Harm Reduction How to Make Your Own Bacteriostatic Water

[Captain.Heroin]

Someone requested that I make a guide on how to do this, so here it is. I'm going to be as brief as possible because this is really easy.

When creating bacteriostatic water, I go with the standard 0.9% benzyl alcohol to 99.1% water ratio. I wouldn't increase/decrease it without being more knowledgeable about what you're doing than I am in regards to solubility in benzyl alcohol (I wish I could find such numbers and post it here).

So without further ado...

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Ingredients:

1) Water - tap, or sterile (I use tap water and have had no problems with this but I recommend people research their tap water by reading the pdf your city/locale will put out on water quality before determining how safe it is to use). You also want to make sure you're not injecting lead - so if you are living in a building that has been around for a while, run the water for 2 minutes before collecting it. Even if you have a new building, the "lead free" pipes can still have a tiny amount of lead in it (yeah fucked I know...) so I recommend running the faucet for a while nonetheless.

2) Insulin Syringe (needed to measure out the benzyl alcohol)

3) Vial of Benzyl Alcohol

4) Alcohol Pads (You need these to wipe down the vial tops)

5) Vial you're going to store your bacteriostatic water in. Self explanatory.

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Directions:

1) Use an alcohol swab to wipe off the top of your benzyl alcohol vial. Measure out an appropriate amount of benzyl alcohol (see examples below if you are bad at math).

2) After drawing out the benzyl alcohol, you can have this set aside.

3) Measure out the sterile water (if you have sterile water tubes from a needle exchange like I do, you don't have to measure it out) or collect the tap water, and put it into your vial you'll have your bacteriostatic water in.

4) Put in the benzyl alcohol.

Voila.

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100 units = 1 mL
1 unit = 0.01 mL
1 mL = 1 cc

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Examples....

To make 10 mL of bacteriostatic water, you need 9 units of benzyl alcohol (0.09 mL).

To make 30 mL of bacteriostatic water, you need 27 units of benzyl alcohol (0.27 mL).

To make 100 mL of bacteriostatic water, you need 90 units of benzyl alcohol (0.9 mL).

 

[DrugOmen]

Thanks for the easy to use guide and your contribution to HR Captain. I don't think ill be using this but for those that need it may find it very helpful, nice job.

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

Great post Captain.

For everyones reference, I've added this to the OD directory. Definitely a great contribution to BL.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Much appreciated!

If anyone needs help with math (I can't blame you, I successfully cheated my way through Trigonometry in high school because I was to ADHD to learn it first hand), ask and I'll help out.

I can do basic math like this but if it's Trig homework, ask someone else.

But yeah, I would rather people have a place to double check math regarding making bacteriostatic solution so no one accidentally uses too much benzyl alcohol or too little.

You may also forget you have added the benzyl alcohol to the water, so make a note of it - especially if you are prone to forgetting if you put it in or not.

 

[sekio]

If you're going to prepare any amount of bacteriostatic water, go down to the drug store and buy a bottle of distilled water, use that. Distilled H2O has no dissolved metals and should be sterile.

If you are using tap water, boil it for 15 minutes just to be safe, before you add the benzyl alcohol.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

I FORGOT something!

OK, when making bacteriostatic water, it is only going to have a shelf life of 30 days. After 30 days, I wouldn't use it past then.

I forgot to add that in the original post of this thread, however I have mentioned this fact in other threads like the Micron Filtering Mega Thread.

If you are using tap water, boil it for 15 minutes just to be safe, before you add the benzyl alcohol.

What would you be boiling it for? I believe tap water has less bacteria than bottled waters, and I prefer to avoid water that comes in plastic containers.

 

[sekio]

Boiling not only removes residual chlorine, it will ensure destruction of most bacteria and other infectious agents. I can't see it to be very harmful, as long as you let the water cool with a cover on it.If your water is already sterile, boiling it won't cause bacteria to appear.

Distilled water contains no dissolved salts etc, and can be purchased in glass bottles in some locales. Some pharmacies also sell single use packages of distilled water. It's not the same as bottled water - it is water that has been purified by distillation. Fresh bottles, even plastic, should be sterile and otherwise suitable for analytical usage. (Probably best to add 0.9% benzyl alcohol to the bottle as soon as you open it)

If you want to get really fancy you can also sterilise things with mercury UV lamps or gamma radiation. (not everyone can do that obviously)

 

[Nakedbreakfast]

Thanks, this is awesome!

 

[etard7007]

Here is some good info that Captain.Heroin provided, answering questions I had about making bacteriostatic water. All quotes are my questions, and all answers are from C.H.

Hope this is helpful to others!

Quick Question about prepping bacteriostatic water:

I know that bottled water has more bacteria than tap water - but because of the fact that there are more chemicals in tap water, wouldn't bottled water be the better choice? I am making this assumption because the micron filters will remove any bacteria from the bottled water, correct?

Yes a micron filter will remove the bacteria from bottled water. However, bottled water is still inferior because of the fact that it comes in a plastic container. Plastic containers are horrible and in the future hopefully they will be done away with. Plastic bottles of water contain bisphenol A, which can cause birth defects in the children you might have one day, as well it interferes with the human body's estrogen receptors, and it also likely has a negative effect on androgen receptors as it increases the anogenital distance as well as having a propensity of causing erectile dysfunction.

For all of these reasons I would go out of your way to get a non-plastic drinking container (metal or glass). Sadly, insulin syringes are also made of plastic, so it's hard to get away from it completely.

With all of this said, bisphenol A is already seen in 90% of human beings' urine samples, and it effects newborns and children much, much more than adults. So yeah you can use bottled water to make it.

So if I were to use bottled water when making bacteriostatic water - once i have added the benzyl and made a vial of bacteriostatic water, next I would mix this with my bupe, cotton filter first and then push it through the micron filter - thus, wouldn't the micron filter essentially remove any extra bacteria that existed in the bottled water? And then the benzyl alcohol would then keep any bacteria from growing/spreading?

All correct.

So in this sense, would it be better to use bottled water?

Or would you still suggest using tap water? You are much more experienced in this subject so any advice would be great, thanks!

I personally would go with tap water, if your tap water is of relatively good quality. In Los Angeles, I read the water quality guide and I was happy with the findings; so I use it.

Certain brands of bottled water are horrific though; I would never use Nestle brands of bottled water. Research different brands and go with the best quality one. The only bottled water I would buy is Fiji; although their bottles also have bisphenol A; so in the future I won't be buying any more from them.

I myself will continue to use tap water for micron filtering; but it's really up to you if you want to use bottled water. As long as you're micron filtering and use the benzyl alcohol, it will work fine.

And one last question... Does the order in which you add the benzyl alcohol matter?

Should I:

1)Dissolve my suboxone (for this post, substitute the bupe for whatever drug you are preparing) in plain old water first
2)Cotton filter this solution, pulling it into my 20cc luer lock syringe I have
3)Screw on the micron filter, attach a needle tip, alcohol swab the top of a vial, and push the solution through the micron into the vial
4)Then finally add the necessary amount of benzyl ( 0.9% ) into the vial

OR should I prepare the bacteriostatic water first, mixing the water with the benzyl, and then use this solution to dissolve the suboxone into it? Basically performing steps 1-3, except that in step 1 the bacteriostatic water is already prepared.

Or, like i said before, does it really matter when I add it?

Because buprenorphine's solubility is already decent in water alone, it doesn't matter. For some drugs, the benzyl alcohol helps dissolve the drug into the solution - so if you were to ask about making a testosterone solution, or about making a benzo solution, I would say add the benzyl alcohol first. But for buprenorphine, it doesn't matter. You could add it in after micron filtering even, but I personally always add it in before I finish filtering.

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Thanks to CH for this great info.

 

[bunge]

Maybe im wrong as its not my area of expertise but if you use a pan to boil the water wouldnt it be best to use a glass/pyrex pan rather then a metal one as some pans are made of metals such as copper which maybe wouldnt be too healthy to I.v. I could be chatting rubbish though, just wondered if it was relevant.

 

[sekio]

Not all plastics contain BPA, and moreover BPA levels in water are not something you need to concern yourself with unless you drink excusively out of a collection of old Nalgene bottles you leave sitting in the Nevada sun all day.

Bisphenol A is used primarily to make plastics, and products using bisphenol A-based plastics have been in commercial use since 1957.At least 3.6 million tonnes (8 billion pounds) of BPA are used by manufacturers yearly. It is a key monomer in production of epoxy resins and in the most common form of polycarbonate plastic. Bisphenol A and phosgene react to give polycarbonate [...] Epoxy resins containing bisphenol A are used as coatings on the inside of almost all food and beverage cans; however, due to BPA health concerns, in Japan epoxy coating was mostly replaced by PET film. [...]

There are seven classes of plastics used in packaging applications. Currently there are no BPA labeling requirements for plastics.

"In general, plastics that are marked with Resin Identification Codes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are very unlikely to contain BPA. Some, but not all, plastics that are marked with the Resin Identification Code 7 may be made with BPA."

Type 7 is the catch-all "other" class, and some type 7 plastics, such as polycarbonate (sometimes identified with the letters "PC" near the recycling symbol) and epoxy resins, are made from bisphenol A monomer.

Type 3 (PVC) also may contain bisphenol A as an antioxidant in plasticizers. This refers to "flexible PVC", but not for rigids such as pipe, windows, and siding.

What is the difference between BPA and PET?

Simply put, there is no link between BPA and PET. PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate. PET (also known as PETE) is designated by a recyclable “1.” Most often found in single-serve plastic bottles, such as those used for water or soft drinks, PET is a safe, recyclable material that contains no BPA. BPA, which stands for bisphenol-A, is one of the building blocks of another type of plastic called polycarbonate, which is most often found in reusable rigid containers and electronic devices.

http://www.factsonpet.com/frequently-asked-questions/

To be certain that you are choosing a bottle that does not leach, check the recycling symbol on your bottle. If it is a #2 HDPE (high density polyethylene), or a #4 LDPE (low density polyethylene), or a #5 PP (polypropylene), your bottle is fine. The type of plastic bottle in which water is usually sold is usually a #1, and is only recommended for one time use. Do not refill it. Better to use a reusable water bottle, and fill it with your own filtered water from home and keep these single-use bottles out of the landfill.

Full article: Which plastic water bottles don't leach chemicals? | Trusted.MD Network http://trusted.md/blog/vreni_gurd/2007/03/29/plastic_water_bottles#ixzz2Fe5R4uGK

PET, LDPE and HDPE plastic (which is what I have usually seen soda, distilled water and other aqueous chemicals shipped in) are not produced from BPA... and hence don't contain any BPA. (Rubbing alcohol, sulfuric acid, hydrogen peroxide and other reactive chemicals are usually sold in HDPE bottles.) All you need to worry about is polycarbonate plastic (again, Nalgene bottles were the big killer here). And I guess never eat any canned food or drink.

Ever since a few years ago, when the big BPA stink started, most manufacturers of plastic goods for consumer use have abandoned BPA in plastics. And for those applications where it is still used... let's just say nobody eats off of safety googles regularly.

In my opinion the levels of BPA people are typically exposed to are much lower than you should be worried about. The xenoestrogens in soy (which for some fucking reason certain people insist on consuming to excess) are probably 10x more disruptive to growth and development, but you don't hear people telling you to avoid soy melk ebacuse it will give you ED.

The only bottled water I would buy is Fiji; although their bottles also have bisphenol A; so in the future I won't be buying any more from them.

The only water that tastes so good it's worth oppressing a whole island nation. Also, it's sold in non-BPA polyethylene terepthalate (PETE/type 1) bottles. Whoops. If you're going to make broad, sweeping, scaremongering generalisations, try to at least give reference to a source.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Thanks for the extra-informative post sekio.

 

[ColdNorth]

Edit: Nevermind. I was told no sources, even for HR materials.

Anyways, thanks for both the micron filtering guide and this thread.

 

[marione]

Thanks a lot Captain, you're great, where did you found this procedure ?
Is it possible to use another disinfecting agent instead of benzyl alcool ?

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Thanks a lot Captain, you're great, where did you found this procedure ?

I extrapolated what must be done to create it knowing what's in Abott's bacteriostatic water.

As for other solvents, I don't know. I've always used benzyl alcohol.

 

[MTLATINO]

This is a pretty informative thread and found out everything i needed to know about the subject matter, and a little extra concerning the whole plastics on the side. Very interesting.
Thought i'd give it a bump and i think this should be sticked because it was only decent guide i've found here.

Thanks Captain Heroin for stopping my endless wasting of micron filters and thank you Seiko for the info on the plastics, i found it very interesting and relevant to the subject matter.

Peace,
Astrona

 

[tricomb]

I have mixed feelings about this thread. I see the HR value, but I see so many people failing in attempts to do what you or I may view as simple procedure/instruction. I feel like this thread is misleading, and that there is not nearly enough emphasis that this should be a last-resort, clandestine attempt to recreate true USP grade bacteriostatic isotonic solution.

This guide does not produce a pharmacologically USP grade therapeutic equivalent, and I feel like there has been no emphasis whatsoever on this rather important detail.

I highly recommend that those of you who inject often enough to require bulk bacteriostatic water or saline to get set up with a legitimate supplier/vendor/distributor. If you can afford the separate materials that this guide calls for, you can afford the real deal, actual isotonic solution.

Anyways, like I said I have mixed feelings about this thread, but once again, I do see the HR value.

 

[brutus]

This guide does not produce a pharmacologically USP grade therapeutic equivalent, and I feel like there has been no emphasis whatsoever on this rather important detail.

I highly recommend that those of you who inject often enough to require bulk bacteriostatic water or saline to get set up with a legitimate supplier/vendor/distributor. If you can afford the separate materials that this guide calls for, you can afford the real deal, actual isotonic solution.

I feel that this thread will lull people into a false sense of security that they can create their own "safe" bacteriostatic water, when that couldn't be further from the truth. It is extremely difficult to maintain a completely sterile environment while preparing such a solution especially for the layman.

There's no alternative to USP grade injection supplies as far as safety is concerned. For those of you that want to cut corners in regards to your health, that is your decision because you are going to be the one that has to answer to your poor choices. We will not condone this type of mentality on Bluelight, let alone having a guide such as this.

I am pulling the plug on this thread.