with every piercing i got, my piercer told me to put saline solution on it. he said contact solution was okay too. so that's always what i've put on my piercings. most of my piercings ended up getting infected. so either my skin just doesn't like piercings or i'm cleaning it wrong? i just don't know what saline solution really does...
i've used contact solution on my eyebrow rings and both of them got infected, even if the piercer said it was okay to use that.
i used an actual saline solution on my lip, that never got infected.
my nose is pierced now, and he said to use saline solution again or saline nose spray...which is what i got. i wrote a post saying i had a bump on my nose and if it's infected then i guess the saline solution isn't doing a good job!

basically i just don't think i should use saline solution. is there another alternative?

Contact solution is okay if it is PURE saline. Some solutions have other additives that may irritate your piercings.

Salt water (i.e. saline) has some mysterious healing powers. I'm sure there is an actual reason for this, but I don't know the nitty gritty details. However, if you've ever had a sore throat or a wound in your mouth and have gargled/soaked with salt water, you know the healing/soothing effect that it has.

Basically, what makes saline better when compared to just plain water is that it has the same salt content as your bodily fluids (the term used to describe this is "isotonic"). Why is this important? Well, if you know anything about osmosis, the answer is simple. If the solution is saltier than your bodily fluids (hypertonic) then, via osmosis, water tends to be drawn out of your cells in an attempt to reach osmotic equilibrium (i.e. the outside environment has the same salt content as the inside of your cells). Conversely, if the solution is less salty than the fluid inside your cells, water will tend to be sucked into the cells, causing them to burst like a water balloon. You definitely don't want this to happen, and this is why saline is generally better than straight water.

Now, the real benefit comes from using a HOT salt water soak. You get the benefits of using salt water, while the heat induces a sort of self-induced inflammatory response. The heat causes the blood vessels around the piercing to dilate, increasing blood flow (thats why your skin is red after doing a soak). Increased blood flow does several things. First, it brings more nutrients to the area which aids in cellular regeneration and healing. Secondly, the increased blood flow brings in more cells of the immune system which get rid of any bacteria that may have gotten in via the piercing.

You really don't need to buy (expensive) saline solution. Just go to your local grocery store and pickup some non-iodized sea salt (check the ingredients, you don't want ANY other compounds in the salt; anti-caking compounds can irritate piercings). Mix 1/4 teaspoon of the sea salt with 1 cup of water and microwave it. I usually find that a minute and a half is sufficient. Read the stickied post about how to do sea salt soaks for more info.

Probably more info than you wanted to know, but I hope it helped.