FDA Warning – Do Not Use These Eye Drops

More than two dozen brands of eye drops sold at popular retailers can possibly cause eye infections, warns the Food and Drug administration (FDA). If you have purchased any of these products, the agency advises to stop using them immediately.

The FDA warning reads:

FDA is warning consumers not to purchase and to immediately stop using 26 over-the-counter eye drop products due to the potential risk of eye infections that could result in partial vision loss or blindness.

The FDA posted its initial warning on Friday (October 27) along with the list of eye drops that can be potentially infection-carrying and updated the list on Monday (October 30) to include one more product that is sold at Walmart – i.e., Equate Hydration PF Lubricant Eye Drop 10 ml. Please take a moment to read the full list of products included in the FDA warning.

Besides Walmart, the following retailers and pharmacies have the products consumers are warned against taking:

• CVS Health
• Leader (Cardinal Health)
• Rugby (Cardinal Health)
• Rite Aid
• Target Up & Up
• Velocity Pharma

As per FDA, infections transmitted vis eye drops can be more harmful to the health of a consumer:

Ophthalmic drug products pose a potential heightened risk of harm to users because drugs applied to the eyes bypass some of the body’s natural defenses.

Like with other potentially harmful products, the FDA issues recalls for eye drops if any of the products test positive for any infectious agents (usually bacteria) or other potentially dangerous environmental contamination is detected in the samples. Earlier this year, multiple brands of eye drops were recalled after reports of infections and injuries caused by them started coming out.