In August 1928, Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming made a
discovery that would change the course of medicine for the
better and the worse. Upon entering his lab, he observed a
curious thing occurring in a lone petri dish. At the edge of
the dish was a colony of mold, and around it, an area that
was totally free of any sign of the common staphylococcus bacteria,
which was proliferating everywhere else.
The cultured mold, Penicillium notatum, would be become
known as penicillin. It was officially made available as a miracle
treatment in 1941. The promise of penicillin heralded in the age
of antibiotics and the successful treatment of potentially life-threatening
infections.
The prescribing of antibiotics was rapidly embraced with
great enthusiasm by the medical profession. Antibiotics became
the mainstay in a doctor’s arsenal. However, they were commonly
prescribed even when not appropriate. With such widespread
and indiscriminate use of antibiotics, it wasn’t very long before
antibiotic- resistant strains began to appear.
As early as 1945, when awarded the Nobel Prize, Fleming
warned, “It is not difficult to make microbes resistant to penicillin
in the laboratory by exposing them to concentrations not
sufficient to kill them and the same thing has occasionally happened
in the body.”
How prophetic were those early warnings!
The Rise Of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
The bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus also known as Staph, was a
common bacteria usually residing harmlessly in the noses and on
the skin of 30 percent of the population. S. aureus would cause infectious
conditions ranging from skin infections, abscesses and
boils to potentially life-threatening systemic infections.
The more antibiotics were incorporated into medicine’s
arsenal against infection, the more rapidly the bacteria
would develop resistance. To overcome resistant strains,
even more varieties of antibiotics had to be developed. But
S.aureus would quickly out maneuver each new version of
the drug. One such powerful antibiotic was called methicillin.
But within just one year, strains of MRSA (Methicillinresistant
Staphylococcus aureus) began spreading in hospital
wards around the world. It was apparent that MRSA was immune
to all but a very few of the most potent antibiotic treatments.
Recognized as the cause of a serious pandemic facing the
world today. It is estimated that as many as 52 million people
worldwide could be carrying MRSA. Scientists report that antibiotic
resistance to S. aureus has gone global. It has been reported
in Europe, North and South America, North Africa, the Middle
East, East Asia and the South Pacific.
Antibiotic-resistant pathogens, such as MRSA, have now
become impervious to all but a mere handful of antibiotics. The
current treatments for MRSA include Vancomycin and Teicoplanin.
Since these drugs are poorly absorbed orally, they must
be administered intravenously. Vancomycin is not only toxic to
the kidneys but also very expensive with a course of treatment
costing about $1800. What is even more worrying, Vancomycin-resistant
strains of bacteria known as VRE (Vancomycin-Resistant
Enterococcus) have already been discovered.
MRSA is the most common cause of skin and soft tissue infections.
While it may initially appear as minor pimples, boils or
abscesses, it may progress to severe infections involving muscle,
bone, lungs or heart. It can also cause more chronic conditions
such as pneumonia and endocarditis. Wherever there is
an open wound, there is the risk that MRSA could develop.
Following The MRSA Trail
Initially, MRSA was considered a hospital-acquired infection
occurring almost entirely in hospitals amongst patients already
immune-compromised. But then a more virulent strain
was discovered in the general population, affecting seemingly
healthy people. MRSA in the community is very different from
the MRSA found in hospitals. It seems to have developed quite
separately, and has several unique qualities—most notably that
it causes infections in previously healthy individuals who don’t
have the risk factors found in hospitalized patients.
MRSA is now found throughout the community. People
have been diagnosed with MRSA in the military, in school dorms,
in prison and in sports, especially contact sports. Poor hygiene,
unsanitary conditions, bodily contact and contaminated locker
rooms are ways that MRSA is transmitted. It is believed that
MRSA is present in the nose and skin of about one-third of the
general population.
In an alarming CDC-led report, researchers found that
MRSA is making its biggest gains among children. Not only did
the study document a 10 percent-a-year rise in MRSA in kids
from 2005–2010, it also found the proportion of those cases
involving community-associated MRSA jumped 55 percent.
Recent studies have shown a significant rise in the
number of youngsters who are carriers of MRSA. A 2010
study published in Pediatrics found that the number of children
hospitalized for MRSA infections increased from two
in 1,000 admissions in 1999 to 21 in 1,000 admissions by
2008. The cause appears to be the never-ending and growing
use of antibiotics in people and animals. The more antibiotics
are liberally used, the more antibiotic-resistant
organisms such as MRSA are sure to follow.
The statistics are revealing a worrying trend. The number
of people infected with MRSA is estimated to be 880,000, with
460,000 people hospitalized with a MRSA diagnosis. It is estimated
that 20,000 to 40,000 deaths are attributed to MRSA
every year.
With MRSA on the rise and so few effective antibiotic options
left, health officials are understandably very concerned. In
the past antibiotics were believed to be the solution to serious
infections such as MRSA. Now they are recognized as the cause.
We can no longer rely on antibiotics as the solution for
dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria and other serious
pathogens. The solution for the MRSA epidemic must be found
elsewhere.
Silver—An Ancient Medicine And A Modern Savior
How were infections treated before the advent of antibiotics?
Dating back thousands of years, there was one healing approach
that had been extensively and successfully used by the
Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Phoenician, Macedonian and Chinese
civilizations. This powerful healing medicine was silver.
Hippocrates, the “father of medicine,” wrote in his medical
texts that silver had beneficial healing and anti-disease properties.
He praised silver for its tissue repair and wound healing
abilities. Ancient peoples also learned that silver bestowed powerful
anti-microbial effects, as well. For centuries silver’s powerful
healing properties for both external and internal medical
conditions was widely known. It is irrefutable that it was one of
the most effective, yet totally safe, antibiotics known to man.
In 1914 the medical journal, Lancet reported phenomenal
results from using silver, stating it was absolutely harmless,
non-toxic to humans, and highly germicidal. In fact, colloidal
silver has proven itself useful against all species of fungi, parasites,
bacteria, protozoa, and certain viruses.
The knowledge of silver’s profound healing attributes continued
into more modern times. The use of silver in its colloidal
form, a liquid suspension of microscopic particles of silver, was
the principal antibiotic treatment prescribed by thousands of
American medical doctors prior to 1938.
With the advent of antibiotics, the popularity of silver rapidly
declined and totally lost favor in modern medicine.
However, with the emergence of life-threatening antibiotic-resistant
strains such a MRSA, silver is once again coming to
the rescue. It is nature’s true antibiotic, eliminating bacterial infections
but without the devastating effect of causing resistant
pathogens. What is even more phenomenal, silver can also kill
virtually all forms of viruses, fungi and molds safely without any
side effects.
SilverSol Technology®—The Most Powerful Knock-out Punch For MRSA
Thanks to an advanced 21st century technology, a new powerful
form of silver has been developed as an alternative to topical
antibiotics for preventing MRSA and other infections
This new technology is called SilverSol Technology® developed
by American Biotech Labs. The term “sol” is a chemical
designation of a pure mineral permanently suspended is water where the mineral’s charge is transferred to the entire body of
water.
All other silver products work by chemical action, requiring
direct contact with microbes to have any positive effect.
SilverSol Technology® utilizes a catalytic action as well, not
just a chemical action. The catalytic conversion allows the
SilverSol® particles to first destroy pathogens, and then to
instantaneously recharge and “kill” again and again—like a
rapid-fire machine gun.
The result is that SilverSol® is an incredibly powerful, yet
totally safe and non-toxic form of silver, destroying thousands
of times more pathogens than a simple colloid or ionic silver.
This explains why other silver solutions and suspensions
contain up to 300,000 ppm (parts per million) of silver, but
SilverSol® works just as effectively, if not more so, at only 10
to 24 ppm.
SilverSol® is available as a topical OTC wound dressing
gel sold under different names in different markets.
ASAP OTC™, which is the first of the SilverSol®
OTC gels, is the preferred wound management product
of doctors and moms alike. In the sports channels,
you will find it known as Armor Gel™, which was designed
specifically for athletes and everything their lifestyle entails.
American Biotech Labs also developed a version specifically
for animals called ASAP Pet Shield® which is used confidently
by vets and owners to help protect our furry family members.
First, when applied on a wound, these OTC gels quickly
and efficiently reduce the levels of pathogenic bacteria they
come in contact with in just minutes, including the deadly
MRSA. They then form an invisible barrier over the wound that
prevents further infection. They accomplish all of this while
leaving beneficial bacteria unscathed. These topical gels also
wield the same powerful anti-pathogenic ability with molds and
fungi, such as Candida albicans. The good news is that safety
studies have shown they do not interact negatively with pharmaceuticals;
in fact, they have been found to work synergistically
with some medications.
Unbelievable Efficacy
These OTC gels are so effective that they have recently been
cleared by the FDA and been evaluated in standard tests that
show they can successfully reduce the levels of common microorganisms
including: S. aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E.
coli, MRSA and VRE (Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus) as
well as fungi such as Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger.
The FDA has given these gels their clearance “for use in the
management of 1st and 2nd degree burns, Minor Cuts, Lacerations,
Abrasions, and Skin Irritations.”
The ASAP OTC™, Armor Gel™, and ASAP Pet Shield® provide
a safe, microbe-reducing barrier for wounds that protects
them from infection. This allows the body to repair itself unimpeded,
which could result in faster healing. They do this while
offering more broad-spectrum anti-microbial benefits than
the traditional topical prescription antibiotics and antifungal
preparations without creating more resistant bacteria strains!
These OTC gels utilize ABL’s innovative SilverSol
Technology®, which has garnered multiple patents in the U.S.
and dozens of countries throughout the world, including a
broad-use patent that provides the company with exclusive
rights to use its silver-based products to combat many of the
world’s most destructive pathogens.
American Biotech Labs is always moving forward with
new and innovative ways to utilize the safe and potent benefits
of SilverSol Technology®. They are in the final stages of
developing a new antimicrobial skin and wound wash that will
revolutionize the hygiene and health care industries.
The epidemic of powerful antibiotic-resistant pathogens
such as MRSA was created by the ignorant and arrogant use of
antibiotics. The hope that antibiotics would be the “Magic Bullet”
has now been acknowledged as a major medical mistake.
Fortunately there is a solution. The proven efficacy of ASAP
OTC™, Armor Gel™, and ASAP Pet Shield® offer the certainty of
a powerful, affordable and safe protection against pathogens.
Once again, Nature combined with modern science has provided
all the answers for our health and wellbeing.