What Is Physiological Saline For?

Physiological serum is also known as saline or saline solution. It is a simple preparation that can even be formulated in a homemade way to have at home. Although it has been questioned, its usefulness in medicine is practically indisputable.

The physiological serum preparation is a solution of water and salt. Therein lies its simplicity and the possibility of preparing it at home. The concentration of this solution is 0.9%, which implies that it has the same dissolution concentration as human blood.

By equalizing the concentrations, it can be said that it is an isotonic preparation. This means that neither blood nor saline is more concentrated than the other. Because of this feature, it can be used on the human body safely.

The preparation was invented in 1896. It was the Dutch scientist Hartog Jacob Hamburger who prepared it to be used in the investigation of hemolysis processes. Its inventor did not intend to give it medicinal use. Over time he acquired this indication.

Uses of physiological saline

Physiological sera have many applications. They can be used externally in the body, but also internally, injecting into the circulatory system. Let’s see the most frequent uses:

• Eye and contact lens washing: for this use it is suggested that the liquid be sterile, so that neither the eye nor the lenses suffer bacterial invasion. Physiological serum for eyes usually comes in small bottles that you can get in pharmacies.
• Wound cleaning: one of the liquids widely used to clean wounds is physiological saline. Together with other antiseptic preparations, it helps prevent infections.
• Nasal use: for a stuffy nose or an abundance of mucus in the upper respiratory tract, it can be used through syringes or inhalers. Saline water drags secretions by gravity. It is also indicated in patients who suffer from rhinitis and who suffer from nasal congestion due to allergies. Not only secretions are dragged, but also allergenic substances. Finally, after nose surgery, the doctor recommends it as part of the subsequent antisepsis.

• Hydration: When the human body is dehydrated or hypotensive from fluid loss, saline is a good initial substitute for what was lost. In general, for these cases, it is administered intravenously at a high rate of replacement. It is thus useful in severe gastroenteritis, profuse bleeding and extensive burns.
• Nebulization: the preparation is loaded into the nebulizers to create a humid environment that enters the respiratory tract. Flu, sinusitis and bronchitis benefit from this.

Forms of presentation

The physiological saline is obtained in different ways:

• Blisters: they are small and sterile while closed. They have the possibility of being transported everywhere with ease. Once they are opened, they lose their sterile condition, but their quantity is so small that it is difficult for them to last more than one use.

• Drops: for ocular use and for nebulization there is this presentation.
• Spray : possibly with the primary intention of promoting nasal washing, this form of sale to the public is offered in pharmacies. It has the advantage of being portable everywhere.
• Bottles: they are larger presentations for other uses that require larger volumes of the liquid. For example, to wash a wound or burn.
• Vessels for IVs: with different milliliters, they are used in hospital settings. An extension is attached to the container, which is a tube with a syringe at the end, which is inserted into the patient’s vein. In this way, the boarding school is hydrated and the administration of medication through the saline solution is facilitated.

Homemade formulation of physiological saline

As we anticipate in this article, physiological saline can be manufactured and composed at home. It can be useful to do it for something specific, such as cleaning a previously disinfected scar that is healing. Let us remember that what we prepare at home will not be sterile.

To create the formula, you put a teaspoon of common salt in 250 cubic centimeters of water. The same proportion is followed to make more quantity if necessary. The preparation can then be stored in clean jars. Lasts 48 hours prepared without expiration; after that time it must be discarded.

It can be stored at room temperature or in a refrigerator. It has not been noted that one or the other methodology prolongs the useful life. Let us consider that the ambient temperature referred to is the temperate climate, not the tropical or extreme heat.

So, already knowing these benefits of physiological saline, you can use it without fear of being necessary. It is a very useful and simple solution that, in extreme cases, is capable of saving lives.