Saline (medicine) facts for kids

Saline is a special kind of salt water used in medicine. It's made by mixing salt and water. When doctors or nurses use saline inside your body, like for an injection or infusion into a vein, it must be completely clean and free of germs. This is called being sterile.

Saline solution for infusion into the veins.

Your body has a certain amount of salt in its fluids, usually around 0.9%. If a saline solution has more salt than this (over 0.9%), it's called hypertonic saline.

How Saline is Used

Saline is used in many ways to help people feel better or to clean things.

Cleaning and Eye Care

• Cleaning wounds: Saline is very gentle and sterile, so it's perfect for washing cuts and scrapes to remove dirt and germs.
• Contact lenses: It helps clean and store contact lenses, making them safe to put in your eyes.
• Dry eyes: If your eyes feel dry or irritated, saline eye drops can help make them feel more comfortable.

Medical Treatments

Saline can also be given directly into a person's body, usually through a vein. This is called intravenous therapy.

• Treating dehydration: When someone loses too much fluid, like from a stomach bug (gastroenteritis) or a serious condition like diabetic ketoacidosis, saline can quickly replace the lost fluids and salts.
• Diluting medicines: Many medicines are very strong and need to be mixed with a liquid before they can be injected. Saline is often used to dilute these medicines, making them safe to give.

Images for kids

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  Saline solution for irrigation.

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  Vial of 23.4% sodium chloride

See also

In Spanish: Suero fisiológico para niños