Advanced Colloidal Silver - Reference Room Index

Man has used silver to kill germs throughout recorded history. Here is an ancient anecdote from the writings of Herodotus, the Greek philosopher, dating this use of silver to before the birth of Christ.

The Greek historian Herodotus, called the "Father of History", is one of our prime sources for information known about the fall of Babylon. Herodotus lived a century after the time of Daniel and traveled widely in the East. In his "Histories", we learn of the campaign of Persia's King Cyrus against Babylon. The details include the fact that no Persian king, including Cyrus, would drink the water of any stream other than the Choaspes, a river that flows past the Persian capital of Susa. Wherever the king went, a long train of four-wheeled mule wagons followed him transporting silver jars filled with boiled water from the river's waters. The water would keep fresh for years during the long campaigns.

The Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and many peoples from the "Dark Ages" used silver in one form or another to preserve food and water. In the "Middle Ages," during the plagues, silverware protected the wealthy from the full brunt of its ravages. In the old west, pioneers used silver coins to preserve milk and water. In the last century, man was beginning to develop more sophisticated forms of silver to kill germs. In 1938, the FDA was formed, Penicillin was introduced and the modern pharmaceutical industry began to dominate anti-microbial science. Since silver preparations were more expensive they receded from favor. The use of some silver preparations in modern, mainstream medicine have survived until this "Modern Age." Among them are the use of dilute silver nitrate in newborn babies' eyes to protect from infection and the use of "Silvadine," a silver based salve, in virtually every burn ward in America to kill infection. A silver coated nylon material was patented as "Silvalon" and licensed by FDA as an antimicrobial bandage. Clearly, silver has been established as a germ killer in the historical record.