Silver has been used as an anti-microbial agent long before people knew of microbes.
The Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and other ancient cultures all used silver vessels to safely store food and purify water. American pioneers added silver coins to milk bottles to slow spoilage. Ancient doctors treated wounds with various silver preparations to speed healing.
Modern medicine still relies on silver’s uncanny ability to sterilize and disinfect. That’s why bandages, catheters, and other medical instruments are often coated with this metal.
But if silver is so great, why is colloidal silver—a solution of microscopic silver particles suspended in water—so controversial?…