Colloidal Silver is one of the many metals that have been used in the past for a variety of reasons; even as a resource to improve health. Silver has been used for centuries to heal burns and prevent infection. Silver is put in newborn babies’ eyes to prevent infection. Bandages are made with infusions of silver.
There have been recent news stories that have sensationalized a man named Paul Karason who tried to make his own home made colloidal silver. Unfortunately he made several mistakes in his process and he made ionic silver instead. He ingested this home made concoction which gave him a condition called argyria, which turns the skin a blue-gray color. The news media has erroneously reported that he made colloidal silver.
I did find it interesting that Paul Karason has had a lot of difficulty socially since he developed this argyria condition and has had to move around trying to find acceptance.
There is a good website at http://www.purestcolloids.com that has a lot of information about colloids in general, what they are and how they are used. The site has links to articles that talk about the histories of how different metals have been used in healthcare through the centuries. You can also buy colloids products from them if you desire to do so.