How to make saline solution

Saline solution is a mixture of sodium chloride, commonly known as salt and water. This solution is used for many different purposes like disinfection and intravenous treatment for dehydration. Saline solution is also very useful for treating wounds resulting from injuries or body piercings. What is more, saline solution is easily made and can be mixed and used at home.

Speaking of different types of saline solutions, we can have a normal one, containing about 0.91% of NaCl in volume, half-normal one, which has 0.45% of NaCl and quarter-normal one with 0.22% NaCl. These solutions are completely sterile.

Make Saline Solution Yourself

Basically, all you need is distilled water and non-iodized salt. Keep in mind that the water needs to be completely sterile, free of minerals and de-ionized. As for the salt, you need the type without iodine. Make sure you keep the container for this solution sterile as well. Once you have taken care of all this, you can move on to the next step of the creation.

Basic Ingredients

For the process of making saline water, you will need 8 ounces of water of a previously described type and a teaspoon of non-iodized salt. Alternatively, you can add 2 teaspoons of baking soda.

Then, you need to let the water boil for about 10 minutes. Once this is done, you should leave it to cool down a bit, until it becomes pleasantly warm. Then, add the salt and stir the solution until it blends together and the salt completely dissolves. If you choose to add baking soda, stir until it dissolves as well.

Once this is done, you will have your saline water to use for whichever purpose you desire. However, if you want to use it intravenously, you need to add glucose or sugar to the mixture. This is not recommended to be made or used at home though. Thus, for IV solutions of this type, seek medical assistance.

Finally, if all you need to do is keep your piercing clean and disinfected, dissolve one half of a teaspoon of non-iodized salt in one coffee mug of distilled, sterile water. Once the water boils, leave it to cool down, adding the salt afterward, stirring it until it dissolves. Then you can dip the piercing into the solution and use cotton swabs to clean the piercing wounds.

When you have everything treated successfully, wipe the piercing wound with a clean towel and return the piercing. Make sure you do this gently since, otherwise, you might irritate the skin and cause complications.