Cats: The Use of Colloidal Silver

Isabel

I have persian cats.  And as anyone who has had one knows, these cats have a tendency to have slightly runny noses.  Usually it's just clear liquid, but it can be slightly white.  It's not really a nasal infection as the snot isn't green and there's no fever.  It may be related to herpes but with some cats, even lysine doesn't help that.  I've even wondered if it's fungal.  Vets either don't consider it a problem or want to use steroids on it to cover it up.  It is a problem since some cats, like Isabel, are hesitant to eat if their noses drip.  And I refuse to keep a cat on steroids for life.  So, I've been trying to find something that will help.

One thing I'm thinking about using is colloidal silver.  I have used this on cuts, scratches, and ringworm with good results.  It does seem to have some antibacterial and antifungal properties.  I know people use it as a nasal spray and some people claim it is helpful for sinus issues.

To me, a natural extension would be to try colloidal silver as a nasal wash in a cat.  So, I posted this in a cat group hoping to get some suggestions on dosage, like I had with the MiraLax.  This sadly was not what I got.

It seems there are two camps when it comes to colloidal silver -- those that think it will cure everything, and those that think it will cure nothing.  And the two groups hate each other.  Yes, hate...  It's like all rational discussion goes out the door and what is left is grand pronouncements.  The 'cure nothing' group sees the words colloidal silver and then begin the automatic response to colloidal silver regardless of the question asked.

According to the "cure nothing" group, colloidal silver is also dangerous because:

• high doses can cause kidney damage in rats
• it's not a mineral found in the body
• high doses over long periods can turn skin bluish
• it may interfere with other drugs

Now these were all presented as reasons not to use 1-2 drops in saline as a nasal wash for a cat.  1-2 drops is not a high dose, so I'm pretty sure the bluing and the kidney damage won't happen.  And since the cats are not on other drugs, it will not interfere with anything.  As for the argument that it's not found in the body, so?  Most drugs are not found in the body but that doesn't stop them from being useful.  These dangers might be relevant for ingesting colloidal silver, but not really as a nose drop.

In all this was a quote from the Mayo Clinic stating that there was no reasonable research to support the claims.  Likewise there is no research to show that the claims are false.  There is no research.  Period.  End of discussion. So what was the discussion about if there is no research?  It should have then been based on actual experiences, but it was based on accusations for and against.  So was the discussion helpful?  No, because neither side listened to the other... Heck, some didn't even understand I had asked about nose drops!

Luckily, there is more than one cat group!  In another group (Fancier's Health Group on Yahoo, fanciershealth@yahoogroups.com), someone posted this:

I used Water OZ Silver full strength sucked up into a very small eye dropper found in the Rescue Remedy Pet Stress Reliever. One squirt in each nostril 3 X daily for 1 week, then 2x daily for two additional weeks. This cleared a upper respiratory infection that two rounds of antibiotics would not touch in a rescue cat that sneezed out 3 inch snot strings.

Does it work?  I have seen it work on skin problems.  

Will it work as a nasal wash?  I don't know...  But I will try it.  I can't see that it will hurt the cats -- annoy yes, hurt no.

In the end, the whole discussion left me wondering if there is any value in trying to have a discussion.  I'm sure some people would like to have a nice discussion -- based on facts and experiences -- but the problem is those that feel strongly about a topic will drown out all others by virtually shouting irrelevant ideas.