Diluents & swabs
Skin prep and the water you mix with. Alcohol swabs are the single highest turnover line in most rooms and the easiest to under order, so they come in two hundreds rather than hundreds. Bacteriostatic water is preserved with benzyl alcohol, which is what lets a vial keep once it has been broached, and sterile water is not the same thing. Chlorhexidine where alcohol alone is not enough. We supply the diluent and the equipment, never the compound.
Not sure which one you need?
Three plain questions and the Gauge Finder tells you the thickness, the length and how many. Nothing you answer is stored.
Bacteriostatic or sterile water
Bacteriostatic water contains 0.9% benzyl alcohol as a preservative, which is what makes a vial multi-dose: it can be entered more than once within the in-use period its instructions give. Sterile water for injection has no preservative and is single use.
That is the whole difference. Both are diluents, neither is a medicine, and which one you need is a question for your prescriber rather than for us.
Skin prep, in order of how long it keeps working
An alcohol swab acts fast and stops working as soon as it has evaporated, which is fine for an injection site. Chlorhexidine in alcohol keeps working after it dries. Povidone iodine is the one to reach for where chlorhexidine is contraindicated.
All three have to dry before the needle goes in. Wet prep stings and has not finished working.
Questions about diluents & swabs
If yours is not here, the contact form routes to the person who can answer it.