It is now known that silver is a biologically significant element. It belongs to microelements, that is, it is found in the human body in micro quantities, amounting to 15-20 mg per 100 g of dry matter. The brain, liver, endocrine glands are the organs in which it is found in the greatest concentration. A person consumes approximately 7-9 micrograms of metal per day with food and water.
Factors in the development of the disease
The main reason responsible for the manifestation of the disease is silver poisoning.
The main sources include the following:
- Long-term use of medications that contain Ag;
- Long-term use of cosmetics with silver ions;
- Work involving prolonged contact with argentum and its compounds;
- The use of dentures, in the manufacture of which silver was used (as in the photo).
Silver dental crowns
Consequences and prevention of intoxication
The prognosis for life with argyria is favorable. Without timely treatment, pigmentation may worsen. Toxic compounds continue to accumulate in the cornea of the eye, which in the last stages of the disease leads to partial loss of vision or complete blindness. Recent studies have also found that metal accumulation in the kidneys impairs kidney function. In severe cases, the disease may be complicated by depression or other borderline mental disorders that reduce quality of life and social activity.
Prevention of acute and chronic intoxication:
- Compliance with the correct dosages and duration of treatment when taking medications containing silver.
- Knowledge of safety precautions and the use of personal protective equipment when working with substances.
- Limiting the use of cosmetics containing heavy metal ions.
Did you know that it can destroy about 650 types of pathogenic microorganisms? Once in our body, silver inhibits the enzyme that helps bacteria and parasites breathe.
Such a miraculous influence of this noble metal was discovered during the study of the great conquests of Alexander the Great. After 2 thousand years, researchers noticed that ordinary soldiers got sick more often during wars than their superiors.
Although, I note, at that time both of them experienced approximately the same hardships, only the commanders ate from silver dishes, and ordinary soldiers - from tin.
To this day, the antibacterial properties of this metal are actively used in medicine, but over the years scientists have acquired new information about it.
The use of silver in medical practice
People noticed antiseptic qualities back in ancient times. Avicenna and his followers used the noble metal ground into dust to ease the breathing of pulmonary patients and as a blood purifying medicine. At the same time, cases of pathological changes in the color of the eyes and skin after the use of this treatment were described for the first time.
The modern term "argyria" was first used in 1840. The heyday of the use of silver as a medicinal product was noted in the 19th century. Then it was actively used to get rid of neurological diseases and epilepsy, in particular.
Foil made of silver was applied to open wounds to disinfect them. Accordingly, cases of argyria have become more frequent. However, this did not stop the healers of that time, and silver nitrate (lapis) was constantly used as a high-quality antiseptic for damage to the skin and mucous membranes, and for a runny nose, silver was prescribed in the form of a colloidal solution for instillation into the nose.
Many therapy methods have fallen into oblivion
Today, medicine has not completely abandoned the use of drugs that contain silver. For example, the drugs Collargol and Protargol. They do not pose a danger if the timing and prescribed dosage are strictly observed.
Argyrosis: what is it?
Argyrosis has been known since ancient times; references to it have survived to this day in medical descriptions of patients with this disease. Argyrosis previously affected people who worked in silver mines, the production of mirrors, jewelry and silver household utensils.
Already in the 20th century, the causes of this disease were added to the massive use of medicines made on the basis of silver - mainly lapis pencil, which contains silver nitrate. At the beginning of the 20th century, the lapis pencil was incredibly popular among patients; they tried to use it in the treatment of a number of dermatological diseases, so the incidence of argyrosis increased. There is evidence that at the beginning of the 20th century, in about 70% of all patients, the described pathology arose due to the use of a lapis pencil, and only in 30% due to the use of other drugs made on the basis of silver, as well as for other reasons.
note
Of all the silver that enters the human body, only 5% is absorbed.
The degree of toxicity of silver for humans is quite low - a dose of 60 mg is toxic. Ingestion of an amount exceeding this dose can provoke particularly severe poisoning.
There is also information that this chemical element stimulates the proliferation (reproduction) of cells, especially atypical ones. But there is not enough statistical data to declare the carcinogenic effect of silver.
Argyrosis has another name - argyria.
Negative effects of silver ions
Silver is not a toxic substance, but with prolonged exposure and large doses, negative phenomena occur in the body. The permissible dose is 5 mcg of metal per kilogram of human weight.
Otherwise, hemolysis develops - swelling of the lung tissue. With a constant and regular supply of this metal, its ions accumulate in the bone marrow, which leads to its toxic damage in the form of the development of agranulocytosis.
Smelting silver
Signs of poisoning
In case of silver nitrate poisoning, the symptoms do not differ from the general signs of poisoning:
Stool disorder;
Nausea;
The appearance of seizures.
At significant dosages the following develops:
- Catarrhal inflammatory reactions;
- Albuminuria.
A single intake of Agrentum compounds into the body in the amount of 10 g is a lethal dose.
Clinical picture
The more the body accumulates argentum ions, the more clearly argyria manifests itself.
Locations of silver ions:
| Places of greatest localization | Places where ions accumulate to a lesser extent |
| Sweat and sebaceous glands | Walls of blood vessels of the circulatory system |
| Middle layers of the dermis | Muscle and nerve tissue |
| Bed of hair follicles | Epithelial covers of internal organs |
Skin pigmentation due to silver poisoning
The amount of skin affected, as well as its level of pigmentation, correlates with the level of accumulated ions. Simply put, the longer the body has been exposed to harmful effects, the more pronounced the manifestation of symptoms will be in the form of pathological pigmentation of the skin of a gray-blue hue, mucous membranes and sclera of the eyes.
Apart from the described changes, there is no deterioration in the general condition, the patient does not complain of anything. But obvious external manifestations often lead to mental disorders, prolonged stress and depression. It is shown in more detail in the video in this article.
Patients diagnosed with argyria usually do not experience visual impairment, but visual acuity may be reduced when the corneal deposits are intense. In severe forms, silver accumulates in the retina and in the neurons of the optic nerve, which severely impairs vision and causes hemeralopia.
Argyria comes in two forms:
- Local;
- Systemic or generalized.
The first is characterized by a change in the usual eye color. Doctors call this periorbital manifestations, in which there is no visual pathology.
Periorbital argyria
Note! These metamorphoses take a long time. As a rule, external manifestations of the disease appear after ten to twelve years.
Diagnostic methods
In order to diagnose the disease, a study of clinical manifestations and a detailed collection of medical history are carried out. First, you need to identify and eliminate the source of the harmful effects.
Histological studies are being carried out. Silver in fabrics has the form of identical round grains.
Their greatest accumulation is found in the intercellular spaces of epithelial tissue and accumulations are recorded near the sweat glands. It is also possible to localize such formations in the skin, connective tissue and omentums, but their number is much smaller.
Histological examination of the spinal cord (silver impregnation)
To diagnose the eyeball, a biomicroscopic examination is required, which allows one to determine corneal argyria. In this case, an intricate pattern is recorded in the cornea, representing winding intertwined threads of a grayish or blue hue.
The outer layers of the cornea remain without visible changes. If the disease continues for a long time, then silver particles accumulate in the anterior part of the lens and in the vitreous body.
When making a diagnosis, argyria can be mistakenly confused with the following diseases:
- Hemochromatosis is a pathology of metabolism containing iron;
- Methemoglobinemia – observed when adrenal function is impaired;
- Porphyria;
- Addison's disease.
How is argyria treated?
Note! Unfortunately, at the moment there is no successful method for treating this disease. It is impossible to remove accumulated silver ions.
Therefore, the appearance of age spots on the skin and changes in eye color are irreversible phenomena that you will have to live with constantly.
Dermbrasion is a method that allows you to somewhat reduce the manifestations of argyria. In this case, the doctor, under anesthesia, removes the upper layers of the epithelium using special equipment. The dermis is removed to a great depth directly to the location of the capillaries.
After such a cosmetic procedure, the price of which is quite high, a lengthy rehabilitation follows. Doctors do not guarantee that the patient will get the result that the patient expects, since silver does not only occur in the upper layers of the epidermis. In addition, there is a risk of scars and tissue scarring.
Forecast
The prognosis for argyrosis is favorable for life and generally favorable for health (except for vision problems). More often, it provokes moral suffering, since darkening of the skin, which cannot be eliminated, burdens patients, and they often require psychological support.
Kovtonyuk Oksana Vladimirovna, medical observer, surgeon, consultant doctor
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