encourage antibiotic resistance and says it is an effective antiviral, antimicrobial, and antibacterial solution. Videos on TikTok -- including one viewed 85,000 times -- suggest putting silver in nebulizers for infants with RSV. The posts come amid a growing number of cases of RSV, Covid-19 and flu in recent weeks, sparking a number of claims about home remedies. But there is no approved treatment RSV, which can cause chest infections in infants. And the use of colloidal silver -- which consists of tiny silver particles in a liquid -- has been linked to a variety of potentially serious side effects. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), part of the National Institutes of Health, warns that using such products isn't safe or effective for treating any disease or condition. The NCCIH points to guidance the FDA issued in 1999 after three years of study. FDA is not aware of any substantial scientific evidence that supports the use of (over-the-counter) colloidal silver ingredients or silver salts for disease conditions, the agency said in a statement at the time. Melissa Young, a physician with the Cleveland Clinic's Institute for Functional Medicine, said in a March 2022 blog post : You should not take it internally -- swallowed as an over-the-counter supplement -- under any circumstances. Supplement can be harmful Colloidal silver has long been promoted as a home remedy for a number of ailments. Young noted that silver gained a reputation as an antimicrobial agent because when it comes into contact with moisture it releases ions that can pass through bacteria cells and kill them. But these ions can damage healthy cells, too. The silver could enter your healthy cells and cause them to die, just like they cause bacteria to die, Young said in the Cleveland Clinic's blog post. Kevin Osterhoudt , a pediatrician and toxicologist who is a member of the executive committee of the Council on Injury, Violence, and Poisoning Prevention of the American Academy of Pediatrics, also cautioned against this type of silver use. Silver may be a useful antiseptic when applied to surfaces, or when used topically on the skin, Osterhoudt said in a November 30 email. It is not known to be safe or effective when taken orally or when inhaled. He added that silver products marketed as supplements are not regulated and have no assurances for quality or purity. Silver has no natural function in the body's metabolism and it is not an essential part of good nutrition, Osterhoudt said. A 2015 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association called colloidal silver dangerous and readily available and linked its ingestion to argyria -- a condition that turns skin gray or blue -- as well as renal, hepatic, and neurologic problems after long-term use. A 2005 study in the Annals of Occupational Hygiene highlighted similar health issues stemming from exposure to silver in a variety of forms. Besides argyria and argyrosis, exposure to soluble silver compounds may produce other toxic effects, including liver and kidney damage, irritation of the eyes, skin, respiratory, and intestinal tract, and changes in blood cells. Metallic silver appears to pose minimal risk to health, the researchers said. Brent Bauer, a board-certified physician in internal medicine with the Mayo Clinic's Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program, said in an October 2022 blog post that the long-term effects of using colloidal silver are not known. Manufacturers of colloidal silver products often say that their products are cure-alls. Some claim these products can improve your immune system and fight bacteria and viruses, Bauer said, adding that there is little or no evidence to support the claims. It's not clear how much colloidal silver you can take before it may be harmful. But it can build up in your body's tissues over months or years. AFP has fact-checked other misinformation about RSV here .
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