Today, over 66% of American adults use prescription drugs, and you might think it’s all pills and tablets. However, a good part of the population needs injections too, which are usually administered by medical professionals.
In some cases, patients are sent home with instructions to inject themselves with medications. If this is your situation, then you should know there are different types of water you can use to dilute prescription drugs. Two commonly used ones are bacteriostatic and sterile water.
Read on for the key differences when it comes to bacteriostatic vs sterile water for injections.
What’s Bacteriostatic Water?
Bacteriostatic water is sterile water that contains a bacteriostatic agent that inhibits the growth of bacteria. Typically, it has benzyl alcohol.
This type of water is commonly used to dilute or reconstitute medications for multiple doses. It has a longer shelf life even after the container’s opened, which means that you can have bacteriostatic water in stock for a while.
What’s Sterile Water?
Sterile water is highly purified water. This means it’s been sterilized to ensure it’s free from bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms, as well as impurities. It doesn’t contain any bacteriostatic agents or preservatives.
Sterile water is typically used for dissolving or diluting medications for injection. Once you’ve opened the container, you should discard it, as this type of injection water has a limited shelf life.
Bacteriostatic vs Sterile Water: The Main Differences
Bacteriostatic water is a type of sterile water, so of course, they have many similarities. However, there are specific things that set them apart.
For example, sterile water is typically for single use only. However, bacteriostatic water can be used for multiple injections. Also, thanks to the bacteriostatic agents found in the latter, it has a much longer shelf life compared to sterile water once the container’s open. As long as there’s no bacterial contamination and the bacteriostatic agent is effective, you can keep using the water until it’s done.
Because newborns and infants are more sensitive, we generally use sterile water for their injections since there are no bacteriostatic agents. These are potentially toxic to both babies and pregnant women. Otherwise, people of all ages who aren’t extremely young or pregnant can use bacteriostatic water.
Other factors to consider include intended use and storage requirements. Always follow the guidelines provided by healthcare professionals and medication manufacturers. This ensures both safe and effective usage.
Which Will You Choose for Your Injections?
As you can see from this article on bacteriostatic vs sterile water, you can use either for injections. The main difference is the bacteriostatic agent used in the first type of water, which gives it different properties. For instance, it has a longer shelf life and can be used for multiple injections.
However, if you’re currently pregnant or are injecting a baby, avoid bacteriostatic water. It has a toxicity risk, so keep both you and your little ones safe by using sterile water instead.
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