Still waiting for those anthrax and polio examples...

But in the meantime, if you are curious about colloidal silver and such, check out the following sites:

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/silverad.html

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/avoid.html

There are many interesting articles on other topics also available from that website.

-- Sam Mcgee (weissacre@gwtc.net), October 22, 1999

Answers

Are you suggesting that silver does *not* kill a wide variety of microbes?

I wonder why Katadyn uses it in their water filters? I wonder why MDs put it on serious burns, and as of late, on nectorising fascitis (probably misspelled that, it's "flesh-eating bacteria") wounds to promote granulation?

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), October 22, 1999.

I am not disputing the fact that silver has antibacterial properties. That is a proven fact. I am disputing claims that colloidal silver can kill anthrax or polio. Neither of those claims have been proven.

As far as the Katadyn water filter: I searched the NSF database to see if their filters are NSF certified to meet their advertised claims. Katadyn filters are not listed in the database, which means either they haven't been tested by the NSF or they didn't pass the tests. If you have a Katadyn filter, or any other water filter that claims to filter out cysts, check the NSF website to see if its certified or contact the manufacturer and ask if its certified. Better yet, run a batch of pond water through the filter and have a sample tested by an independent laboratory. Your local health department or county extension agent can help you there.

In regards to Micropur: If you read the bottom of their web page you will find a statement that says Micropur is only to be used in clear water that has already been disinfected. It is not intended for use in water that may be micobiologically unsound. Micropur, by their own statements, is not a disinfecting agent.

-- Sam Mcgee (weissacre@gwtc.net), October 22, 1999.

The NSF website:

http://www.nsf.org/

One correction: Micropur does say it can be used to disinfect water tanks and pipes if the silver ion dosages are increased. But it is primarily a preservative, which is still useful.

-- Sam Mcgee (weissacre@gwtc.net), October 22, 1999.

Sigh. Okay, I'll bite.

Although silver has been used by mankind for millennia, there is terribly little information about toxic effects *of the pure metal.* There is some (not much) information about silver compounds, especially silver nitrate.

People who want to find out about problems that could be caused by colloidal silver have an insurmoutable problem -- there have been no studies of true colloidal silver. Only opinions, and somewhat uninformed opinions, from what I read.

The only toxic effect of the use of silver compounds is argyria. What is argyria? It's the bluish coloring of the skin and internal organs caused the the deposition of *silver particles* in the skin. These particles can be seen with a microscope. The particles are too large to be colloidal -- so colloidal silver cannot be said to ever have caused argyria without direct experimental evidence (and there is some evidence, available in the archives of this forum, that CS gets excreted from the body).

What other effects does argyria have? None seem to have been reported. Are there beneficial effects from argyria? Only anecdotal.

Looking up "argyria" on the WWW, I read the links that weren't obviously someone pushing colloidal silver. In addition to the links you supplied, I also found these.

http://www.ohsu.edu/cliniweb/C21/C21.613.html contains one article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of that issue (a spring of 1999 issue), nor do I wish to pay for the reprint.

http://www.camd.lsu.edu/msds/s/silver.htm is a chemical hazards site. Among other substances, it contains this:

Toxicity Irritation Data No data available.

Health Effects: Inhalation: May cause argyria in respiratory tract. Skin/Eye: May cause argyria, a bluish-gray discoloration of various tissues. Other: Generalized argyria is recognized by pigmentation of the skin, eyes and nails and results from inhalation of silver salts. [Note: silver salts]

http://asthma.miningco.com/health/diseases/asthma/library/weekly/aa081 699.htm Article repeating the inaccuracies of the anti-CS network, including the final sentence: "Colloidal Silver causes Argyria." -- for which the article, and any referenced articles, has no proof.

This article contains a link to the infamous Rosemary's story. I feel sorry for Rosemary, as her condition was caused by ingestion of a solution containing silver salts -- but, even though she rails against colloidal silver, what she took was not colloidal silver.

*************************** http://www.wishgranted.com/Where_are_the_Blue_people.html contains an article asking "Where are the blue people" from everyone that uses colloidal silver?

Part of the article says this:

"The term Argyria describes the condition of a bluish gray color of the skin, and Argyosis the bluing of the eye white, resulting from the use of SILVER COMPOUNDS. To better understand the misunderstanding regarding Argyria, I will quote from the book "the Micro Silver bullet" by Dr. M. Paul Farber 1996 page XII (ISBN 1-887742-00-X)

In reference to a "Journal of American Medical Association, Article,October 18 1995, volume 274 # 15," where cases of Argyria were cited to have been caused by silver compounds (not colloidal silver).

"These Case history presentations represent biased and unprofessional writing. The author's apparent inability to understand the difference between a silver nitrate, sulfide, or other silver compound demonstrates their lack of understanding basic chemical properties. The matrix, substrate, and particle size are all critical to the varied functions and reactions with use of these products."

Further on the same page.

"That is why there has not been a single case of Argyria from a properly manufactured modern day colloidal sliver product. The cases of Argyria reported in the 1920's and 1930's resulted because the technology of the day was unable to produce a colloidal silver product with a small enough particle size." Ref. (4-A)

The reported cases of Argyria usually involve very high and frequent doses of silver salts/compounds such as Silver sulfate, silver nitrate or silver chloride.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Poison Control Center reports no toxicity listing for Colloidal Silver, it is therefore considered harmless in any concentration. However all of the silver salts are identified as toxic, although the only adverse effect noted is Argyria.

Therefore the concern is with silver salts not colloidal silver." *************************

I've known of colloidal silver for two decades (at least), but NEVER considered trying it. I assumed that putting any metal into my body wasn't a good idea (except for trace amounts of iron, zinc and copper). However, several of my friends have used colloidal silver -- again for decades.

I finally decided to investigate CS after suffering from a severe, chronic sinus "condition" for over seven years (the MDs figured it couldn't be an infection since none of their remedies worked on it). So, I looked into CS. I ran across all the CS promoters and the CS detractors -- and I noted that the detractors were offering only opinions, not data. (I have a degree in physics, and I know how to read research reports.)

So, I decided to make some CS so I could test it (I had to make it myself so I knew, for sure, what it was. I wasn't about to trust something I bought in a bottle.). Initially I tested the effects on water, plants and eventually my cats.

All of my test results were positive. We have cats (and dogs). Their ouside water bowls/buckets always had algae growing in them during the summer months. It's always a pain to clean them (or for our boys to clean them). So I tried putting a little (an ounce or less) of CS in the the bowls/buckets. The result was absolutely no algae growth, perfectly clean water (except when the raccoons decide to wash the cat food in the water by climbing into the bowls).

I had some plants that had some kind of fungus infection (I assume, didn't have the equipment to check). I sprayed two of the plants (out of about 10) with CS, and the fungus(?) growth on those two plants stopped, and the plants continued to grow. The non-sprayed plants died.

My cat "experiments" resulted from aftermaths of fights the cats got into. There were cuts and abrasions that were quite large, and didn't seem to be healing (and the cats yelped when they tried to clean the cuts). After about 4 weeks of seeing these sores, I sprayed some CS on them (the cats hated the hiss of the sprayer). Within 3 days, the sores cleared up. This scenario was repeated, and now I spray the sores when I first see them.

So -- I tried it on myself. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to have any effect on my sinus condition (I couldn't get the spray into the sinus because the duct was blocked). However, CS spray did clear up a case of athlete's foot in one of my sons, and seems to have greatly reduced the amount of acne on both of them.

Finally, I just ran across GREAT article at http://csprosystems.com/AnotherCSarticle.htm describing various 'colloidal silver' types, and instructions (and pitfalls) for making your own.

PS: I did manage to cure (so far) the sinus condition through the use of the Zapper. But that's another story. :)

Dean

-- Dean -- from (almost) Duh Moines (dtmiller@midiowa.net), October 22, 1999.

Recently, I heard about a very easy way to get needed silver into the system, namely, to suck on an old silver dime, etc. Any thoughts?

-- Youbetcha (a@a.a), October 22, 1999.

If, after reading all available information, you decide to take colloidal silver then you have made the right decision for yourself. But avail yourself of ALL information possible and decide for yourself. Here is some, there are additional links to more at the URLs below.

The New England Journal of Medicine -- May 20, 1999 -- Vol. 340, No. 20

http://www.nejm.org/content/1999/0340/0020/1554.asp Argyria

A 56-year-old woman has had discolored skin since the age of 14 (Panel A, left, and Panel B). At the age of 11 the patient was given nose drops of unknown composition for "allergies," and three years later her skin turned gray. The pigmentation extends to her waist. She was thought to have argyria, and a skin biopsy at the age of 15 confirmed the presence of silver deposition. The facial pigmentation was diffuse until the age of 36, but it became patchy after dermabrasion. The patient has had no other related problems. She recalled that when she was in the recovery room after a lumpectomy for breast cancer at the age of 42, the nurses were alarmed because they thought she had cyanosis.

Colloidal silver products sold in the early 1900s had silver concentrations as high as 30 percent. Suspensions of silver, available now in some health food stores and pharmacies, are touted for the treatment of many disorders, including the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, cancer, sore throats, meningitis, parasites, chronic fatigue, and acne, without substantiation .

Colloidal Silver: Risk Without Benefit

Stephen Barrett, M.D.

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/silverad.ht ml

Colloidal silver is a suspension of submicroscopic metallic silver particles in a colloidal base. Long-term use of silver preparations can lead to argyria, a condition in which silver salts deposit in the skin, eyes, and internal organs, and the skin turns ashen-gray. Many cases of argyria occurred during the pre-antibiotic era when silver was a common ingredient in nosedrops. When the cause became apparent, doctors stopped recommending their use, and reputable manufacturers stopped producing them. The official drug guidebooks (United States Pharmacopeia and National Formulary) have not listed colloidal silver products since 1975.

Dubious Ads

In recent years, silver-containing products have been marketed with unsubstantiated claims that they are effective against AIDS, cancer, infectious diseases, parasites, chronic fatigue, acne, warts, hemorrhoids, enlarged prostate, and many other diseases and conditions. Some marketers claim that colloidal silver is effective against hundreds of diseases.

During 1998, a Florida-based multilevel company, stated:

Our colloidal silver contains 99.99% pure silver particles suspended indefinitely in demineralized water that kills bacteria and viruses. It can be applied topically and/or absorbed into the blood stream sub-lingually (under the tongue), thereby avoiding the negative effects of traditional antibiotics that kill good bacteria in the lower digestive tract.

An all natural antibiotic alternative in the purest form available. The presence of colloidal silver near a virus, fungi, bacterium or any other single celled pathogen disables its oxygen-metabolism enzyme, its chemical lung, so to say. The pathogens suffocates and dies, and is cleared out of the body by the immune, lymphatic and elimination systems.

Unlike pharmaceutical antibiotics which destroy beneficial enzymes, colloidal silver leaves these beneficial enzymes intact. Thus colloidal silver is absolutely safe for humans, reptiles, plants and all multi-celled living matter.

It is impossible for single-celled germs to mutate into silver-resistant forms, as happens with conventional antibiotics. Also, colloidal silver cannot interact or interfere with other medicines being taken. Colloidal silver is truly a safe, natural remedy for many of mankind's ills. Colloidal silver can be taken indefinitely because the body does not develop a tolerance to it [1]

Seasilver Intermational, a California-based multilevel company, claims that American are suffering from "silver deficiency." Although silver is not an essential nutrient, product information posted on the company's Web site states:

The depletion of minerals in our soil has left us deficient of silver, one of our most essential trace minerals, causing a drastic increase in immune system disorders in our society in the last decade. Research has taught us that all disease is allowed to manifest itself because of a weakened immune system. In over 20 years of worldwide research on Colloidal Silver, numerous interviews with government agencies, health care practitioners and their patients, no other nutrient, herb or drug (prescription or over-the-counter) is as safe and effective against all known forms of unfriendly virus, bacteria, and fungus. Additionally, while it is generally known that most antibiotics kill only perhaps 6 or 7 different disease organisms, reports have shown that Colloidal Silver has been used successfully in the treatment of over 650 diseases! Furthermore, strains of disease organisms fail to develop in the presence of Colloidal Silver. Colloidal Silver's greatest attribute is its unique ability to function as a superior second immune system in the body! [2]

The ad below is from the July 1996 issue of Alternative Medicine Digest.

[go to site to see ad]

Critical Studies

In 1995, an herbal distributor named Leslie Taylor tested nine commonly marketed colloidal silver products available at health-food stores and concluded:

Two of the products were contaminated with microorganisms. The amount of silver suspended in solution varied from product to product and would gradually decrease over time. Only five products actually showed antibacterial activity in a laboratory test. To perform the test, she prepared a culture plate with Staphylococcus aureas bacteria, which can cause infections in humans. She then placed a drop from each product on the plate and used disks of two common antibiotics as controls. After eight hours of incubation, she found that bacterial growth had been inhibited around the antibiotics and four of the products.

Of course, the fact that a product inhibits bacteria in a laboratory culture doesn't mean it is effective (or safe) in the human body. In fact, products that kill bacteria in the laboratory would be more likely to cause argyria because they contain more silver ions that are free to deposit in the user's skin. .

FDA laboratory studies have found that the amount of silver in some product samples has varied from 15.2% to 124% of the amount listed on the product labels. The amount of silver required to produce argyria is unknown. However, the FDA has concluded that the risk of using silver products exceeds any unsubstantiated benefit [3].

In October 1996, the FDA proposed to ban the use of colloidal silver or silver salts in over-the-counter products [4]. A Final Rule banning such use was issued on August 17, 1999. The rule applies to any nonprescription colloidal silver or silver salt product claimed to be effective in preventing or treating any disease [5]. Silver products can still be sold as "dietary supplements" provided that no health claims are made for them.

References

1. The company (Changes International) is no longer in the supplement business. 2. Seasilver International Product Information, accessed October 12, 1998. 3. Fung MC, Bowen DL. Silver products for medical indications: risk-benefit assessment. Journal of Toxicology and Clinical Toxicology 34:119-26, 1996. 4. Federal Register 61:53685-53688, 1996. (To access this document, search the 1996 volume for "colloidal silver." 5. FDA. Final rule: Over-the-counter drug products containing colloidal silver ingredients or silver salts. Federal Register 64:44653-44658, 1999. Download PDF version

For Further Information

http://homepages.together.net/~rjstan/rose1.html

[photo at site]

) 1998 Chick Schwartz

The Silver Supplement Fraud

Guess who took the colloidal silver (CS)? Rosemary did. That's why she is slate-gray. The condition is called argyria. It is irreversible and cannot be covered by makeup.

Actually, Rosemary's doctor in New York prescribed CSP for her back in the fifties as a treatment for allergies. It was sold as a drug then. Today it is sold as a dietary supplement. You can find it in "health food" stores and on the Internet. You can even buy the equipment to make your own. It was snake oil when it was given to Rosemary. It is snake oil now.

The only thing Rosemary recommends CSP for is a gray skin dye. She knows that it is safe, effective, and permanent when used for that purpose. She also knows that being a gray person in a black and white world can have a serious negative impact on your social and economic life.

Promoters claim that CSP prevents and cures 650 diseases including Aids and cancer. They say that people with even a trace of silver in their bodies don't get sick!

Both Rosemary and the FDA have asked them for their proof. All they get are quotes from old quacks who manufactured the stuff at the turn of the century, misquotes from reputable authors and wonderful anecdotes. "I've taken it everyday for four years and feel great," the saleslady says.

The only problem Rosemary has with the anecdotes is that they are selectively chosen to sell CSP. The promoters refuse to include her negative anecdotes or those of all the other argyric people recorded in the medical literature. Rosemary had breast cancer at the age of 42. The silver in her body made her face so gray that the nurses in pre-op thought that she was in cardiac arrest! The promoters won't tell you this though.

The FDA has told the promoters that if they want to continue making medical claims for CSP they will have to first have it approved as a drug. Of course, that doesn't stop them from selling the stuff as a "dietary supplement." It just prevents them from legally writing their claims on the label or putting them in their ads.

And, oh yes, if you do decide to use CSP, have the product analysed by an independent lab. According to the dietary supplement industry itself, a lot of the stuff tested that is labelled colloidal silver really isn't. You see "dietary supplements," thanks to intense industry lobbying are unregulated by any government agency. So very often what is on the label isn't in the bottle. In fact, what is in the bottle may even be something more toxic than CSP. Buyer beware!

P.S. Rosemary will gladly provide you with documentation and references. Just ask!

Rosemary Jacobs, an argyria victim, has made a detailed study of the colloidal silver marketplace and is willing to answer questions.

http://homepages.together.net/~rjstan/becker.html

Dr. Robert Becker, author of The Body Electric and Cross Currents, wishes it known that he has never authorized the use of his name or quotations from his publications to imply his approval for the use of colloidal silver in any form for any medical purpose or any purpose by which it may subsequently be ingested by, or come into contact with humans. In his opinion all such preparations are either not effective or potentially harmful.

Some FAQs on CS are here:

http://homepages.together.net/~rjstan/rose6.html

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), October 22, 1999.

Hi Old Git,

Do you realize that your reply was completely covered by my references.

One more time: Rosemary (the "14 year old") is the ONLY example of agyria in recent times -- in the 50's -- and she did NOT use colloidal silver.

She used a physician-prescribed silver compound which contained silver particles that were too large to be colloidal. These larger particles can get into tissues and stay there, while the light-wave size colloidal silver particles appear to be 'washed away' after a few days.

Rosemary is a "strawman" of the type we see often in Y2k discussions. That is, an extreme incident that is easy to "prove" and is used as an example of why something won't (or will) happen. Strawmen usually have no real relationship to the ongoing discussion, just as Rosemary's argyria has no relationship to the use of colloidal silver.

-- Dean -- from (almost) Duh Moines (dtmiller@midiowa.net), October 22, 1999.

DEANO FROM IOWAY:

Hey, isn't the argyria vs CS effectiveness/safety fuss a wonderful metaphor for the Y2K hoax vs horror? As you well pointed out, the CS Pollies never consider "research" to be anything other than 'researching the literature,' which they seem to recycle like quoting Scripture. God forbid they should ACTUALLY RUN AN EXPERIMENT. And that observation can be generalized to so many polarities nowadays: research never seems to go beyond sitting at your desk and reading what OTHER people have done (or claim to have done.)

In my day, we did our medical research in two distinct phases, the first being purely preliminary -- that's the 'researching the literature,' that the Pollies confuse with the real thing. The research didn't start until you used live subjects. The brave ones among us, if there appeared to be a certain risk, used ourselves as the test subjects. (With higher risks of course one started with animal subjects.)

How come my professors rated my research 90% on the basis of what I DID and 10% on what I READ? What is the added ingredient in today's world that makes that an increasingly rare commodity? The answer may be crucial to where our culture is and where it will probably be some time in the near future:

VIRTUAL REALITY. Could it be that the concept goes beyond the video game market, and has contaminated our very ability to come to terms with actual reality? (Criminies --- looking at that last phrase gives me the willies; if someone had thrown that one at me in my undergrad or graduate days I would have smiled on the outside [but on the inside I would have considered an appropriate next step might be at least a brief session of psychodiagnostics.])

Now back to the Y2K metaphor thing. Yeah boy. Who needs EXPERIENCE when evaluating the Y2K threat? What has professional programming experience, in a production environment got to do with it? What has hardware experience involving chip technology, PCB design, firmware strategies, troubleshooting scenarios got to do with it? What has managing people and projects involved in complex systems got to do with it?

Of course, there's an interesting twist to this metaphor. Not only do the CS Pollies trot out their lame ponies on a regular basis, but on the other side of the coin, to be honest, our CS Doomer ranks include those who indulge in the same virtual reality moves. E.g., where is the EVIDENCE that CS can lick SIX HUNDRED FIFTY kinds of m.o., or has no potential for causing resistant m.o. to develop? The research hasn't been done. And even the anecdotal evidence hasn't (yet) come in.

Wouldn't it be nice to be a 100% Doomer -- or a 100% Polly on the CS issue? Would make life a lot less complicated. Doesn't it make us want to forget the whole thing, and go back to amateur radio (where the 'ragchewing' conversations this afternoon down here in Alabama concern themselves mostly with whether The Tide will beat Tennessee on the field today)? Come to think of it, wouldn't it be nice to blot out Y2K thoughts the same way? Here's the way we could handle that: get on the air and call, "CQ Virtual Reality ... CQ Virtual Reality ... anybody out there in Virtual Reality? This is [your call letters] calling CQ Virtual Reality, and standing by."

73, Bill Battered By Reality, kg4dhj

-- William J. Schenker, MD (wjs@linkfast.net), October 22, 1999.

Let's try one more closing tag... (I found *two* left open!).

I hope that worked.

As to the bluebloods, I've read that too (silverware), but IIRC, what I was replying to said that they used CS (and was hence foisted as "evidence" of a sort against CS), hence, my post.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), October 23, 1999.

-- Dean -- from (almost) Duh Moines

Thanks for this tidbit. What else can you (or anyone) tell us about silver as it was used advertantly or inadvertantly by "the blue bloods" of Europe?

The evidence, it seems, still indicates that "colloidal" silver does not contribute to the "blue" or "gray" condition.

-- S. David Bays (SDBAYS@prodigy.net), October 23, 1999.

Ron S.

Now that you mention it, that is what was being implied in the statement that I read. It seems the author was playing fast and loose with the difference between "colloidal" and other silver compounds even though the protection from cholera and plague was still there. Maybe, maybe not. Maybe the royal families didn't fall to the plagues simply because they isolated themselves from the great unwashed masses.

sdb

-- S. David Bays (SDBAYS@prodigy.net), October 23, 1999.

Here's an interesting little art icle on colloidal silver, its history, etc., including simple instuctions on how to make it. I used two silver rounds, 3 batteries and 2 alligator clips to make mine, so if cost is your only worry, fear not!

-- Zach Anderson (z@figure.8m.com), October 23, 1999.

Deano, you said,

I'd like to know how many infections Rosemary has had in the 30 years since she acquired the agyria (which hasn't been mentioned in any of the articles about/by her).

According to the information at her site, argyria didn't prevent Ms. Jacobs from developing breast cancer. Why don't you ask her about infections? Here's her address (from the site):

rjstan@together.net

Please let us know her response.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), October 23, 1999.

DEANO:

That was an EXCELLENT article you linked to -- probably the best balanced, detailed, and accurate CS article that ever appeared in print or on the Net. There are only a few loose ends that need commenting on.

1) The author states with excellent balance that although most negative CS articles declaim that 'CS will kill off all the natural intestinal flora' and for that reason alone should never be ingested -- he observes (correctly) that there are almost no anecdotal reports of digestive upset. As far as I know no one has published any kind of rationale for that seeming anomaly. Enter my friend "Mike" Miller.

Thomas Miller, an E.E., excellent writer, fellow ham, and designer of svl inexpensive bio-electric devices including a CS genny, came up with an explanation. He mentioned to me the following line of reasoning: "How can oral CS cause a 'die-off' of intestinal flora, when it must pass thru the stomach, where the potent concentration of the normally present HYDROCHLORIC ACID will convert all colloidal silver to dissolved silver (chloride)?!" Pretty obvious, isn't it?

For those who recommend that lurkers 'read ALL the literature' on CS, this comment was published in one of my threads on y2k.entrewave.com about 18 MONTHS ago.

2) There's a readily available device to measure TDS, around $12-14 retail. Go search for the source on the above forum (Look for the thread "Post-y2k Colloidal Silver? -- Part III," and the post, "March 24th [1998] Update.")

3) TDS instruments are designed to measure total DISSOLVED solids; they can't read absolute values for COLLOIDALs -- however they give good relative values, which I found correlated well with other data.

4) Interested in the 'Royal blue blood' stories, tales about the early American pioneers dropping a silver coin inside their milk containers to retard souring, and finally heard Mike Miller tell me of another twist. He ran across an old timer from 'out West' who described vigorously boiling a pot of water with a silver dollar in it for a considerable time and then drinking its contents, on a regular basis, thus avoiding various and sundry illnesses. So I put a couple silver bars (99.9% pure) in a glass of distilled water (1ppm TDS,) boiled away till there were maybe svl tablespoons remaining, cooled the liquid, & then read it with my TDS meter: 3-4ppm. Presumably 2-3ppm were silver. Interesting.

Tnx again, Dean, for bringing this valuable info to the newbies on this forum. Attention, Newbies: the sceptics who still advise you to make sure you don't swallow anything that hasn't been 'peer-reviewed' (in the medical literature) keep in mind the following:

a) if Y2K turns out to be NBD (no big deal) you certainly can go back to asking your doc for those 'peer-reviewed' antibiotic prescriptions (even tho they are decreasingly effective because of growing resistance patterns.)

b) if on the other hand things turn real bad in the new millennium, BE SURE to make special arrangements with your family doc to be available when you ring him up to drop by his office, get an Rx for the pills, then hop down to your local pharmacy to pick up the bottle from its well-stocked shelves. But with those kinds of connections why worry about Y2K in the first place? Lucky you.

Bill

-- William J. Schenker, MD (wjs@linkfast.net), October 23, 1999.