Silver has a long and illustrious history
of medicinal use. A brief history follows:
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The ancient civilizations of Greece
and Rome used silver to control bodily infection and
prevent food spoilage. In the fifth century B.C.,
Hippocrates (known as the Father of Medicine) used
silver to heal wounds. Medicine's dad also used
silver as an ulcer treatment.
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In the same century, the King of
Persia (now known as Iran) used silver container to
carry water to prevent contamination.
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Approximately seven decades before
the birth of Christ, the Roman scholar Pliny the
Elder wrote of the ability of silver to heal wounds
by preventing infection. No mention was made of
Neosporin.
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In the 8th through 10th centuries,
silver became a very popular treatment in the Middle
East for many ailments, from cardiovascular disease
to bad breath.
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In the 16th Century, a Swiss
alchemist and physician by the name of Theophrastus
Philippus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim (no
kidding!) used silver and other elements as
medicines. He is often know as the Father of
Toxicology, and believed that things became
poisonous in large doses He wrote, "All things are
poison and nothing is without poison; only the dose
makes that a thing is no poison."
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In the early 1700s, Angelus Sala used
silver nitrate (AgNO3) to treat syphilis
and chorea.
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Throughout the Middle Ages in Europe,
it had been noticed that royalty, who consumed their
food and drink from silver tableware, utensils and
cups, tended to develop a bluish skin tone. (Ever
heard of the phrase "blue bloods"?) This was thought
to be due to the silver that entered their bodies
during consumption. Furthermore, the lower rate of
plague-related deaths among royalty led to the
inference that silver could be protective.
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As a result, silver became a popular
material for tableware, goblets, cutlery, and food
storage containers. It was believed that the silver
in these items could kill germs. Russia's army
likewise used silver lined containers to cleanse
river water before drinking it. Modern science
has confirmed that low levels of silver in water can
indeed kill some types of bacteria.
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In America's Wild West, silver coins
were placed in containers of water and milk to
prevent spoilage.
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Over the past couple of hundreds of
years, scientists continued to document silver's
anti-bacterial properties.
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Virtually everyone reading this
probably had a drop of silver nitrate solution
dropped into their eyes to prevent blindness, in the
event that mommy had a venereal disease. Indeed, our
great grand parents probably got the same treatment,
which became standard practices at the end of the
19th century.
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In more recent years, silver (along
with copper) has been incorporated into many water
purification systems.
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Stainless steel is used to create
most surgical instruments, but fifty or sixty years
ago, such instruments were made of silver, again to
prevent infections.
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At present, several companies are
marketing "break through" food storage containers
that include
Antibacterial silver nanoparticles to prevent
spoilage. These products are touted as modern
day miracles. The King of Persia was way ahead
of his time!
