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A Lincolnshire reader asks if there are any measures that can be taken to prevent recurrent infections other than regular or repeated courses of antibiotics.

Few doubt that being born with a silver spoon in the mouth is likely to lead to a longer and healthier life. However, most would be surprised to learn that it is not a silver spoon but a silver catheter that, as in our reader’s case, would be likely to reduce the incidence of bladder infections and early death.

The anti-microbal properties of silver were known to the Ancient Greeks and Romans as well as to my grandfather. All used silver vessels or dressings to keep water fresh and wounds free from infection. In medieval Britain, as in Ancient Egypt and China, it was believed that one reason why the rich were less likely to suffer from the plague was silver cutlery. In Georgian and Victorian medicine throughout the empire silver preparations were used to keep wounds healed and water pure. In my youth my grandfather dispensed a silver-based ointment to treat minor wounds.

The advent of antimicrobals, whether sulphonamides in the 1930s, or antibiotics in the 1940s, pushed ancient medical lore into the background. Now that antibiotic resistance is a problem, doctors are turning to our forebears once again.

Silver instruments, especially catheters, have proved so useful that their licensing was hurried through the regulatory system. Now colloidal silver – in which the element is used not in its Portobello Road form but in its molecular state is being incorporated into fabrics, plastics, paints and paper. It can reduce bacterial contamination in hospitals by being included in the making of plastic door handles, handrails and ward furniture.

Unlike Portobello Road silver, the colloidal silver manufactured by BioCote adds only a trivial amount to the total cost but may save the Treasury the high cost of treating an antibiotic-resistant infection and save patients a deal of worrying. The Chinese emperors who insisted that they ate with silver chopsticks to reduce infection will be smiling from their thrones in the afterlife. Contact BioCote on 01902 824450 or visit www.biocote.com

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