We’ve been keeping you updated about all the new products containing silver (now you can buy a toothbrush that uses nano silver), and the news continues, as The Society of Plastic Engineers looks for new ways to incorporate antimicrobial properties (silver being the shining star) into various products.
Hospital infections, which “kill more Americans than AIDS, breast cancer and auto accidents combined,†are insanely expensive to treat (both because hospital infections are often caused by drug resistant strains like MRSA and CRKP, and because Medicare does not reimburse hospitals for the associated costs) are one of the main places where new antimicrobial materials are needed. From the article:
“The typical solution to infections in hospitals is antibiotics for patients and biocidal cleaners for the hospital room. The unintended consequence, however, is that bacteria may develop resistance, particularly to antibiotics, making them far more dangerous.”
So the better solution is to prevent the infection, the transmission of germs, the high cost and high mortality rate by having higher hygiene standards, which include instruments and surfaces coated with nano silver, keeping those surfaces resistant to germs, including ones like MRSA, which resist drugs.
Although silver has gotten a bad environmental rap in the last few years, most of the accusatory studies need further research (no where in science is one broad study considered sacrosanct). Due to the politics, scientists are working to find a better alternative—but it’s a struggle to beat nano silver, and it’s supplement version colloidal silver, which doesn’t cause side effects and is very easily incorporated into plastics and coated onto metals to create germ free surfaces.
What steps do you think should be taken to prevent hospital infections?
