The woman who turned silver
- added September 08, 2008
- 33 responses
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- toshiba
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Rosemary Jacobs, 66, had painful face peels to remove layers of skin after it developed an irreversible grey tinge.
Her rare condition - known as argyria - began when she started taking nasal drops containing colloidal silver (CSP) at the age of 11.
Four years later a skin biopsy revealed a multitude of silver particles embedded deep beneath her epidermis.
"They told me my colour was permanent," Mrs Jacobs said. "It was devastating."
Now, after years of verbal abuse, cruel remarks and severe skin treatments, Mrs Jacobs is determined to raise awareness of the dangers of taking supplements and medicines containing silver.
"Strangers think I have a contagious disease and stay away from me," said Mrs Jacobs, who is single and lives alone in Vermont, USA. "Once someone said looking at me made them feel sick."
The retired Spanish teacher believes there has been an increase in dietary supplements containing CSP and says they should be banned or have warning labels.
"Silver is still present in lots of products sold on the internet," she said. "Taking it will ruin your life and people need to know that."
Mrs Jacobs, who took her drops every other day for four years, said they were prescribed by a doctor for a possible allergy which caused a blocked nose.
"The change in my skin colour was so slow I didn't notice. My family and friends didn't notice either because they saw me every day.
"This is what everyone with argyria says, 'I didn't notice until it was too late'." A nurse spotted the argyria and Mrs Jacobs saw a dermatologist. But in the 1950s no treatment was available.
"I never dated at high-school or college or had boyfriends," she said."I longed to be normal."
In the 1970's she underwent agonising skin dermabrasion where the top layer of skin is removed, leaving it raw.
Her face healed but she was left with a pink and blotchy complexion.
"I don't think I look much better now," she said.
There are a few dozen other cases of argyria worldwide. The most famous is Paul Karason, from California, known as the Blue Man, and U.S Libertarian candidate Stan Jones who gained a more greyish hue.
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Eeeek! I saw a doc about the Blue Man. He turned blue after using silver extract to treat a skin condition. He said he didn't really notice it because it happened over time, and only people who hadn't seen him for a while really noticed. I'd notice.
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I saw an interview of the "Blue Man" recently, and he believes the silver extract cures certain ailments, so he continues to take the solution even if the symptoms would eventually disappear.
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- fiat_lux088
- 2 months ago
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When I first saw the picture, I thought it was a joke, but apparently it is real. It is crazy that such medications are sold without warning people about possible side-effects.
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- JanaPokana
- 2 months ago
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Wow, she is properly silver. Poor lady. Surely she's owed some *massive* chunk of compensation from the company that didn't warn patients of the medicine's side effects? I know that wouldn't help her skin, but it'd certainly make going on holiday a lot easier :)
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- LindseyIndigo
- 2 months ago
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"Mrs Jacobs, who took her drops every other day for four years, said they were prescribed by a doctor for a possible allergy which caused a blocked nose."
Are you kidding me... why would you not seek a second opinion in a situation where you are being prescribed medication on such a regular basis. Further, I have no idea how a person does not notice a change in complexion, regardless of how gradual it is.
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wait a minute-this photo must not go with the article...geez, if i can have that smooth of skin at age 66, i wouldnt mind a little silver tinge....
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KristinL, the caption under the photo (in the original article) says "Rosemary Jacobs in 1978 just before she received treatment for her condition.", so she was 36 years old when that picture was taken.
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- Vierotchka
- 2 months ago
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There is also colloidal gold and colloidal copper in liquid form as a supplement, as well as in some medicines - I wonder if one gets a golden or coppery complexion if one takes them every day for years...
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- Vierotchka
- 2 months ago
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That's what happens when one takes a lot of colloidal gold every day for many years... ;)
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- Vierotchka
- 2 months ago
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Very, very sad. My heart goes out to her.
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Imagine if she had to have an MRI. It would kill her.
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- Egnatius212
- 2 months ago
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I feel for her, I wish she could feel the love she most likely yearns for.
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However I wouldn't mind being blue man.
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Aside from being silver, she looks pretty darned good for a 66-year-old woman. Tragic though.
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She was 36 years old when that picture was taken (in 1978).
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- Vierotchka
- 2 months ago
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I wonder how much she's worth.
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Eek, I'm sure that must have more detrimental health effects than the silver colouring as well, though I suppose silver isn't a toxic metal..
How could people be so cruel with their remarks? It's shocking.
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She's feeling sorry for herself now but she should have read the bottle to begin with.
I've taken colloidal silver for 10 years...at the recommended dosage! You don't take it every day!
In fact colloidal silver saved my life when my heart was infected. The cardiologists just gave me antibiotics until they didn't work anymore, then shrugged their shoulders. I realized they couldn't care less if I lived or died so I got busy finding out how to treat myself. Too bad she listened to that doctor who obviously didn't have a clue what he was doing. I take hawthorn berries every day and no longer have to take the silver as my heart healed in spite of the cardiologists. I changed my diet and stick to it.
I have a tear in my heart from a car accident. If i can recover from this I'm sure others can too. Colloidal silver is used by millions of intelligent people who read the label. The others....well, they're not hard to see.
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- AthenaWolf
- 2 months ago
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My condolences, but I gotta take the chance at this one... She's a second place trophy wife!
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- simonedward
- 2 months ago
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It pisses me off when people who get bad reactions from excessive use of something stand out against it. It's the reason I can't have a casual cigarette in a bar, or I can't get salt on my fucking chips.
"Taking it will ruin your life"? I think she is an idiot.
Incidentally, I actually think she looks pretty cool like that. Fuck shouty little twats, enjoy your indiviuality. If you can make the kind of person who would tell you that looking at you makes them feel sick, feel sick, you have a respectable power.
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that's so fu*kin' horrible.
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there really is something here though. it does not seem to have any other serious side affects. i bet versions of this are used to change peoples identity. think about it. you could develop this to give a person any skin tone. i bet this is how michael jackson became white:)
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- globewatcher
- 2 months ago
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