My Experience with Homemade Saline Solution
Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 4:48 pm
So, with the shortage being bad enough that people are considering some rather dumb alternatives, I think it might be relevant for me to discuss my experience with homemade saline which I had quite a few months ago.
Obviously this sort of thing carries a risk and I don't recommend doing this, especially if you lack medical experience or the proper equipment. Honestly though, I think if you approach it correctly than a homemade solution is a lot safer than stuff like KY Jelly, which seems to be incredibly popular at the moment.
Before I go into the procedure, I should probably discuss my motives for having done this sort of thing in the first place. It was entirely a cost saving measure, I already had all the equipment necessary for an infusion from my old job, with the exception of a large portion of saline. Buying it online was expensive and often required a medical or veterinary license, which seemed more trouble than it was worth. When you're doing something that could potentially harm your health if done wrong, you really shouldn't concern yourself with prices like I did. I'm not going to get too specific as, while it went off without a hitch it's still a bad idea, plus it's been a while and I'm a little fuzzy on the details.
After doing a lot of research into a plethora of subjects I determined the best way to go about doing this was to boil distilled water, mix in the proper amount of non-iodized salt, and infuse it while it was still slightly warm. Distilled water is cheap and lacks minerals and additives like tap water, and boiling it before infusion seemed like the best way to ensure it was as sterile as I could get it without adding chemicals with the added benefit of not having to warm it up before use. Apparently iodized salt can cause irritation, so should be avoided when making saline.
To start, I covered my kitchen counter with copper foil and wiped it down with isopropyl, copper has germicidal properties which I'm not too well read on, but seemed better than just laying things on the counter. I pulled out a portable burner, cleaned an disinfected it, I got an aluminum saucepan and lid, cleaned and disinfected that, I added about a liter of distilled water to the saucepan and about 9 grams of salt. I boiled this for about 15 minutes with the lid on, the resulting fluid was less than a liter, meaning the salt concentration was likely going to be higher than desired.
I was getting a little giddy at this point and after 20-ish minutes I began transferring the solution to my IV bag with a sterilized funnel. It was a little too hot at that point and my hands ended up a little red. I gave the solution another half hour to cool down and I started infusing. I was still a noobie, so I went through about 4 catheters and too much iodine before I finally got a good spot. In 1 ½ hours I infused maybe 600-700 ml before my sack just wouldn't take anymore.
The entry healed quick as a result of the small catheters I used. There were no complications except for an itch from the salt which faded, it felt real neat. Pics bellow
Again, I advice against doing this sort of thing, I am a dropout who somehow got a job as a repair technician once, not a doctor.
Obviously this sort of thing carries a risk and I don't recommend doing this, especially if you lack medical experience or the proper equipment. Honestly though, I think if you approach it correctly than a homemade solution is a lot safer than stuff like KY Jelly, which seems to be incredibly popular at the moment.
Before I go into the procedure, I should probably discuss my motives for having done this sort of thing in the first place. It was entirely a cost saving measure, I already had all the equipment necessary for an infusion from my old job, with the exception of a large portion of saline. Buying it online was expensive and often required a medical or veterinary license, which seemed more trouble than it was worth. When you're doing something that could potentially harm your health if done wrong, you really shouldn't concern yourself with prices like I did. I'm not going to get too specific as, while it went off without a hitch it's still a bad idea, plus it's been a while and I'm a little fuzzy on the details.
After doing a lot of research into a plethora of subjects I determined the best way to go about doing this was to boil distilled water, mix in the proper amount of non-iodized salt, and infuse it while it was still slightly warm. Distilled water is cheap and lacks minerals and additives like tap water, and boiling it before infusion seemed like the best way to ensure it was as sterile as I could get it without adding chemicals with the added benefit of not having to warm it up before use. Apparently iodized salt can cause irritation, so should be avoided when making saline.
To start, I covered my kitchen counter with copper foil and wiped it down with isopropyl, copper has germicidal properties which I'm not too well read on, but seemed better than just laying things on the counter. I pulled out a portable burner, cleaned an disinfected it, I got an aluminum saucepan and lid, cleaned and disinfected that, I added about a liter of distilled water to the saucepan and about 9 grams of salt. I boiled this for about 15 minutes with the lid on, the resulting fluid was less than a liter, meaning the salt concentration was likely going to be higher than desired.
I was getting a little giddy at this point and after 20-ish minutes I began transferring the solution to my IV bag with a sterilized funnel. It was a little too hot at that point and my hands ended up a little red. I gave the solution another half hour to cool down and I started infusing. I was still a noobie, so I went through about 4 catheters and too much iodine before I finally got a good spot. In 1 ½ hours I infused maybe 600-700 ml before my sack just wouldn't take anymore.
The entry healed quick as a result of the small catheters I used. There were no complications except for an itch from the salt which faded, it felt real neat. Pics bellow
Again, I advice against doing this sort of thing, I am a dropout who somehow got a job as a repair technician once, not a doctor.