Woman who turned silver warns of dangers of internet medicines

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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