These are the eye drop products that have been recalled due to contamination fears, after they blinded half a dozen and killed three.
A surge of deaths and blindness in the US caused by contaminated eye drops has caused panic across the country.
Nationwide, 68 people have lost their sight from contaminated eye drops, including two women whose cases were confirmed Friday.
The artificial tears manufactured by EzriCare were confirmed to be contaminated with P. aeruginosa, a deadly bacterium usually found only in hospitals. Others were withdrawn from the market due to the risk of contamination, but nothing was confirmed.
Three people have died, four have had their eyes removed and eight have lost their vision.
Renee told CNN that she now has severe and permanent scarring on her cornea that has resulted in loss of vision, and she can now only partially see while wearing glasses that feel like they’ve been dipped in oil.
As of March 14, a reported 68 patients in 16 states have been infected with this ‘rare strain’ of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
EzriCare artificial tears have been withdrawn from the market
- EzriCare Artificial Tears
EzriCare’s artificial tears were withdrawn from the market in January due to links to eye infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an urgent warning at the time about products made by India-based Global Pharma.
Tests by the agency found the drug-resistant strain of P. aeruginosa, which is usually spread in hospitals, in opened bottles collected from patients.
Droplets are at the center of dozens of eye infections in as many as 16 states, with cases dating back to May 2022. They include at least one death and several more that caused “permanent blindness.”
The agency does not yet know if the droplets were contaminated during manufacturing or after they left the factory.
These drops have been withdrawn
- Delsam artificial eye ointment
A second recall of Delsam’s artificial eye ointment was issued in February.
It was ordered for ‘possible microbial contamination’.
The drops were sold in stores across the country, including Walmart, Target, CVS and Amazon.
They are also manufactured by India-based Global Pharma.
A statement on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website says: “The use of contaminated eye ointments may cause adverse events, including an infection in the eye that could lead to blindness.”
They said the company had not adequately tested its products for bacterial contamination.
These in prescription drops have been withdrawn
- Brimonidine tartrate ophthalmic solution
Earlier this month, Florida-based Apotex recalled six lots of its brimonidine tartrate ophthalmic solution eye drops.
Unlike the others, these are only available by prescription.
The recall was ordered after at least four bottle caps developed cracks, jeopardizing the sterility of the contents.
This posed the risk of potentially dangerous bacteria getting into the solutions and then inadvertently being put on the patients’ eyeballs. The recall was issued on March 1.
Pictured above is the label for the eye drops.
- Pure softening 15% MSM drops
Purely Smoothing 15 percent MSM drops were also withdrawn from the market this month.
This was due to its ‘non-sterility’, a statement on the FDA website read.
They were manufactured by Arizona-based Pharmedica USA LLC and distributed across the country.
The eye drops are used as an anti-inflammatory to help with symptoms of eye irritation and/or swelling.
