system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: how does salt/a salt water rinse help mouth ulcers or a sore throat?

I understand that it can help, but I don't understand why it helps. Could it be used for things outside of the mouth and throat?
gpt
Water follows salt, and bacteria need water. After they get pulled out of the infected area by the salt in the water, the salt pulls out the water inside the bacteria too, and that's how they die. To answer your second question, yes it can be used in other areas. In medical situations there's something called *normal saline*, which is water that has just a tiny bit of salt in it, and this is used most often to clean wounds and dilute liquid medicines for use in IV preparations.