Copper

An Ancient Egyptian medical text, the Smith Papyrus (c. 2400 BC), mentions the use copper as a sterilization agent for drinking water and wounds.

Hippocrates (c. 400 BC) wrote of copper as a treatment for leg ulcers associated from varicose veins. The Greeks also sprinkled a powder of copper oxide and copper sulfate on open wounds and treated wounds with a mixture of honey and red copper oxide.

The Romans (23 to 79 A.D.) described a number of remedies involving copper. Black copper oxide with honey was used to kill intestinal worms and purge the stomach.

In diluted form, nose drops were used to ‘clear the head’. Eardrops relieved ear discomfort and infection, and taken by mouth to relieve mouth sores and ulcers.

The ancient Aztec civilization also used copper for medical purposes, including gargling with a copper mixture for sore throats.

In ancient India and Persia, copper was used to treat lung diseases.

Copper compounds such as malachite and copper oxide were used on boils and other skin conditions. Nomadic Mongolian tribes used copper sulfate, taken by mouth, to treat venereal ulcers.

Throughout history, healers have understood the value of copper in obtaining and maintaining optimum health. Copper based algaecides have long been used by water treatment biologists to safely control algae problems.

Sheffield Plate

While trying to repair the handle of a customer’s decorative knife, he over-heated it too and the silver started to melt.

When Boulsover examined the damaged handle, he noticed that the silver and copper had fused together.

Silver

Have you ever wondered:

• where the expression ‘born with a silver spoon in your mouth’ came from?
• why people throw silver coins into a fountain or rivers and hope it brings them luck?
• why, historically, royal families drank from silver goblets and ate with silver cutlery?

It is because, for thousands of years, silver has been know to have anti-bacterial properties.

The amazing thing is how much they knew then – and, of course, how little we know now.

Although, actually, we know more than you might think, particularly in the field of health and safety in public buildings – where clinical trials have shown copper-silver ionisation to be effective in killing legionella and other deadly water-borne bacteria.

First, let’s start at the beginning.

The first major sources of mined silver were around Anatolia in the area of modern day Turkey. The Chaldeans were the first culture to extract silver from other ores around 2500 BC.

The writings of Herodotus, the Greek philosopher and historian, offer some insights to the use of silver as a healing agent.

Known as the ‘Father of History’, Herodotus chronicled the fall of Babylon and revealed that no Persian king would travel without a long train of four-wheeled mule wagons carrying silver jars. This would keep the water fresh for years during the long campaigns.

Recognising the value of silver vessels in water purification and storage, Greek craftsmen produced silver vessels for use on ships and for trade with other countries. The Greek physician, Hippocrates, wrote that silver could prevent disease.

The Ancient Romans would keep silver coins in drinking vessels and other household items.
Chinese emperors and their courts are known to have eaten with silver chopsticks.

Settlers in the Australian outback suspend silverware in their water tanks to retard spoilage.

In the European Middle Ages, particularly during the plague, families of means gave their children silver spoons to suck on. Thus the saying ‘born with a silver spoon in their mouth’ actually means ‘healthy’ rather than ‘rich’.