Do not abuse physiological saline daily for children

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Bui Thi Ha - Pediatrician - Neonatologist - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Ha Long International General Hospital.

Physiological saline has many advantages such as low cost, safety, and many uses. However, physiological saline is only really good, effective when used correctly, abusing physiological saline for babies can cause unpredictable consequences.

Physiological saline is a 0.9% sodium chloride solution, to create this concentration, 9g of pure sodium chloride salt is mixed into one liter of distilled water. It is called physiological saline because it is an isotonic solution with an osmotic pressure equivalent to body fluids under normal physiological conditions.
Physiological saline on the market today is divided into 3 main types, that is:
Physiological saline used for infusion, this type is packaged in bottles of 100ml, 250ml, 500ml with very high sterility. Used for direct infusion in cases where the body needs to be rehydrated or used to mix other therapeutic drugs and then infuse. Physiological saline for eye drops, nose drops, ear drops is usually produced in the form of 10ml small bottles, in which saline eye drops are produced according to eye drops standards, with the highest sterility. Physiological saline used to rinse the mouth, wash the wound is produced in the form of 500ml, 1000ml big bottles.

Physiological saline has many advantages, such as low cost, high safety, can be used for babies, can be used for many purposes such as washing eyes, washing ears, washing nose, rinsing mouth ... When washing the eyes with physiological saline, it will help push the eye discharge as well as pathogens out, helping to soothe and provide moisture to the eyes. Help clear the nose when nasopharyngitis, nasal drops or rinse with salt water help clear the mucus layer, thus making it easier for the child to breathe and making the next medicine easier to work. Use physiological saline to gargle to help protect the throat mucosa and disinfect.

However, physiological saline is only used in some specific cases, not recommended for daily use to wash eyes and nose, especially in children. The abuse of saline for infants and children to wash their eyes and nose daily for children will cause many harms to children that parents have not fully understood:
Using physiological saline for babies to wash Frequent nasal passages in normal nasal conditions will cause the child's nose to lose the natural secretions that help protect the mucosa, from which the nose is prone to dryness, irritation, runny nose, and can cause inflammation. In addition, if you wash your nose incorrectly, wrong posture can cause pain, bleeding, and even otitis media. Physiological saline for eye washing should only be used regularly for babies in the first three months after birth, because at this time, the natural cavities in the eyes are still contaminated with fluid from the mother's body at birth, the baby has not had enough tears to self-cleaning, so it is necessary to drop physiological saline for the baby to clean regularly. If the child's eyes are infected, use physiological saline to help clean the outer layer of dirt so that the drugs used for the next treatment are more effective. However, if the child's eyes are normal, regular saline drops will dry out the eyes, and the child may develop keratitis, affecting the child's vision when he grows up. In addition, if parents use saline solutions from poor quality manufacturers, without product registration numbers, the sterility of the products is not guaranteed, which can accidentally introduce pathogens to people. young. Many families also make their own physiological saline for use, this type of self-mixed solution may not be isotonic, the water and salt used for mixing are not pure, and the mixing equipment is not guaranteed. This type of solution can be used to rinse the mouth, if used in children's eyes, it will bring unexpected consequences. If using salt water in a large bottle sold on the market for the purpose of rinsing the mouth, washing the wound to wash the eyes, it is also not safe for the health of the child, because this type of saline is produced according to the standards of drugs for external use. Physiological saline eye drops require higher standards, especially in terms of sterility.

Only use physiological saline for children to wash their nose, drop the nose when there is a respiratory infection, the child has a runny nose, stuffy nose, and the child's nose has a lot of mucus. How to properly wash the baby's nose with physiological saline for babies is as follows:
Put the child on his side on the bed, put a towel under the child's head, put one hand on the child's head, hold it gently, and put the saline bottle in the nose with the other hand. When young, squeeze quickly but not too hard, salt water will enter the nose and drain out the other nostril. Use a soft towel to wipe your nose and mouth, then continue on the other side of the nose. Choose a small physiological saline bottle with a capacity of about 10ml with a rounded tip to avoid injury during nasal irrigation. Do not use a bottle with a sharp bevel or use a cylinder because it can cause scratches to the nasal mucosa. . Only use physiological saline for babies to wash their eyes regularly in the first three months, the way to do it is to put a few drops of saline on a cotton ball, then gently wipe the corners of the eyes. Use two cotton balls for both eyes to avoid cross-contamination. In addition, you can use physiological saline for babies to clean when the baby's eyes are infected. If the child often travels or lives in a dusty area, you can occasionally use physiological saline eye drops for the child. Do not use eye drops every day.
If you make your own physiological saline to gargle, if you don't have measuring tools to measure the exact ingredients, you should mix it with a moderate salinity, many people think that the higher the salt water, the more likely it is. As disinfecting as possible, this is not true. Salt water that is too salty can damage the lining of the mouth and throat, thereby increasing the risk of infection.
Physiological saline bottles are made for the eyes that can be used for ear drops, nose drops, saline bottles are made for ear drops, nose drops are not used for eye drops. Because the standard of sterility in eye drops is always the highest. In addition, only use each bottle of physiological saline for a single purpose, never use a bottle of saline to both eyes and ears, once opened, only use within 2-3 weeks, after It must be thrown away even if there is still medicine in the bottle to avoid the risk of the medicine being contaminated.
Select brine products from reputable manufacturers with product registration numbers, production dates, expiry dates, and clear product information.
To prevent diseases that babies often get, parents should pay attention to nutrition to improve children's resistance. At the same time, add supporting foods containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, B vitamins,... snacks and less digestive problems.
Parents can learn more:
Why do you need to supplement Lysine for your baby?
The role of zinc - Guidelines for reasonable zinc supplementation
Please visit the website Vinmec.com regularly and update useful information to take care of your baby and family.