Potted history of silver use in medicine
The use of silver in medical care has been documented from as far back as Egyptian times.
For thousands of years silver has been used as a healing and anti-bacterial agent by civilizations throughout the world. Long before the development of modern pharmaceuticals, silver was employed as a germicide and antibiotic. Prior to the introduction of antibiotics, Colloidal Silver was used widely in hospitals and has been known as a bactericide for at least 1200 years.
The Greeks and Romans were well aware of its antimicrobial properties, giving it medical, preservative and restorative powers with Hippocrates in his writings discussing the use of silver in wound care and the Romans using it to keep their wine and water pure on their long world beating marches.
Silver use in the late middle ages through to Edwardian times
Before the advent of modern germicides and antibiotics, it was known that disease-causing pathogens could not survive in the presence of silver, consequently, silver was used in dishware, drinking vessels and eating utensils. The wealthy have used silverware for generations, this could well contribute to their longevity and comparatively less suffering from diseases over the years.
Settlers in the Australian outback suspend silverware in their water tanks to keep it fresher. Pioneers trekking across the American West found that if they placed silver or copper coins in their casks of drinking water, it kept the water safe from bacteria, algae, etc. All along the frontier, silver dollars were put in milk to keep it fresh. Some of us might remember our grandparents doing the same. In the early 19th century, silver sutures were routinely use by surgeons to dress wounds to great effect. Silver leaf was used to combat infection in wounds sustained by troops during World War I.
Colloidal silver started to become widely used towards the end of the 19th century, it was used for all of the reasons you have bought it now.
Silver use in more modern history
During the 1930s, synthetically manufactured drugs began to make their appearance and the profits, together with the simplicities of manufacturing this new source of treatment, became a powerful force in the marketplace. There was much excitement over the new ‘wonder drugs’ and at that time, no antibiotic-resistant strains of disease organisms had surfaced. Silver quickly lost its popularity to modern antibiotics.
However silver compounds are still used in antibacterial creams, most hospitals use it for the cream used on burn victims, in eye drops used on new born babies bandages and dressings and as a coating to reduce infections on medical items such as endotracheal tubes and urinary catheters. Colloidal silver and other forms of silver are still used in abundance in water filtration systems all over the world from providing clean water in the outback of Africa to the space station.
Sadly as we are all aware there is one issue with the widespread use of colloidal silver – It has but two ingredients, distilled water and silver, neither of which can be patented so there is no way that any big pharmaceutical companies can have any interest in manufacturing or distributing it, which means that there are not the millions of pound available to test and prove or licence it that there would be if the was a possibility of patent. However colloidal silver has been tested and experimented with widely enough for it to be believed that it is safe and effective for general use.
Colloidal silver regained popularity on the alternative health scene when in the early 90’s it was realised that certain diseases were becoming resistant to antibiotics and its popularity has re developed ever since.