Better healing How salt water speeds up wound healing

It depends on the right concentration: Faster wound healing with salt water
For smaller wounds you often get the advice to use salt water for faster healing. The first such tips are rejected, is understandable; Finally, it burns when you give salty water on a grooved skin. And is it true that wounds heal better?

Wounds heal better with salt water
It is said in the vernacular, one should not sprinkle salt in the wound, but on the healing, this is apparently not related. Because wounds heal better in salt water, is often claimed. But many people are reluctant to dip a scoured arm or foot into salty seawater, because that can burn quite a bit. In addition, many are unsure whether this tip is really true. An expert knows more about it.

According to health experts, treatment with salt water promotes wound healing. However, it depends on the correct dosage. Too much salt may delay healing. (Image: animaflora / fotolia.com)

Moist environment is conducive to wound healing
Sylke Schneider-Burrus, Senior Physician at the Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology of the Charité University Medical Center - Berlin, said in a message from the dpa news agency that it was basically good to cleanse a wound with salt water.

"It moistens the wound, and that's not wrong," said the doctor. Contrary to previous assumptions, a moist environment is beneficial for wound healing.

It depends on the right concentration
As with so many things, the right concentration is important. According to Schneider-Burrus should be at 0.9 percent, a so-called physiological saline solution.

Accordingly, seawater or salt solutions for rinsing the nose for wound treatment are too concentrated. This can then have the opposite effect, drying out the wound and even delaying healing. In addition, seawater contains too many germs, which can ignite the wound.

In the North Sea holiday, eczema heal well
But the stay at the sea contributes to a better healing. "Abrasions or eczema heal well during a holiday on the Baltic Sea or the North Sea," said the director of the Department of Dermatology at the Charité in Berlin, Prof. Torsten Zuberbier, in an earlier dpa report.

However, it was not known why that was so. It is possible that the iodine contained in the seawater plays a role. Another explanation is the combination of sunlight and salt water.

Home remedies for wound healing
For better wound healing even more natural home remedies are available. For example, health professionals often recommend treating wounds with fresh garlic. And for superficial, slightly oozing and less bleeding wounds, zinc can help to heal better. But if you have sustained deeper injuries, it means: off to the doctor! (Ad)