Six guides to using saline

Start with the job

Nasal care and care for a congested baby share a route, but the age and delivery directions can differ. For skin, a fresh scrape, a new piercing and a tattoo each have a different next step after any rinse.

Check the route on the package

For eye care, check whether the product is intended for the eye or for contact lenses. For a nebulizer, check the prescribed inhalation label and the device directions. Use the links below to compare the details.

Explore the guides

• Nasal saline for a stuffy nose
  How nasal saline moistens the nose, when a rinse differs from a mist, and which water is safe for nasal irrigation.
• Saline nose drops for babies and toddlers
  Plain saline nose drops, gentle suction, feeding observations and safe sleep for babies and toddlers with a stuffy nose.
• Sterile saline for small cuts and scrapes
  Why rinsing helps remove dirt from small cuts and scrapes, how sterile saline fits, and when a wound needs medical care.
• Saline in piercing and tattoo aftercare
  What a sterile saline rinse can do for piercing aftercare and where it can fit in an artist's written tattoo aftercare plan.
• What saline does in eye care
  How eyewash, contact lens saline and eye drops differ, with FDA lens-care guidance and first aid for a chemical splash.
• What saline does in a nebulizer
  How inhalation saline fits into respiratory therapy and how to check the prescribed solution, concentration and device directions.