Natural Treatment for Brown Skin Discolorations.

“Liver spots,” also called “age spots,” are caused by an accumulation of cellular debris. This debris, called lipofuscin (ly-poh-fusk-in), accumulates in many areas of the body, including the heart, nerves, muscles, kidney and brain. The skin is the place where we can see the accumulation.

Lipofuscin is caused by free radical damage to cells. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals and help prevent lipofuscin deposits, or liver spots.

The way to prevent and to a significant extent reverse liver spots is to

1.) Minimize exposure to sources of free radicals, including smoking, alcohol, fried and processed foods, trans fats, X-rays.
2.) Consume a generous dose of dietary antioxidants.
3.) Protect skin from excess UV (sunlight) exposure and use antioxidants in topical form as well. Although natural vitamin D from sunlight exposure is healthy, high levels of unprotected UV exposure on face, hands and chest can contribute to age spots in these areas.

Diet And Lifestyle Recommendations

• Include foods that are rich in antioxidant nutrients in your diet.
• Drink 8 glasses of pure water daily.
• Minimize your exposure to sources of free radicals (smoking, alcohol, fried foods, X-rays).
• Practice moderation of sun exposure: wear sunscreen on high-exposure areas like face, hands and chest.

Primary Support

• Maxi Multi: 3 caps, 3 times per day with meals. This daily “multiple” contains high potency antioxidants.
• Maxi Greens: 3 caps, 3 times per day with meals. This broad-spectrum blend of plant antioxidants and flavonoids provides additional protection from free radical damage.
• Rejuvenex™ Cream: Apply morning and at bedtime to clean skin (face).

Additional Support

• Grape seed extract (PCO’s): 100 mg, 1- 3 times per day with meals. Grape seed acts as both a potent antioxidant AND it stabilizes collagen fibers, the underlying support structure of skin. This double benefit may include improvement and prevention of age spots and additional protection from wrinkles.
• Milk Thistle Plus: 1 cap, 3 times per day with meals. Improving liver function can help the body “reclaim” lipofuscin, thereby fading age spots and preventing new ones.

For Already-Damaged Skin

• Sunspot Gel (formerly Skin Answer®) : Apply to already-existing sun-spots, especially if they are raised. Use as directed.

A Bluish Discoloration Of Tissues (esp. Skin) Due To Silver

Regarding reports of silver turning skin blue in humans:

It is certainly possible to over-ingest silver-containing solutions abd cause a permanant bluish discoloration of skin and other tissues. To achieve this effect requires massive ingestion of silver far in excess of anything therapeutic or sensible.

The following information comes from Wikipedia:

A prominent case was that of Stan Jones of Montana, a Libertarian candidate for the United States Senate in 2002 and 2006. Jones acquired argyria through consumption of a home-made silver product that he made due to fears that the Year 2000 problem would make antibiotics unavailable. The peculiar colouration of his skin was featured prominently in media coverage of his unsuccessful campaign, though Jones contends that the best-known photo was “doctored”. Jones promised that he was not using his silvery complexion as a gimmick. He continues to promote the use of colloidal silver as a home remedy. He has said that his good health, minus the unusual skin tone, is the result of his use of colloidal silver.

On December 20, 2007 the world press published stories about Paul Karason, a California man whose entire skin gradually turned blue after consuming colloidal silver made by himself with distilled water, salt and silver, and using a silver salve on his face in an attempt to treat problems with his sinus, dermatitis, acid reflux, and other issues. This happened because he drank gallons of colloidal silver per week for years.

In our opinion, neither of the cases cited above represents sensible or prudent use of colloidal silver – in fact there is ample evidence that the home-made soludions used by these two persons are not in fact true colloidal suspensions!

Silver has a long and honorable history of use in human healing. There is ample literature attesting to it’s safety and efficacy. Here is an abstract from just one article:

Silver has a long and intriguing history as an antibiotic in human health care. It has been developed for use in water purification, wound care, bone prostheses, reconstructive orthopaedic surgery, cardiac devices, catheters and surgical appliances. Advancing biotechnology has enabled incorporation of ionizable silver into fabrics for clinical use to reduce the risk of nosocomial infections and for personal hygiene. The antimicrobial action of silver or silver compounds is proportional to the bioactive silver ion (Ag(+)) released and its availability to interact with bacterial or fungal cell membranes. Silver metal and inorganic silver compounds ionize in the presence of water, body fluids or tissue exudates. The silver ion is biologically active and readily interacts with proteins, amino acid residues, free anions and receptors on mammalian and eukaryotic cell membranes. Bacterial (and probably fungal) sensitivity to silver is genetically determined and relates to the levels of intracellular silver uptake and its ability to interact and irreversibly denature key enzyme systems. Silver exhibits low toxicity in the human body, and minimal risk is expected due to clinical exposure by inhalation, ingestion, dermal application or through the urological or haematogenous route. Chronic ingestion or inhalation of silver preparations (especially colloidal silver) can lead to deposition of silver metal/silver sulphide particles in the skin (argyria), eye (argyrosis) and other organs. These are not life-threatening conditions but cosmetically undesirable. Silver is absorbed into the human body and enters the systemic circulation as a protein complex to be eliminated by the liver and kidneys. Silver metabolism is modulated by induction and binding to metallothioneins. This complex mitigates the cellular toxicity of silver and contributes to tissue repair. Silver allergy is a known contra-indication for using silver in medical devices or antibiotic textiles.

Reference

Lansdown AB (2006). “Silver in health care: antimicrobial effects and safety in use”. Current Problems in Dermatology 33: 17–34. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16766878