In the surveys conducted by the Silver Institute, it has been found that the demand for silver is increasing in medical and healthcare products. Michael DiRienzo, Executive Director of this Institute said that high resistance of it is increased because the antimicrobial activity has promoted its use in healthcare products. According to the estimations of the Silver Institute, the demand for silver in hygiene and medicine will reach about 6 million ounces in 2015. Hence, this type of industry will take fivefold turns in the future.
In recent times, silver is used in air purifying sprays, sportswear, hair dryers, hospital gowns, door handles, countertops, paints, lacquers, and bed rails. Medical professionals say that it is a futuristic element for controlling bacteria and infections.
The annual conference for the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) organized Baltimore in Maryland was organized to exhibit silver components and usages. Studies say that it is used in several forms such as silver sulfadiazine, silver chloride, silver sulfate, and nano-silver metallic particles. Other items on exhibition at the APIC conference were textile products such as mattress covers, operating gowns, and bed linens.
Silver is a key ingredient of wound-care products because of its antimicrobial feature. It is widely utilized for wound dressings. Studies say that silver provides comfort to burn patients by decreasing adhesion between dressing and wound. Hence, it reduces pain during dressing. Antimicrobial sprays are sprinkled on those surfaces, which are prone to infectious organisms. Medical devices are coated with silver-based coatings to prevent surgical-site infections.
Its anti-microbial characteristic is well known from ancient times. However, this feature is extensively used to control hospital-acquired infections in the last five years. Initiatives have been taken after huge efforts by the Centers for Disease Control along with legislative mandates forcing hospitals to control the spread of HAIs.
The Silver Institute is keenly participating to educate APIC professionals on how to utilize silver for other purposes. It keeps on monitoring the demand for infection-control products containing silver. Many manufacturers who produce healthcare products containing silver help to educate infection-control professionals by exhibiting the beneficial effects of silver at hospitals and other patient-treatment centers.
Such things show that silver will have huge growth potential in the upcoming days. It will have a strong influence on the market. The price of silver will keep increasing gradually as the demand goes on increasing hence investing in silver could be beneficial to investors. Many uplifts will be taken to enhance the usage of silver.