Got hurt? Use saline water to clean the wound

Washing wounds with saline water keeps infections away

Wounds washed with saline water instead of soap and water is less likely to be infected, a study suggests. Researchers from McMaster University and McGill University Health Centre studied 2,400 patients with open arm or leg fractures. Some of these patients had their wounds cleaned with soap and water, while other wounds were cleaned with saline water. After surgery, researchers monitored the patients’ health for the next 12 months. During this time, they found that patients whose wounds were washed with soap and water were more likely to need an additional operation because of an infection or problems with the wound healing.

When it comes to cleaning open wounds, saline water does a better job than soap and water, a recent study suggests.

Researchers from McMaster University and McGill University Health Centre say it's standard practice to clean a wound with soap and water before surgery.

But in a report, the scientists say simply using salt water might be more effective.

"There has been a lot of controversy about the best way to clean the dirt and debris from serious wounds with bone breaks," Dr. Mohit Bhandari, a principal investigator and a professor of surgery at McMaster University said in a statement.

"All wounds need to be cleaned out – a process known as debridement – but evidence shows that cleaning wounds with soap was not better than just water, which was unexpected."

To come to this conclusion, researchers studied 2,400 patients with open arm or leg fractures.

Some of these patients had their wounds cleaned with soap and water, while other wounds were cleaned with saline.