News
Multiple Brands of Eye Drops Recalled over Serious Injury Risk
Many alarming reports of potentially dangerous over-the-counter eye drops injuring people in several states across the country are making news again. Multiple brands of eye drops have been recalled since last month after reports of infections and injuries caused by them started coming out.
News sources reported in early February that two types of artificial tears eye drops were recalled voluntarily after 55 cases of adverse effects were reported following their use. The effects included “eye infections, vision loss and even a bloodstream infection that led to one death.”
Manufactured in India, the eye drops recalled were distributed by Aru Pharma, EzriCare and Delsam Pharma under Global Pharma Healthcare and the people affected by the use of the drops in question were in the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The Associated Press reported that people affected by the eye drops had contracted a drug-resistant infection that caused permanent vision loss in at east five people. The story added:
The FDA recommended the recall based on manufacturing problems including lack of testing and proper controls on packaging. The agency also blocked import into the United States.
The updates on the damage caused by the drops continued and last week the number of people affected by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginos reached 68 in 16 states. According to Mirror, the CDC urged the public in January this year to stop using EzriCare Artificial Tears and Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Tears.
In the meantime, the FDA separately recalled two other brands of eye drops distributed by Pharmedica and Apotex over contamination risks that could possibly cause to vision problems and serious injury in users. Of Pharmedica, the recalled products included 2900 bottles of Purely Soothing 15% MSM Drops. These recalled brands were manufactured in Arizona and were not related to the Indian products.
