Normal Saline was invented in 1896 by Mr. Hartog Hamburger in Holland. Yes, this was at one point called Hamburger’s solution. Normal saline is a close approximation to the osmolarity of blood – thus there are tons of uses for normal saline. So how about HYPERTONIC Saline? What are the uses of something that has a higher osmolarity of blood? There are multiple uses but in my career it has been used for reducing brain swelling in trauma patients (more specifically to lower intracranial pressure, where maintenance of cerebral perfusion is key as it relies on blood pressure being high enough above intracranial pressure.)

The other use of HYPERTONIC Saline is in the COSMETIC treatment of spider veins. Now it’s less popular for this indication because POLIDOCANOL has been shown to be a superior product for spider vein treatment (and more expensive), but safety and superiority trumps cost for the most part. We use Polidocanol at Surgical Artistry, in Modesto, CA.