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If you wear contact lenses you probably know how exorbitant the various consumable supplies can be. You can make your own saline solution very cheaply because the main ingredients are just water and salt. Here's how to do it along with a couple of other tips on reducing costs: Buy some distilled (or de-ionised, or de-mineralised) water. You should be able to find it with the laundry supplies in your supermarket (it's used for steam irons), in a hardware store, or an auto store (for topping up car batteries). I suggest buying at least a litre or a quart, and preferably twice this much. It's cheap stuff: around 2-3 dollars for 2 litres (half-gallon) here in Australia.
The other supply you need is salt. In the absence of laboratory grade sodium chloride, I recommend cooking salt because table salt seems to have silica-type minerals added to make it free-flowing. Silica is exactly the sort of insoluble gritty stuff you don't want in your solution. The cooking salt should probably be plain rather than iodised (though I've used the latter myself), as I can't say what long-term effects, if any, the trace amounts of iodine might have.
If you can find a clean, sterile container that holds a litre or a quart, this will be handy too. You could use a well-cleaned plastic soft-drink bottle. Rinse it well with water that has been well boiled, then give it a small final rinse or two with some fresh distilled water. To really give your containers a thorough sterilisation, you could use a solution made with sterilising powder from home brew or winery supply shops. However, you'd have to use a fair bit of distilled water to rinse it out completely. Several small rinses are generally much more effective than one large rinse.
Now comes the only hard part: approximating the correct amount of salt. You are aiming for 8 grams per litre to make "normal saline" as it's called. If you have access to laboratory or jeweller's scales you'll be laughing. You can buy electronic jewellers scales fairly cheaply on eBay these days. Otherwise, use a teaspoon measure of the kind that is used for cooking. Make sure it's clean and sterile (boiling water is a good steriliser). A teaspoon holds about 5 mls, so allowing for the density of salt, I find that a very slightly heaped teaspoon is perfect for a litre of water. A quart is close enough to a litre that you don't have to worry if that's what you have - just make sure it's a very full quart.
As you can see, this is all very rough and approximate but I've found that it doesn't matter. You don't need precision and your eyes won't feel the difference. It's better to err on the side of a weaker solution if anything, because too much salt will make your eyes sting slightly whereas too little will just produce a vaguely uncomfortable suction until the osmotic pressures equalise. You probably know the feeling if you've ever had distilled or tap water in your eyes. If you find that you've made a solution that's too strong, add more water (which is why it's nice to have some spare).
Keep the solution in a dark place and/or a dark bottle so that algae doesn't grow in it. Keep the lid tight. I suggest refilling smaller squirt-bottles and using these on a day-to-day basis. You can often prise the cap off a commercial saline or disinfecting solution bottle and reuse it repeatedly as long as you maintain its sterility. Keep the caps and bottle tops away from surfaces if possible. Open the bottles only briefly.
Don't use home-made saline if you're disinfecting your lenses with heat. Commercial salines are pH-buffered. If you cook your lenses in a slightly acidic solution repeatedly, it will probably damage them (I did this a long time ago when heat disinfection was popular). Remember also that this home-made solution is not actively sterilised. Take care when preparing it, and you should find that it's fine for rinsing, enzyme cleaning, and so on, but not for your daily sterilisation. You will still need to use a commercial sterilising solution. However the beauty is that you can now cheaply rinse the sterilising solution off and avoid putting all those chemicals into your eyes every day. A few drops of colloidal silver solution (from your heath food shop) in the saline bottle might act as a useful preservative if you are concerned about ensuring its sterility over time.
Also, don't be too worried about rinsing your lenses in tap water as long as you follow the rinse with disinfection. Don't deliberately put tap water in your eyes as there really are bugs that can cause very nasty effects in rare cases (a higher prevalence in the UK than other developed countries too). I clean my lenses each night with daily cleaner then wash this off with tap water followed by last night's leftover sterilising solution before popping the lenses into clean sterilising solution for the night. I minimise my consumption of sterilising solution by using lens storage cases with rounded bottoms. Lens supply companies like to produce big flat-bottomed tubs for you to store your lenses in because it forces you to use heaps of their product. Two or three drops per lens is about enough to cover mine in their profiled cases. I don't know if you can still buy such lens cases these days.
In the morning I wash the sterilising solution off my lenses with home-made saline before putting them in my eyes.
When you get to the bottom of your main saline storage bottle, throw out the dregs and rinse the bottle well before mixing up the next batch. I find that cooking salt is not totally pure, and any insoluble bits sink to the bottom. You can sterilise both the main storage bottle and the daily squirt bottle between refills.
What else can I help you with?
Are normal saline solution and sterile water solution the same?
No, normal saline solution contains salt (sodium chloride) dissolved in water, while sterile water solution is pure water without any added salts or other substances. Normal saline is commonly used for medical purposes such as IV fluids or wound cleansing, while sterile water may be used for specific procedures where electrolytes are not needed.
What are contrainidcations and indications of using saline solution in wounds?
I don't believe there are any contraindications. Normal saline or sterile saline is usually the fluid of choice to help irrigate or debride wounds. It is usually used because it has little to no effect on the tissues. But it is contraindicated when Acticoat products are to be used on the wound, due to the fact that Acticoat has silver in it. It is recommended that sterile water be used instead.
Do you irrigate with saline solution and use dakins solution after?
No, saline solution is typically used for irrigation while Dakin's solution is used for wound disinfection. Dakin's solution should not be used for irrigation due to its potential toxicity to healthy tissue. It is important to follow healthcare provider recommendations for wound care.
Where you do normal saline?
Normal saline, a sterile solution of sodium chloride in water, is commonly used in medical settings for various purposes. It is administered intravenously to maintain hydration, restore electrolyte balance, or as a vehicle for delivering medications. Additionally, normal saline can be used for wound irrigation, nasal irrigation, and in some diagnostic procedures. Its isotonic nature makes it safe for use in a wide range of patients.
What is saline solution?
It is basically as solution of salt and water. There are many concentrations of "saline solution" the most common of which is "normal saline" which is 0.9% sodium chloride (NaCl) in water. Saline solution is primarily used to irrigate and clean wounds. The irrigation force created by the spray is sufficient to dislodge minor foreign particles such as small twigs and gravel that may have gotten into the wound. In a hospital and medical setting, saline solution may be administered to aid in hydrating a patient. In Pre Hospital Emergency Care, it is often combined with other drugs (called a bolus). This dilutes the drugs and is administered through an intravenous line. A saline tube will state if it is fit for injection or not. The big tubes generally cannot be injected and will say "Not For Injection" while the smaller tubes are printed with "Injection Solution BP"
Can you use eye irrigating solution eye-wash for normal saline solution for wound care?
for minior injuris an opthamologist should evaluate you
Are normal saline solution and sterile water solution the same?
No, normal saline solution contains salt (sodium chloride) dissolved in water, while sterile water solution is pure water without any added salts or other substances. Normal saline is commonly used for medical purposes such as IV fluids or wound cleansing, while sterile water may be used for specific procedures where electrolytes are not needed.
What are contrainidcations and indications of using saline solution in wounds?
I don't believe there are any contraindications. Normal saline or sterile saline is usually the fluid of choice to help irrigate or debride wounds. It is usually used because it has little to no effect on the tissues. But it is contraindicated when Acticoat products are to be used on the wound, due to the fact that Acticoat has silver in it. It is recommended that sterile water be used instead.
Do you irrigate with saline solution and use dakins solution after?
No, saline solution is typically used for irrigation while Dakin's solution is used for wound disinfection. Dakin's solution should not be used for irrigation due to its potential toxicity to healthy tissue. It is important to follow healthcare provider recommendations for wound care.
Can you use salt rinse on infected lip piercing?
If by salt rinse you mean saline solution, then yes. You can use saline solution on any open wound to clean it.
Is normal saline solution considered a legend drug?
No, normal saline solution is not considered a legend drug. It is a type of solution that contains a concentration of 0.9% sodium chloride in water and is commonly used for medical purposes such as intravenous hydration or wound cleaning. It is generally considered a medical device or over-the-counter product rather than a prescription drug.
What is a saline solid or liquid or solution?
A saline solution is a mixture of salt and water, usually with a sodium chloride concentration similar to that of bodily fluids. It is commonly used for medical purposes such as wound cleaning, nasal irrigation, and intravenous drips. Saline solids refer to salt crystals or powders that can be dissolved in water to create a saline solution.
Where you do normal saline?
Normal saline, a sterile solution of sodium chloride in water, is commonly used in medical settings for various purposes. It is administered intravenously to maintain hydration, restore electrolyte balance, or as a vehicle for delivering medications. Additionally, normal saline can be used for wound irrigation, nasal irrigation, and in some diagnostic procedures. Its isotonic nature makes it safe for use in a wide range of patients.
What is normal saline?
Normal saline is 0.9% NaCl (sodium chloride or salt). This means that for every 100 mL of water there is 0.9 grams of NaCl. This is equivalent to 9.0 grams per litre or 0.009 grams per millilitre.
Can sterile saline be used interchangeably with injectable saline?
no sterile saline cannot be used because strile saline is different from injectable saline. strile saline is used for irrigating the wound and injectable saline in given intravenously
Is sterile saline and sterile water the same?
No, sterile saline is a solution of salt (sodium chloride) in sterile water, while sterile water is just water that has been sterilized. Sterile saline is commonly used in medical procedures and wound cleaning, while sterile water is used for irrigation and as a diluent for medications.
What is saline solution?
It is basically as solution of salt and water. There are many concentrations of "saline solution" the most common of which is "normal saline" which is 0.9% sodium chloride (NaCl) in water. Saline solution is primarily used to irrigate and clean wounds. The irrigation force created by the spray is sufficient to dislodge minor foreign particles such as small twigs and gravel that may have gotten into the wound. In a hospital and medical setting, saline solution may be administered to aid in hydrating a patient. In Pre Hospital Emergency Care, it is often combined with other drugs (called a bolus). This dilutes the drugs and is administered through an intravenous line. A saline tube will state if it is fit for injection or not. The big tubes generally cannot be injected and will say "Not For Injection" while the smaller tubes are printed with "Injection Solution BP"
