Should the newborn's eyes be rinsed out following the instillation of silver nitrate? If yes, with which solution, sterile distilled water or sterile physiologic saline? We raised these questions when we found that both solutions were being used within our institution and when the State Health Department recommended that the rinse be discontinued altogether. Rinsing after instillation of silver nitrate 1 percent opthalmic solution to prevent opthalmia neonatorum had been common practice for some time. The nursing staff believed that rinsing decreased inflammation. Later we learned that the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Society for the