What’s the Difference Between Bacteriostatic Water and Sterile Water?
What’s the Difference Between Bacteriostatic Water and Sterile Water?
If you’ve ever been to the doctor and received a prescription for medication that must be mixed with water and injected – you’ve probably heard of bacteriostatic and sterile water. Which of the two types of water you use for mixing medication for injection depends on whether you will use the water once or multiple times.
Sterile Water
Sterile water is used for any application that requires the use of bacteria-free, fungi-free, and spore-free water. Using sterilized water reduces the risks for contamination, which is obviously important any time you are mixing or injecting medication or as the microorganisms contained in non-sterile water will alter lab research results.
Sterile water can be used for mixing and injecting medication provided you are only going to use it once. As soon as the sterilized container or bottle is opened, the water is exposed to the air and can become contaminated. Sterile water should be used for single-dose applications only as the water has no preservatives to lengthen it’s shelf-life.
Bacteriostatic Water
The second type of water used for mixing and injecting medications is called bacteriostatic water. Bacteriostatic water is sterilized water that also contains benzyl alcohol. The benzyl alcohol in the water will prevent bacterial grown, which is what the term “Bacteriostat” refers to. Bacteriostatic Water has a shelf life up to 28 days after opening the bottle.
What About Distilled Water?
Distilled water is often confused with sterile water but they are not the same and should not be used interchangeably. Distilled Water is created through a steam and condensation process and the finished result is water without iron, salt, or calcium. While distilled water is used in a variety of medical applications, including cleaning medical tools to avoid spotting, distilled water should not be used for mixing or injecting medications.
What About Saline Water?
Saline water has a high concentration of salt content, similar to the body’s natural production of tears and other bodily fluids, and is primarily used as a dehydration treatment, but it’s used in hospitals regularly for a wide variety of conditions. You may see people in the ER hooked up to IV solutions of saline for vomiting, lightheadedness, headaches, and fast heart rates.
Saline water can be used for cleaning wounds but cannot be used for mixing and injecting medications.
Can I Make My Own Sterile Water by Boiling Water?
While you can sterilize water for safe drinking by boiling it for twenty minutes, it will not make the water sterilized for injection use. The boiling process will remove bacteria that would be harmful to drink, but it’s not enough to create sterilized water for medication mixing or injection purposes.
Where Can I Buy Sterile Water?
You can buy sterile water from reputable peptide and medical research companies, including Guru Peptides. At our warehouse, we offer a 30ml sterile water solution with 25% bacteriostatic water. Our single-use bottles have a screw top and are ready-to-use.