.45% Sodium Chloride Solution for Injection

[radiationman]

I went to the needle exchange to get some new rigs/supplies. One of the things they hand out are 0.45% sodium chloride solution in little 5 ML Ampules. Now I wasn't paying the best attention when I had the person that was handing this stuff out but I remember him saying something about the solution being better on your veins than regular water. Any way my question is, and I know this might seem silly, but is the solution safe for injection Does is need to be diluted? On the bottle it says, "STERILE NOT FOR INJECTION". Any help is appreciated fellow BLers.

 

[Mugz]

Seeing as this is a question about IV use and is pretty specific I think it may do better in Other Drugs so will move it there for you.

 

[sekio]

I think "not for injection" means you shouldn't inject it pure right out of the container. It's still suitable as a source of sterile water for your IV shots as long as you dissolve something into it.

Are these the stupid little blue plastic ampules/syrettes I've seen thrown in gutters, I wonder? Transparent polyethylene, 2 or 3 inches long and about as thick as a finger?

 

[radiationman]

That is correct. Blue, a few inches long, twist off top, and transparent. I'm kicking myself for not verifying the info with the nice exchange people. The exchange in my area is at 0900 so I pretty much just rolled out of bed.

 

[sekio]

These ampoules/syrettes are actually water for inhalation(!) Hence the 'not for injection' - it's not bacteriostatic water. It should still be safe to fix shots with it as long as you're not preparing 'batch' quantities and letting it sit around.

 

[effie]

It's not good to inject large volumes of pure water as it is hypotonic and causes lysis of your red blood cells (the cells flood with water and burst) so often in a hospital setting 0.9% saline or 5% glucose solution is used, or mixtues designed to be more "physiological" or closer to the biochemical makeup of your blood. 0.45% saline is fine for you to use; pure water is also fine for the small amounts involved in injecting drugs (obviously whatever you inject you want to be sterile, and ideally bacteriostatic).