Mag'e-zine Article
Jun
15
2009
15
2009
So, you think you have problem skin?
This is Paul Karason who suffered from severe Dermatitis, which left his skin itchy, red, and swollen. He decided to treat (self medicate) his Dermatitis using Colloidal Silver, which he drank and rubbed on his skin. Over a time frame of several months his skin slowly began turning blue. The permanent transformation came about so slowly that he didn't notice it until a friend asked what was happening to his skin. As a result Mr. Karason says that he doesn't go out in public much and he's only reminded of his condition when he's in public and people stare or make comments about his blue skin. His girlfriend says (yes, he has a girlfriend) she doesn't really notice or pay attention to her boyfriend's blue skin. Blue skin doesn't bother him; he's still taking Colloidal Silver and he doesn't have Dermatitis anymore. (Sources: Fox News, AP Wire & Sky News)So, why blog on this? I'm a sociologist and I've studied body consciousness, cultural beauty norms and as a makeup formulator I've done hundreds of makeovers and I notice how critical we are of ourselves and our appearance.
I am at times amazed and sometimes saddened when my beautiful sisters sit down for a makeover and immediately start telling me what 'feature' or 'flaw' they want to cover, hide or make vanish. I have yet to have someone sit down for a makeover and say something like, "I have wonderful skin, can you accentuate that" or "My eyes are great can you make them more glamorous?"
At one event a nine year old girl asked me for a makeover. I gave her some lip-gloss and put pink glitter on her cheeks. She was thrilled and came back every day of the three-week event. On the last day of the event she came by for some lip-gloss, glitter and to say thanks. As she left she said, "I never felt pretty before. You made me pretty."
My heart sank as I explained that she was and always would be beautiful regardless of any makeup. Of course, I think that having someone pay attention to her contributed to her comment and feelings. Nevertheless we all have our beauty issues but I thought sharing Mr. Karason's image and story might offer another perspective and offer the opportunity to reframe how we see our "flaws." Maybe the next time I look in the mirror I'll be happy with my features and I'll be inspired know that if a man with blue skin can be content then so can I.
(Note: I posted this blog entry in several of my blogs. The comments were so insightful and thoughtful, I wanted to share them here as well.)
| Valerie (Valana Minerals) Wrote: Thanks Rob for your contribution. Yes, I know someone who had copper toxicity and I personally suffered from selenium toxicity (it was in my shampoo that I used everyday-sometimes twice a day) and one of the side effects involved loosing all of my hair. That experience was one of the things that inspired me to learn about natural ingredients in cosmetics. |
| Rob Wrote: All metals, not just essential ones such as iron, sodium, potassium, etc. can cause problems if taken in high doses. Not too long ago I heard a statistic that one of the top five causes of poisoning in small children was due to them getting into their mothers iron supplements. Another problem I have read about lately is selenium intoxication due to overindulgence in supplements. Selenium is necessary only in trace quantities, it is very easy to overdose. Another good example is vitamin A, too much will literally kill you. Silver, so far as is currently known, is not an essential element and thus should be used with extreme caution. I bet this man has other problems to go with his blue skin, perhaps that have not manifested yet. |
| Valerie (Valana Minerals) Wrote: Thanks Maggie and I agree that this issue isn't "just" about colloidal silver or any other particular natural ingredient. I think sometimes the public believes that if an ingredient is natural it's completely harmless and that isn't always the case. I can't speak to the quality of colloidal silver he used but all the reports I read said that he had an "overdose" of colloidal silver. So, while the quality was unclear, he was drinking it everyday AND using it topically everyday which is why his doctor referred to his condition as an self medication silver toxicity or "Colloidal Silver related Argyria" Also, from what I've read the FDA instituted a ban on the use of Colloidal Silver in 1999 for nonpresription Colloidal Silver claiming to be effective in treating or preventing any disease or illness. The FDA only checks after doctors report cases of toxicity and the amounts of colloidal silver in the products they test vary dramatically. So, it can be sold as a dietary supplement with no claims but the consumer has no way to really know how much they are ingesting or how to determine the quality. If consumers don't know the levels of Colloidal Silver they are ingesting (through their skin and orally) it seems entirely feasible that toxicity is possible even with high quality products. |
| Maggie Wrote: Great moral to this story! But just so you'll know . . . not all colloidal silver turns you blue. I don't want colloidal silver to get a bad rap. It's really miraculous stuff and harmless when you get the right stuff. This happened to my neighbor too, but he took the wrong kind of silver. Google it. |
| Kelley Wrote: I have heard of this before with ingesting Colloidal Silver but I had never seen the effects. Wow. God Bless him. Makes my complaints of a pimple now and then seem so ridiculous. I am humbled. |
| Donna Wrote: Valana, What a lovely post. It's great that Paul and his girlfriend have made peace with his blue-ness. I love how you lifted the little girl's heart after her makeover. It's so important for girls to know true value is not found in how they look on the outside but on how their heart looks on the inside. A beautiful heart makes a body beautiful. You may be the only person who tells that young girl that she's beautiful without makeup, and that's a wonderful thing. |
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