A study by the SUNY Buffalo Department of Emergency Medicine showed that cleaning wounds with tap water is as good as cleaning with saline solution. Proof that nothing special is needed to clean wounds - a little soap and water works just fine.
Cleaning wounds as soon as possible is one of the most important first aid steps in caring for injuries. Infection can cause all manner of problems when an open wound is not cleaned properly and quickly. Even if soap is unavailable, rinsing an open wound with tap water or bottled water will help immensely toward keeping infections away.
What the study doesn't address is the pain associated with water that isn't as bad when cleaning with saline. Water has a tendency to sting more than saline solution, but it isn't unbearable for most people and the discomfort is well worth avoiding the pain that an inflamed wound is bound to cause.
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