Colloidal silver touted as MRSA cure

Two companies are claiming they have a solution of colloidal silver that can cure MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant staph infection which is panicking the U.S. media. (Picture from Altered States, a New Zealand site which offers colloidal silver as a general remedy.)

LifeSilver and MRSA Medical both claim their "patented" preparations have been tested and proven effective.

A paper at Worldwidewounds advises that "alternative" means like silver solutions be tried against the infection. Colloidal silver has been an Asian herbal medicine for centuries, and Asia remains the largest market for it. Before the development of penicillan it was a leading treatment for infections.

One site, Aguasilver, even touts it as a remedy for bird flu. It is very popular on "alternative" medicine sites as a general remedy.

Silver Colloids, a site that tracks research into colloidal silver, currently lists studies of it in relation to 10 pathogens, including MRSA (PDF alert).

None of this is to dismiss the potential. Many Asian remedies, like acupuncture, were scoffed at for years before being shown safe, effective, and thereapeutic. But extraordinary claims demand extraordinary proof.

Will there be time to test colloidal silver before a panic sets in?