Still safe to keep drawing from the same 30ml bottle?

Fingermouse

Fingermouse

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Newbie here, trying to work something out. If I buy a 30ml bottle of BAC water but only reconstitute once a month, do I have to bin that 30ml after 1 month because a syringe has punctured it (I gather it's only good for 4 weeks or so)? Or is it fine to draw from it repeatedly? Basically I'm trying to see whether ordering 30ml beats 10ml or less. Any advice?
 
Opinions vary quite a bit on this one. My take: the safest route is sticking solely with Pfizer Hospira Bac water, and that product is sold only in 30mL. Whether it's hard to source in the UK, though, I'm not sure.

Another safe approach: once you've punctured the vial for the first time, use that Bac water for no longer than a month. It belongs in the fridge, and strictly speaking it should only be drawn from within that window.

BUT plenty of folks go beyond that, provided the Bac water remains clear and shows no sign of contamination. In the US it's so inexpensive and so easy for me to buy that tossing it at the 1-month mark doesn't bother me. I do know others who keep theirs meticulously clean and stretch it to 2-3 months past the first puncture.

Off the top of my head I can't recall the name, but if you dig around the forum I believe there's some kind of device you can pair with the bac water vial to keep it usable for longer.
 
Fingermouse said:

Newbie here, trying to work something out. If I buy a 30ml bottle of BAC water but only reconstitute once a month, do I have to bin that 30ml after 1 month because a syringe has punctured it (I gather it's only good for 4 weeks or so)? Or is it fine to draw from it repeatedly? Basically I'm trying to see whether ordering 30ml beats 10ml or less. Any advice?
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I just noticed I rambled on and never actually addressed what you asked. So to be clear: yes, you're able to draw from it more than once as long as you stay inside that timeframe. The key is to clean the top with an alcohol wipe both before and after each use, and to maintain as sterile a setup as possible when you're reconstituting or filtering.
 
I'm mainly trying to figure out whether, when moving over to a pen that lasts a month, I'd have to buy fresh bac water with each new vial. From what I'm hearing, that seems to be how it works — the 30ml only stays good for a month (or 2-3 months if you're taking a chance). Hmmm. Good to know, thanks Soapy!
 
A 30ml bottle of bac water has lasted me through most of a year, and I haven't run into any problems.

I'm not recommending this for anyone else — I'm just sharing one data point.
 
BNLFL said:

Personally, I would easily stretch it to 3 months.
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I'm with you on that. Hospira is being extremely conservative — and padding their bottom line while they're at it. My own vial gets used up over roughly 2 months (a few of us draw from the same one), and I wouldn't hesitate to stretch it further.

At the end of the day, stick with whatever feels right for you.

(Keep things sterile, results may differ, standard disclaimers apply, and so on)
 
Fingermouse said:

I'm mainly trying to figure out whether, when moving over to a pen that lasts a month, I'd have to buy fresh bac water with each new vial. From what I'm hearing, that seems to be how it works — the 30ml only stays good for a month (or 2-3 months if you're taking a chance). Hmmm. Good to know, thanks Soapy!
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I went with 3ml when I bought my r10 kit, so that's 10 R10 vials plus 10 of the 3ml bac. Since I'm beginning at .5 and titrating up gradually, my initial r10 should stretch 6 weeks minimum. Like I said, bac doesn't cost much.
 
deluge said:

BNLFL said:

Personally, I would easily stretch it to 3 months.
Click to expand...
I'm with you on that. Hospira is being extremely conservative — and padding their bottom line while they're at it. My own vial gets used up over roughly 2 months (a few of us draw from the same one), and I wouldn't hesitate to stretch it further.

At the end of the day, stick with whatever feels right for you.

(Keep things sterile, results may differ, standard disclaimers apply, and so on)
Click to expand...
Exactly. Same as the items in your fridge. Ketchup and other things last far beyond the "Use by Date".
 
I toss mine out once 3 months have passed. It's inexpensive, so even though it's likely still fine, I don't bother keeping it.
 
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