Copper healing in history

Copper in Egypt- The first recorded medical use of copper is found in the Smith Papyrus, one of the oldest books known. The Papyrus is an Egyptian medical text, written between 2600 and 2200 B.C.E., which records the use of copper to sterilize chest wounds and to sterilize drinking water. Another ancient text, known as the Ebers papyrus (circa 1500 B.C.E.) mentions the use of copper for headaches, "trembling of the limbs," burns, and itching. It has also been documented that Israel's Timna Valley provided copper for the Pharaohs. Archeologists have also recovered a portion of a water plumbing system from the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt. After 5,000 years, the copper tubing was still in serviceable condition.

Copper in Greece and Rome- The island of Cyprus provided a readily available supply of copper to Greece and is known to have provided much of the copper needed for the empires of ancient Phoenicia and Rome as well. Hippocrates (circa 400 B.C.E.), known as the father of modern medicine (and for whom the doctor's Hippocratic oath was named) mentions copper as a treatment for leg ulcers associated from varicose veins. The Greeks also sprinkled a powder of copper oxide and copper sulfate on open wounds and treated wounds with a mixture of honey and red copper oxide. In the first century A.C.E., the book De Materia Medica by Dioscorides, describes using verdigris (which they made by exposing metallic copper to vinegar steam to form copper acetate) in combination with copper sulfate as a remedy for bloodshot eyes, inflamed eyes, "fat in the eyes", and cataracts.

Evidence from the time of Roman physician Aulus Cornelius Celsus (14 to 37 A.C.E.), tells us that copper and its derivatives were firmly established as important drugs. In his book, De Medicina, Celsus details numerous uses for copper, along with specific instructions for the preparation of the particular form of copper recommended for each disease or condition. Among his specific directions are a copper oxide mixture made with raisin wine, saffron and myrrh for the treatment of venereal disease and a copper mixture made with rose oil for chronic ulcers.

Pliny (23 to 79 A.C.E.) described a number of remedies involving copper. Black copper oxide with honey was used to kill intestinal worms and purge the stomach. In diluted form, nose drops were used to "clear the head"; eardrops relieved ear discomfort and infection, and taken by mouth it relieved mouth sores and ulcers. Diluted copper mixtures were also used for "eye roughness," "eye pain and mistiness."

Copper and The Aztecs- The Aztecs also used copper for medical purposes. Don Francisco de Mendoza commissioned two learned Aztec Indian physicians to record the pharmacological treatments known by the Aztecs at the time of the Conquest. For the treatment of "Faucium Calor" (literally, heat of the throat, or, sore throat) they prescribed gargling with a mixture of ingredients containing copper.

Copper in Asia- Copper was also employed in ancient India and Persia to treat lung diseases. The tenth century book, Liber Fundamentorum Pharmacologiae describes the use of copper compounds for medicinal purposes in ancient Persia. Powdered malachite was sprinkled on boils, copper acetate as well as and copper oxide were used for diseases of the eye and for the elimination of "yellow bile." Nomadic Mongolian tribes treated and healed ulcers of venereal origin with orally administered copper sulfate.

19th and 20th Century Copper

The first recorded observation of copper's role in the immune system in modern times was published in 1867 when it was reported that, during the cholera epidemics in Paris of 1832, 1849 and 1852, copper workers were immune to cholera. In 1885, the French physician, Luton, reported using copper acetate in his practice to treat arthritic patients. For external application he made a salve of hog's lard and 30% neutral copper acetate. For internal treatment, he used pills containing 10 mg. of copper acetate. In 1895, in a published review of the pharmacological actions of copper compounds, copper arsenate was reported to treat acute and chronic diarrhea as well as dysentery and cholera. An organic complex of copper developed by Bayer was shown to have curative powers in the treatment of tuberculosis. Copper treatment for tuberculosis continued until the 1940s.

As early as 1912, patients in Germany were treated for facial epithelioma with a mixture of copper chloride and lecithin, suggesting that copper compounds might assist anti-cancer activity. Recent work in the U.S. has shown that treatment of solid tumors with non-toxic doses of various organic complexes of copper markedly decreased tumor growth and metastasis and thus increased survival rate. These copper complexes did not kill cancer cells but caused them to revert to normal cells. Numerous studies have drawn attention to the relationship between copper deficiency and heart disease, which effect has now been traced to both a deficiency in copper and an imbalance in the copper-to-zinc ratio in the body. With reports of seizures in animals and humans who had significant and prolonged copper deficiencies in their diets, researches postulated that copper plays a role in the prevention of seizures. Research uncovered that organic compounds which are not themselves anti-convulsants, exhibit anticonvulsant activity when combined with copper. Further, it was found that copper complexes of all anti-epileptic drugs are more effective and less toxic than their parent drugs.

The 1973 work by Dr. L.M. Klevay at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Human Nutrition Research Center pointed to a relationship between copper and cholesterol. In subsequent work, published in 1975, Dr. Klevay theorized that a metabolic imbalance between zinc and copper -- with more emphasis on copper deficiency than zinc excess - is a major contributing factor in coronary heart disease. Subsequent work by other investigators has shown that copper complexes also can have a valuable role in the minimization of damage to the aorta and heart muscle as oxygenated blood reperfuses into tissues following myocardial infarction. This action is based on the anti-inflammatory action of copper complexes. It has been speculated that the reason that the heart attack rate in France is lower than in the rest of Europe is because of the significant consumption by the French of red wine, which has a higher copper content than white wine because it is prepared with the skin of the grape intact. Copper's role in the immune system has recently been supported by observations that individuals suffering from Menke's disease (an inherited disease in which there is defective copper absorption and metabolism) generally die of immune system-related phenomena and other infections. Further, animals deficient in copper have been shown to have increased susceptibility to bacterial pathogens such as salmonella and listeria. This kind of evidence has led researchers to suggest that copper compounds not only can cure various conditions, but can aid in the prevention of disease.


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