The Man Who Turned Blue Appears on the Today Show

57 year old man turns blue and appears on the NBC Today Show with today.  Yes you read right, Paul Karason is blue.  He interviewed with co-host Matt Lauer.  During the interview, the blue man talks about what its like to live his life being called “Papa Smurf.”

“Its everywhere I go…I’ve gotten kind of used to it.  I’m rather inured to it” says Karason.

So why is Karason’s skin blue?  Karason had dermatitis on his face and began breaking out from the stress of his father’s death.  As treatment, Karason drank the colloidal silver for about 14 years. 

“Colloidal silver is a suspension of silver in a liquid base.” (msnbc.com)  Karason made his own by running an electrical current through distilled water with silver in it.  This process is known as electrolysis.

Silver is known to have antibacterial properties and has been used for thousands of years to fight infections.  The use of silver for infections stopped with the development of penicillin, which proved to be far more effective.  However it was still found in some over-the-counter medicines until the FDA banned it in 1999 because it causes argyria. 

Argyria is when silver is ingested within the body.  The silver stays within the skin and organs and   begins to turn the skin blue.  Since the silver is a heavy metal and can attach itself in organs, doctors warn that Argyria can lead to kidney and liver damage as well as brain seizures.

Karason claims he feels fine, though his dermatitis was not cured.  He still plans to continue his colloidal silver treatment however, saying he’s experienced other benefits such as “no more acid reflux, no more sinus troubles; my arthritis went away.”

Even if Karason was to quit taking his colloidal silver medication, his skin would remain blue as the effects of argyria are permanent.