Silverlon Replaces Silver Sulfadiazine in Battlefield Burn Treatment

Sulfadiazine, the burn cream against which all other burn dressings have been measured, according to the Shriner’s Burn Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio , is being replaced by the convenience of Silverlon fabric for treating burned U.S. soldiers on the battlefield.

Silverlon delivers bactericidal silver ions into burn wounds with the convenience of� paper towel. Its painless application and removal (no cream to be painfully wiped way when the wound has to be inspected) has made Silverlon the essential dressing arried by Army field medics in Iraq.

Silverlon dressings are immediately applied to resh wounds in the field to eradicate bacteria, providing full antibacterial protection to he injured soldier on his way to a field hospital. The warmth of this new fabric is equally important, for it keeps the wounded soldier warm on his long flight to receive attention at the primary treatment center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Decades of research by Dr. Albert T. Mc Manus (ret.), Chief of Microbiology, US Army Institute of Surgical Research, Ft. Sam Houston, and his staff have shown the effectiveness of the silver ion against bacteria. He says: “Silver provides one of the most active but controlled oxidizing agents known to biologists.

When metallic silver releases an electron (as it oxidizes a compound) to become a soluble ion, it forms insoluble salts with whatever carboxyls, sulfhydrals, phosphates, sulfates, anionic amino acids, or proteins are present in a bacterium. The silver salts of these compounds are insoluble, so their loss inactivates bacteria in the patient permanently.

Silver also displaces calcium, magnesium, and other similar cations within the microorganism, resulting in their permanent dysfunction unless that organism can make a replacement molecule.”
Research into the wide-ranging effectiveness of silver was begun by Dr. Robert O. Becker (ret.), who proved that electrically driven silver ions could induce spectacular recoveries from deep wounds and the regeneration of flesh and bone.

Dr. Bart Flick, Argentum Medical, LLC, continued this research to perfect a silver coated nylon dressing that proved equally effective. Marketed as Silverlon, the dressing provides a flood of silver ions, efficiently sanitizing the wound, that also promotes natural reconstruction of damaged flesh.

Silver-imbedded bandages are becoming the standard of care for battlefield burns.

Tags: technology

1 Comment to Silverlon Replaces Silver Sulfadiazine in Battlefield Burn Treatment

1. 

   HonestMedicine.comI just discovered your posting about Silverlon. I can’t tell you how happy I was to learn — albeit 9 months after the article was written! — that our soldiers are having an opportunity to benefit from this wonderful product.

   Silverlon saved my husband’s life six years ago, when the suture line from his second brain tumor surgery wouldn’t heal. By the time I found Silverlon, my poor husband’s previously radiated skin had already endured eight months of surgeries, cranial fluid leakage, and nearly-non-stop infections. The minute Silverlon was placed on his head, his skin began to heal.

   I have tried so hard to get the word out about Silverlon to both patients and neurosurgeons. In fact, I wrote an article about our experience, which was published in the National Brain Tumor Foundation’s newsletter. Sad to say, most of the neurosurgeons who read my article called our miracle with Silverlon “anecdotal.”

   My article may be found at http://honestmedicine.typepad.com/National-Brain-Tumor-Foundation-Article.pdf .) I hope you will read it.

   Dr. Bart Flick became a good friend to my husband and me during this time. I cannot thank him and Dr. Robert Becker enough for their work with Silverlon. I look forward to the day when many doctors (including neurosurgeons) use it routinely, so that their patients won’t have to suffer the way my husband did.

   Thank you so much for your article.
   Julia Schopick
   http://www.HonestMedicine.com
   my medical advocacy website
Julia Schopick on March 13th, 2008