Aus BAC Supply Bacteriostatic Water

This is bacteriostatic water supplied in a multiple-dose vial. It is the same preserved sterile water in the same multiple-dose vial format as the branded presentations, without a manufacturer's brand on the label — which is most of what separates the two on price. They are not labelled for the same purposes and are not interchangeable; each vial's own label governs.

Bacteriostatic water is sterile water containing 0.9% (9 mg/mL) benzyl alcohol. The benzyl alcohol is a bacteriostatic preservative: it inhibits the growth of most common bacteria rather than sterilising anything, and that is what allows a sealed multiple-dose vial to be entered more than once instead of being discarded after a single withdrawal. It is commonly shortened to BAC water; both names describe the same thing.

**Not for injection.** This product is not for injection or infusion, not for human or veterinary administration, and must not be ingested. It is not a medicine, and no therapeutic use is claimed or intended for it. The warning panel printed on the vial states the same thing and governs.

Keep the container securely closed and stored at or below 25 °C. Do not use it if the container is damaged or the solution appears contaminated.

**Three sizes.** The vial comes in 10 mL, 20 mL and 30 mL, each singly and in 2-, 5- and 10-vial packs, and each size is the same solution in the same multiple-dose vial format; the volume is the only difference. The 30 mL is the lowest price per millilitre and the 10 mL the highest, but the in-use period after first entry is the same for all three, so the right size is the one that gets finished inside it.

What arrives is a sealed multiple-dose glass vial: a rubber stopper held under an aluminium crimp beneath a flip-off cap, a lot number and an expiry printed on the label, and a clear, colourless solution inside. Nothing is decanted, repackaged or relabelled between the supplier and the parcel. Check every vial on arrival and set aside any whose seal is not intact, whose glass is damaged, or whose solution is not clear and colourless.

Three vial sizes rather than one. The 30 mL vial carries the lowest price per millilitre, but a vial has a fixed in-use period once its stopper is first entered, and one discarded part-used costs more than the smaller vial that would have been finished. The 10 and 20 mL presentations exist for that reason, not as a lesser option.

Multi-vial packs lower the price per vial without shortening anything. An unopened vial keeps until its printed expiry, and each vial's in-use period begins only when that particular vial is opened — so the 5- and 10-vial packs cost less per vial than buying them one at a time, with nothing traded away.

Two bacteriostatic waters are listed on this site, and they are not the same listing. The other is an original manufacturer presentation labelled Bacteriostatic Water for Injection USP, supplied factory-sealed and unaltered, and it is labelled for purposes this vial's label expressly excludes. What separates them on price is largely the manufacturer's brand on the label; what separates them on the shelf is what each label permits. Compare the two labels rather than the two prices — they are not interchangeable.

Buying bacteriostatic water in Australia is done online more often than not: community pharmacies do not routinely carry multiple-dose bacteriostatic presentations, so a chemist counter is rarely where one is found. Orders here are held in Melbourne and dispatched from Melbourne — same business day before the 1 pm cutoff — with tracked delivery Australia-wide and free standard shipping over $200. You must be 18 or over to purchase.