Strange case of the man who turned himself blue forever
A man once accidentally turned his skin a permanent shade of blue after overdoing it with a ‘home remedy’.
Paul Karason, from Bellingham in Washington, hit headlines across the globe after he appeared on the Today show back in 2008 where he revealed that he had managed to turn his skin the unusual hue.
Karason explained on the show that in an attempt to sort out several minor medical issues he was living with, including acid reflux and dermatitis, he began to consume silver chloride colloid while also rubbing a solution of colloidal silver on his face.
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He claimed the cure worked, but it came with a pretty horrific side-effect - turning his skin a bluish silver colour permanently.
When asked when he first realised something was wrong, he told the interviewer that it was actually a pal of his who noticed it first.
“A friend that hadn’t seen me for a while came by and asked me what I’d done to myself,” he admitted.
However, when asked if he would change back to how he used look if he could, Karason said he 'wasn't sure' he would.
He was shot to notoriety after appearing on the Today show but he wasn’t best pleased with the nickname he received: Papa Smurf.
In an interview, his wife said: “That was a nickname he didn’t appreciate, depending on who said it.
“If it was a kid who ran up to him saying ‘Papa Smurf’, it would put a smile on his face. But if it was an adult, well...”
Sadly, a year on from the show, Karason revealed that his personal life was going in a downward spiral.
"I’m in a place right now where it’s very difficult for me to make my own, and my resources are limited and it’s very expensive," he explained.
Just a few years later, Karason developed heart issues and prostate cancer.
And his run of bad luck didn’t end there - in 2012, he lost his home and was forced to move into a homeless shelter in Bellingham.
Tragically, aged 62, Karason sadly died after a heart attack led to pneumonia and a severe stroke in 2013.
He continued to use colloidal silver right up until his death.
In the UK colloidal silver is authorised for sale as a cosmetic product as long as regulation and testing is adhered to.
However, the substance is not permitted to be sold as a food supplement or medicine.
Topics: Health
Claire Reid