# Contact poison control immediately... for saltwater?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contact-poison-control-immediately-for-saltwater/457829>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 26, 2008, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contact-poison-control-immediately-for-saltwater/457829 "2008-07-26T07:53:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2008, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contact-poison-control-immediately-for-saltwater/457829/1 "2008-07-26T07:53:04Z")

</div>

I was looking for some rubbing alcohol in a first aid kit to clean a cut tonight, but all I could find was a little 20ml plastic tube of sterile water.

From the package:

INGREDIENTS: Sodium Chloride 9mg & Water for Injection  
INDICATIONS: For flushing the eye to relieve irritation, burning, stinging and itching; remove foreign body, smog, pollen or chlorinated water  
WARNINGS: blah blah blah, Use only as directed. If swallowed, contact Poison Control Center right away.

Say what? It’s half an ounce of water with some salt. It says right on the bottle that you can pour the stuff in your eye or inject it into your veins, but if you accidentally get some in your mouth, you’d better call for help? Why? Am I missing something? Is there any logical reason at all for this warning?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contact-poison-control-immediately-for-saltwater/457829/2 "2008-07-26T14:08:58Z")

</div>

Legal protection for the manufacturer.