Bacteriostatic Water For Injection

Bacteriostatic Water For Injection

Bacteriostatic Water For Injections is a sterile, nonpyrogenic preparation of water for injection containing 0.9% (9 mg/mL) of benzyl alcohol added as a bacteriostatic preservative. The drug is supplied in a multiple-dose container from which repeated withdrawals may be made to dilute or dissolve drugs for injection. 

Bacteriostatic Water For Injections is a sterile solution designed solely to be used with drugs that require dilution or must be dissolved in an aqueous vehicle before injection. According to instructions from the manufacturer of the drug to be administered, this compound is indicated only for diluting or dissolving drugs for intravenous, intramuscular or subcutaneous injection.

 Bacteriostatic Water For Injection Side Effects

The same as any other medicine, Bacteriostatic Water For Injections may cause side effects. Although many people don't experience them or have some minor side effects, there is still a risk of them occurring. When used in small doses, Bacteriostatic Water For Injections has no common side effects. Consult your doctor if any of these severe side effects occur especially if they do not go away:

  • Severe allergic reactions: fever; redness, swelling, or tenderness at the injection site;
  • Febrile response;
  • Infection at the site of injection;
  • Venous thrombosis;
  • Extravasation;
  • Hypervolemia.

Who should not take Bacteriostatic Water For Injection?

Bacteriostatic Water is not recommended for use in infants younger than 4 weeks of age. Some medical conditions may interact with Bacteriostatic Water For Injections. Although no specific interactions with Bacteriostatic Water are known, you should inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have any medical conditions, such as:

- if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding;

- if you are taking any prescription or nonprescription medicine;

- if you are taking any herbal preparation or dietary supplement;

- if you have an upcoming surgery;

- if you have any allergies to medicines, foods, or other substances.

Also, before using Bacteriostatic Water For Injections, you need to tell your doctor about your current list of medications, and vitamins, herbal supplements you are taking.

That is necessary, as some health conditions may make you more susceptible to the drug's side effects. That is important to take Bacteriostatic Water For Injections exactly as directed by your doctor. Dosage is individual in every case and is based on your condition. Immediately inform your doctor if your condition persists or worsens. Special attention should be paid in case of:

  •  risk of hemolysis;
  • to patients with impaired kidney function;
  • premature neonates;
  • risk of pulmonary oedema.

This may not be a complete list of all interactions that may occur. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if Bacteriostatic Water For Injections may interact with other medicines that you are already taking. Consult with your doctor before you start, stop, or change the dose of any medicine.

How To Store Bacteriostatic Water For Injection

Bacteriostatic Water For Injections should be stored at room temperature, away from heat and direct light. Do not freeze this medicine unless required by package insert. Keep it away from children and pets. Do not flush medications down the toilet or pour them into the drainage, as this may contaminate the environment.

Which one to choose: Bacteriostatic Water vs. Sterile Water 

 What is the difference between bacteriostatic water vs. sterile water for injection? Although both of these types of water are sterile, the difference between bacteriostatic water and sterile water is that Other sterile waters for injection do not contain a bacteriostatic agent. That means, they are single-dose vials and should be discarded after a single use.

What is sterile water?

Sterile water is water that has no additives or preservatives added to it. As it cannot transfer pathogens, it is used mainly used in the medical field. Once a vial of sterile water is open, it should be used completely at once or used once and discarded. This is one of the reasons that vials of sterile water usually contain a few millilitres of liquid.

There are no adverse or bad side effects of using sterile water in small doses, one should never take it intravenously. Although, a small percentage of people report inflammation at the injection site if sterile water is used to dilute peptides that are to be injected intramuscularly. Other side effects can include low blood sodium also known as hyponatremia, fluid overload, allergic reactions (tightness in the chest, swelling of the mouth, face, and lips) fever, redness at the site of injection as well as electrolyte imbalance. In case you experience any of these side effects, you should immediately stop using sterile water for injections and talk to a doctor.

Which one is better?

Bacteriostatic water is better when diluting any medication because it offers better solubility for the most part. Also, if you are experimenting with new peptides, it is always best to use bacteriostatic water to dilute the peptides. In case you have any issue diluting peptides in bacteriostatic water, you should add a small amount of 10% aqueous acetic acid for basic peptides and aqueous ammonia for acidic peptides. Most peptide packages contain mixing instruction. It is always advisable to carefully read them before trying to reconstitute the peptides.  It could be potentially harmful to try to reconstitute a peptide meant for mixing with bacteriostatic water with sterile water.  You cannot simply replace bacteriostatic water with sterile water and vice versa, as they are not the same thing.

02.06.2021