Sterile Water for Irrigation: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Sterile Water for Irrigation is a medicine sold in the U.S. under one brand. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Available as
- Irrigant
- Sold as
- Sterile Water in Plastic Container
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
How sterile water for irrigation is dosed
From the FDA label for Sterile Water in Plastic Container (application NDA018313). Other sterile water for irrigation products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
The dose is dependent upon the capacity or surface area of the structure to be irrigated and the nature of the procedure. When used as a diluent or vehicle for drugs, the manufacturer's recommendations should be followed. Drug Interactions Additives may be incompatible. Consult with pharmacist, if available. When introducing additives, use aseptic technique, mix thoroughly and do not store. Parenteral drug products should be inspected visually for particulate matter and discoloration prior to administration, whenever solution container permits. (See PRECAUTIONS .)
Sterile Water for Irrigation side effects
Possible adverse effects arising from the irrigation of body cavities, tissues, or indwelling catheters and tubes are completely avoidable when proper procedures are followed. Displaced catheters or drainage tubes can lead to irrigation or infiltration of unintended structures or cavities. Excessive volume or pressure during irrigation of closed cavities may cause undue distention or disruption of tissues. Accidental contamination from careless technique may transmit infection. Should any adverse reaction occur, discontinue the irrigant, evaluate the patient, institute appropriate therapeutic countermeasures and save the remainder of the fluid for examination, if deemed necessary.
Who shouldn’t take sterile water for irrigation
NOT FOR INJECTION BY USUAL PARENTERAL ROUTES.
Every sterile water for irrigation product we track (1)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
Only one: Sterile Water in Plastic Container.
Sterile Water for Irrigation recalls
From the FDA Enforcement database. A recall covers specific lots — not the drug as a whole.
What people report to the FDA about sterile water for irrigation
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 53 reports naming sterile water for irrigation, and the FDA flagged 40% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- product selection error12 reports
- product preparation error6 reports
- rash6 reports
- product packaging confusion5 reports
- product appearance confusion3 reports
- product preparation issue3 reports
- renal failure acute3 reports
- hyponatraemia2 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean sterile water for irrigation caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 26, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is sterile water for irrigation?
Sterile Water in Plastic Container (Sterile Water for Irrigation) is a medication supplied as an irrigant.
Can you take sterile water for irrigation with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run sterile water for irrigation against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What forms does sterile water for irrigation come in?
Across the brands we track, sterile water for irrigation is currently marketed as irrigant, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic sterile water for irrigation?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled sterile water for irrigation product. That does not always mean none exists — it means none appears under a generic name in the FDA data we track. Ask your pharmacist.
Has sterile water for irrigation been recalled?
The FDA's Enforcement database lists 1 recall record whose product description mentions sterile water for irrigation. The most recent: Sterile Water for Irrigation (Dec 22, 2025). A recall applies to specific lots, not to the drug as a whole — check the record for the affected lot numbers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Sterile Water for Irrigation: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/sterile-water-for-irrigation
- MLA
- “Sterile Water for Irrigation: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/sterile-water-for-irrigation.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for sterile water for irrigation on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.