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Woman With Argyria Longs For Normal Life

By on December 17, 2013 in News 1
Screen Shot 2013-12-17 at 9.15.28 AM

Picture: Rosemary Jacobs (C)

Paul “Papa Smurf” Karason died earlier this year, but stories of people who have had their skin turn blue as a result of exposure to colloidal silver continue to surface:

Via Oddity Central:

Rosemary, a retired Spanish teacher from Vermont, U.S., said: “When I was 11 years old, my mother mentioned to an ENT specialist that I always had a cold. He told me that it had to be allergies and prescribed nose drops that contained silver, recommending that I take them ‘as needed’.” She did as she was told, using the drops every time she had a stuffy nose.

At first, no could notice any difference in Rosemary’s skin, not even her parents. “The change in my color was so slow, I didn’t notice. My family and friends didn’t notice either because they saw me every day,” she said.

A nurse finally spotted the difference in color and Rosemary went to see a dermatologist.

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Man With Blue Skin Dies

By on September 26, 2013 in News 26

blue skinThe Christian Post reports:

Paul Karason, who was known for having skin that was blue, passed away after suffering a heart attack at the age of 62.

Karason reportedly began turning blue 15 years ago after using a silver-based remedy to treat a skin condition and drinking colloidal silver. He was left a dark shade of the hue and led a reclusive life until deciding to appear on the Today show with Matt Lauer in 2008.

The FDA has since banned the use of silver because it causes argyria, which caused Karason’s blue color. Silver also collects in the skin and will not dissolve. Instead, doctors recommend penicillin or other forms of treatment.

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The Inbred Appalachian Family With Blue Skin

By on February 21, 2012 in News 12

bluefamilyA real-life blue-blooded family exists, ironically, in the impoverished hills of Kentucky. As they have mingled with the broader population, the number of blue children has dwindled, sadly. Via Daily Mail:

Dating back to the early 1800s, an isolated family in eastern Kentucky started producing children who were blue. As a result of a coincidental meeting of recessive genes, intermarriage and inbreeding, members of the Fugate family were born with a rare condition that made them visibly discoloured. Looking at the portrait, they appear to have been either Photoshopped, but science proves that the condition is in fact real.

It began when Martin Fugate, a French orphan, settled on the banks of eastern Kentucky’s Troublesome Creek to claim a land grant in the early 19th century. He married a red-haired American named Elizabeth Smith – who had a very pale complexion – and their union formed a genetic mutation that resulted in their descendants being born with blue skin.

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