西部落：真正的蓝血人

It's Not Easy Being Blue

Users of colloidal¹ silver, like Paul Karason, say their skin has changed color.

For 40 years, Paul Karason was a fair skin son of the American Northwest, freckles² and reddish-blond hair. Like most people who grow older, Paul’s hair turned white. But how does he explain this?

What was that “Aha” moment when you think, “You know, my skin’s looking funny.”

A friend of mine that I hadn’t seen in another few months came by to see me and he said what have you got on your face? I don’t have anything on my face. And he was very fair-skinned as I used to be and that's when it hit me…

So you are telling me, it was so gradual you didn’t notice it

That’s exactly right

Paul, do you own a mirror?

Ha ha ha …

Paul’s blue skin is the result of a rare medical syndrome³ known as argyria, or silver poisoning. Paul began using silver as a form of alternative medicine, not knowing what could happen to his skin. It started a decade ago when he saw a magazine ad promising⁴ health and rejuvenation⁵. In those first months, Paul noticed no change in his skin color. But he says there were changes in his health.

The acid reflux problem I have been having went away completely. I had arthritis⁶ in my shoulder so bad I couldn’t pull a T-shirt off and the next thing I knew, they, they were just gone.

And you are convinced that it was the silver that did it.

Not the slightest doubt in my mind.

But there is plenty of doubt among mainstream⁷ doctors. This claims they say have no bases in science. Just as the head of dermatology at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, Doctor Vinson Deleo.

The FDA has looked at it a long time ago and decided⁸ that there is no medical reason for taking colloidal silver.

So what recommendation would you give to somebody who’s like well, you know, maybe I will try it.

How about don’t use it.

But Paul believed he found a miracle cure and decided it even could help with his skin information.

So I started putting the stuff on my face.

How did you apply it to your face?

Just cotton ball, swap⁹ it.

Swapped¹⁰ it.

Paul believes that he’ll be fine if he hadn’t put the silver directly on his face. But medical experts believe the damage was already done.

Paul turned blue because he ingested and applied¹¹ elemental silver. It got into his blood stream and then was deposited in his skin as brown particles and when you see those particles through the skin they appear to be grey or blue grey.

Doctors suspect that it is not just his skin that’s changed color; his internal organs are mostly likely also blue.

What was your first reaction when you looked in the mirror and saw yourself and realized, woops…

I kind of hoped it would, it would fade off, but…

But it didn’t. Argyria is permanent

1 colloidal   

adj. 胶状的, 胶质的

参考例句：

• Colloidal particles are bombarded by molecules of the dispersion medium. 胶粒会受到分散介质分子的碰撞。
• Frictional behavior is modified by colloidal silica or starch deposition. 耐磨损性能可以通过在织物上沉淀胶状硅或淀粉一类物质而得到改善。

2 freckles   

n.雀斑，斑点( freckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She had a wonderful clear skin with an attractive sprinkling of freckles. 她光滑的皮肤上有几处可爱的小雀斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When she lies in the sun, her face gets covered in freckles. 她躺在阳光下时，脸上布满了斑点。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

4 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

5 rejuvenation   

n. 复原，再生, 更新, 嫩化, 恢复

参考例句：

• Prolonged starvation and aging might lead to rejuvenation of embryogenic potential. 长期的饥饿和衰老可以导致胚胎发生能力的复壮。
• All this signs rejuvenation of agriculture. 所有这些都预示着农业将复苏。

6 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

7 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

10 swapped   

交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来）

参考例句：

• I liked her coat and she liked mine, so we swapped. 我喜欢她的外套，她喜欢我的外套，于是我们就交换了。
• At half-time the manager swapped some of the players around. 经理在半场时把几名队员换下了场。

11 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。