Paul Karason, the man known widely as ‘Papa Smurf’ due to his permanent skin discoloration, died on Monday at a hospital in Washington. Karason first began to capture the attention of America back in 2008 due to the intense blue hue of his skin and was later nicknamed by the public as ‘Papa Smurf’ after his first public appearance on the ‘Today’ show. Karason was affected by a condition known as Argyria, a condition that resulted from his exposure to silver and slowly turned his skin blue.

Karason began consuming colloidal silver after seeing an ad and hearing rumors about its alleged health benefits. Karason had previously reported that he suffered from a number of health issues around that time, including dermatitis, acid reflux, and arthritis. Karason stated that after self-administering the colloidal silver, he noticed changes for the better in his health conditions. Karason expressed a firm belief that the silver supplements were helping to heal him. He continued to use the silver for well over a decade, ingesting it as well as applying the substance directly to his skin.

Karason always maintained that for the longest time, he was unaware that his skin had changed color until he received a visit from a stunned friend who brought it to his attention, questioning Karason about what was on his face. Karason had stated that it was then, in the moment of comparing himself to his friend, did he realize that he had slowly changed from a pale skin color similar to that of his pal, to the vivid blue shade that later gained everyone’s attention. Karason expressed that there was ‘no doubt it in his mind’ that the silver caused his skin to turn blue.
However, Paul Karason’s death is said to be unrelated to his long-term usage of colloidal silver. Karason’s death is reportedly due to his recent heart attack, stroke, and contraction of pneumonia. Karason was 62 years old.

Image via Inside edition