Silver has a long history of success in medicine and public health, dating back 6,000 years. Silver has been used since ancient times to accelerate wound healing, treat infections, purify water and preserve beverages. In ancient times, rich people used silverware to store food and prevent bacterial growth. Cyrus King (550-529 BC) took water from a specific river and boiled it in silverware. It was transported by a four-wheeled truck and followed him. To any place; the ancient Macedonians covered the wound with silver to accelerate the healing; the ancient Phoenicians used silver utensils to hold water, wine, vinegar and other liquids during the voyage; ancient Mediterranean residents put silver coins into wooden buckets. In order to prevent the growth of spoilage microorganisms such as bacteria and algae. Therefore, NR Thompson said, “The bactericidal nature of silver has been exploited since the ancient Mediterranean era and the ancient Asian culture era, although it was not recognized at the time. For example, people use silverware to prevent deterioration of beverages; surgical treatment of wounds and fractures. Use silver foil or silver."

The modern era of using silver began in 1893. C. Von Nageli systematically studied the lethal effects of metals (especially silver) on bacteria and other lower organisms for the first time, making silver a possible disinfectant.

From 1900 to the beginning of the modern antibiotic era (the introduction of sulfa drugs in 1940), silver was one of the main pillars of medical practice in Europe and the Americas. People use various forms of silver to treat hundreds of diseases: lung infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis; sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and syphilis; skin diseases such as cuts, wounds, leg ulcers; infectious diseases such as Mediterranean fever, erysipelas, Cystitis, typhus, typhoid and tonsillitis; ocular diseases such as dacryocystitis, corneal ulcers, conjunctivitis and tendinitis; various forms of sepsis such as puerperal fever, peritonitis, postpartum sepsis.

But because of the high cost of silver and the advent of the antibiotic era, people immediately abandoned silver. Silver is first replaced by sulfa drugs, followed by penicillin, followed by hundreds of antibiotics.

Antibiotics have accelerated the evolution of bacteria. More and more bacteria that can be controlled by antibiotics have begun to fight antibiotics. In turn, so-called "superbugs" such as Escherichia coli, Streptococcus aureus A, antibiotic multidrug resistance have emerged. Mycobacterium tuberculosis and resistant Plasmodium. Due to patient pressure, doctors prescribe antibiotics to treat antibiotic-ineffective diseases (such as the suppression of common viral diseases such as colds and flu); patients take antibiotics without treatment (bacteria can recover, develop resistance); in order to increase farmers' income Low levels of antibiotics (40% of antibiotics in the United States) have been widely used in animal feeds, which have contributed to the emergence of antibiotic resistance. Some common and dangerous bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus (especially in hospitals), are resistant to all antibiotics except vancomycin and will soon be resistant to vancomycin. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said: "In 1992, 13,300 inpatients in the United States died of bacterial infections, and these bacteria were resistant to the antibiotics used."

In this case, the doctor had to find other ways to cure the patient, so people thought of silver, a powerful broad-spectrum antibacterial, and increased interest in silver.

[China Antibacterial Fabric Network ]