Is colloidal silver effective and safe for treating FIV positive cats?

To be honest, we don’t know the answer to the question in the title because of a lack of scientific reviews. There is a lot of talk but little science on the internet about colloidal silver treatments and nearly all of it relates to humans. There are some useful comments on this page. Please check them out.

I was immediately struck by the opposing viewpoints taken by people on the effectiveness of colloidal silver. There is a bit of a conspiracy theory too. Supporters say that big business want to discredit it as it cannot be patented. If it was hugely effective it would eat into the profit margins of big pharmaceutical companies.

My impression is that supporters come from the ranks of the large supplemental, fringe, medical marketplace and homeopaths. Detractors come from mainstream medical practitioners and scientists.

So, for example in the UK, NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) state on their website, in a very truncated page, that there are no relevant reviews, no references to reliable up-to-date reviews etc.. In other words there is no scientific evidence as to its effectiveness. Reviews are needed.

In the USA, NIH (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health) say that the ‘bottom line’ (they use that phrase) is that there are no high quality studies on the health benefits of colloidal silver. The claims of health benefits are not supported by science. The FDA say it is not safe or effective for treating diseases. Taking it by mouth is said to be hazardous to health (possibly). This is all in reference to treating humans, of course.

So, the medical establishment more or less rejects colloidal silver, which incidentally is incredibly small particles of silver suspended in a solution.

It reportedly works by disabling the enzyme that single celled bacteria need for their oxygen metabolism. That is one description. It comes from the altered-states.net website. Colloidal silver acts as an natural antibiotic. It is claimed to treat a very wide range of diseases and conditions. This makes me suspicious.

As there is little or no science, I can’t assess it from that standpoint. We should not, however, be automatically critical of the product just because some doctors and scientist don’t like it. There are many examples of mainstream medical practitioners rejecting novel treatments as a reactionary response. Doctors are generally quite conservative and are part of the establishment.

That said my overriding impression is that colloidal silver as a medical treatment for cats should be a last resort in treating a FIV cat.

I would be reluctant to use it as a first-choice treatment. In fact, I would not do it. I’d stick with the tried and tested until and if matters became desperate. This is just a personal viewpoint.

Do you have personal experience of the effectiveness of this product?