Did everyone see this on TV the other day?

[Guest guest]

This story has come on the Today show again and I'm glad doctors and

educators are keeping up with this. I know a dermatologist that's writing the

doctor on this news story to let her know how many she has treated with this

condition and that there is laser that can make the face look more normal but

its

by no means a cure. I'm not even sure this guy can be helped though after

taking the stuff for 14 years and still taking it.

Janis

who is a little less blue than I was a few months back.

Meet a real-life ‘Blue Man’ - TODAY: People - TODAYshow.com

_http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22536241_

(http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22536241)

Real-life ‘Blue Guy’ shrugs off his skin color

Man ingested silver compound as home remedy, but had strange side effect

By Mike Celizic

TODAYShow.com contributor

updated 9:41 a.m. CT, Mon., Jan. 7, 2008

Karason gives new meaning to the phrase “feeling blue.â€

The auburn-bearded 57-year-old Californian goes through life being stared at

and being hailed as “Papa Smurf†because his skin is the color of a ripe

Concord grape.

“I’m the blue guy,†he confirmed with a chuckle to TODAY co-host Matt

Lauer

in Studio 1A on Monday.

It’s everywhere I go,†he said of the stares his skin color attracts.

“I’

ve gotten kind of used to it. I’m rather inured to it.â€

Karason’s skin started turning blue nearly 10 years ago when he used a used

a silver preparation to treat a bad case of dermatitis on his face that broke

out due to stress when his father died.

Reclusive by nature, he became a public story about six months ago when he

moved from Oregon to Madera, Calif., explaining that he wanted to live in a

place where people were more accepting of his unusual condition.

“I do tend to avoid people in some ways, but then I always did. I’ve always

been sort of reclusive,†he told Lauer. “This change in skin color has

obviously brought on scrutiny that I would never ordinarily have

experienced.â€

With him was his girlfriend, Jackie Northrup, who met Karason on the phone

and came to love him for his warm and caring nature. When she finally met him

in person, it was a revelation.

“It was a shock initially,†she said of seeing him for the first time.

“But

I already knew the person that I had been talking to, so I really didn’t see

the blue. He’s an incredible person.â€

She said that Karason is living proof that what matters is a person’s

character, not his or her appearance.

Don’t try this at home

The condition he has is called argyria, and NBC’s chief medical editor, Dr.

Snyderman, said it’s caused by the silver that Karason used to treat

his dermatitis and has been drinking in a liquid form called colloidal silver

on and off for some 14 years.

Colloidal silver is a suspension of silver in a liquid base — in this case,

distilled water. Karason makes it himself by running an electrical current

through water with a piece of silver in it, a process called electrolysis.

Silver has antibacterial properties and has been used to fight infection for

thousands of years. But it went out of use when penicillin, which is far

more effective, was developed.

It continued to be used in some over-the-counter medicines until 1999, when

the FDA banned it because it causes argyria, which is a result of the silver

reacting with light the same way it does in photography. The silver collects

in the skin and other organs and does not dissipate.

____________________________________

Silver is a heavy metal and doctors say it can collect in the organs and

cause kidney and liver damage and even brain seizures. But it is still sold as

a

dietary supplement.

Karason, who seems the picture of health, said he feels just fine. But the

irony is that the silver he put on his face did not cure his dermatitis,

although it did reduce the inflammation where his skin was cracked and peeling.

But he had started drinking colloidal silver several years earlier after seeing

a magazine ad for it. The ad said it was effective against a broad range of

medical conditions — claims that the FDA says are not substantiated.

“I did it all on my own,†Karason said. “Originally, I just saw an ad for

a

colloidal silver generator in a magazine and the picture stuck in my head

like a song might stick in your head. I had a friend who had severe petroleum

poisoning, and I heard colloidal silver was helpful for that, and that’s how

I

started.â€

Lauer asked Karason why, if the silver did not cure his dermatitis, he keeps

taking it. “Because of some profound benefits that I had received from using

it, like no more acid reflux, no more sinus troubles; my arthritis went away,

†he said.

“I think it’s fair to say that the color you see on the outside is the same

color on the inside,†Snyderman said. “Doctors are always concerned because

silver is a heavy metal. It can damage internal organs like liver and

kidneys. and I look at this very, very differently. I come from the

medical

community and looks at the medical establishment askew.â€

Snyderman said she would not endorse anyone taking colloidal silver.

“It’s not something I recommend because there’s no science behind it,â€

she

said. “I worry about the safety, and the FDA has been very strong in saying

there’s no reason to take it.â€

She added that Karason’s case of the blues is permanent. Even if he stops

taking silver solutions, his skin color will not return to normal.

Karason has said that he had his blood tested for heavy metal content 10

years ago and was told he doesn’t have a problem. He has not returned to a

doctor for a second test, and Snyderman and Lauer tried to get him to promise

to

be checked for liver and kidney function.

“Maybe,†Karason said, “but not right now.â€

Nor does he intend to stop drinking his silver cocktails.

“I might not be able to levitate anymore,†he quipped..

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