Swollen eyelids from eye drops may occur on both eyes. Usually, an allergic reaction may develop by using antibiotic drops and some over-the-counter drops. In this article, I will mention some over-the-counter eye drops that may be dangerous for you to use and if you are using any of these drops, stop using them immediately.
Stop Using These Dangerous Eye Drops
Check your medicine cabinet if you have any of these over-the-counter eye drops. Make sure you stop using them and throw them away. These eye drops could be tainted with bacteria and may cause eye infections that can lead to vision loss or blindness or worse.
Today, I’m here to give you the most current list of eye drops that can be purchased over-the-counter but may have bacterial contamination. I’m providing you the list of eye drops on Amazon that were mentioned in the recent FDA warning letter.
The FDA recalled several eye drops that may cause vision loss or blindness or in a few cases even death due to the risk of bacterial contamination. Just a few months later, the FDA has expanded its recall list and recently issued a new warning letter regarding even more eye drops. Here is the complete list:
Ezricare Artificial Tears
This over-the-counter product was associated with severe eye infections in 55 patients including 4 cases of death according to the CDC. A drug-resistant bacteria causes infections like Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Purely Soothing 15% MSM Drops
The FDA announced on March 3 that Pharmedica USA was voluntarily recalling two lots of purely soothing drops. This over-the-counter product is being recalled due to non-sterility. There have not been reports of illness or infection related to the product as of March 3rd, 2023.
Organic Castor Oil Eye Drops
Organic castor oil eye drops, MSM drops 5% and 15% solution made by Dr. Berne’s. The FDA analysis has found one lot (lot 6786) of Dr. Berne’s MSM drops 5% solution to fail sterility with both bacterial and fungal contamination found in the product. As of August 26th, 2023. Dr. Berne’s company has received 2 reports of adverse events related to this recall.
28 Over-the-counter Dry Eye Products Marketed Under Popular Store Brands Such as CVS Health, Rite Aid, Target, Walmart Equate, Cardinal Health, Rugby, and Velocity Pharma
CVS Health
The recall list includes the CVS brand generic lubricant eye drops, lubricant gel drops, Multi-Action relief drops, and mild-moderate lubricating eye drops.
Rite Aid
Rite Aid lubricant eye drops, Gentle lubricant gel eye drops, lubricating gel drops, and multi-action relief drops.
Target Brand
Up & Up dry eye relief, Up & Up high-performance lubricant eye drops.
Walmart Equates
Walmart equates hydration preservative-free lubricant eye drops.
Cardinal Health
The leader brand eye drops from Cardinal Health, lubricant eye drops, eye irritation relief, and dry eye relief.
Rugby
Lubricant eye drops, lubricating tear eye drops.
Velocity Pharma
Lastly are the Velocity pharma lubricant eye drops.
The reason for this extensive list of recalls issued by the FDA on November 15th, 2023 is that those eye drop products share the same suppliers and are manufactured in the same facilities, meaning a bacteria outbreak at just one factory could affect multiple products across multiple brands.
For this recall, the manufacturer, Kilitch Healthcare India Limited has issued a voluntary recall for all of the products on the recall list. These eye drops are manufactured by Kilitch Healthcare India Limited, through its distributor Velocity Pharma LLC.
FDA investigators found unsanitary conditions in the manufacturing facility and bacteria in samples taken from the production plant, and the FDA has advised that consumers should stop using the recalled eye drops and may return any of the above-listed products to the place of purchase.
7 Eye Drops to Avoid on Amazon
On November 13th 2023, FDA issued a warning letter to Amazon for selling several brands of eye drops that the agency considers unapproved new drugs without FDA approval. In response to the warning letter, Amazon said its website was no longer offering these seven eye drop products after the FDA warned Amazon that their distribution violated federal regulations and raised public health concerns.
The pulled products named in the agency’s letter are:
- Similasan Pink Eye Relief
- The Goodbye Company Pink Eye
- Can-C Eye Drops
- Optique 1 Eye Drops
- Oclumed Eye Drops
- TRP Natural Eyes Floaters Relief
- Manzanilla Sophia Chamomile Herbal Eye Drops
Eye drops are more vulnerable to contamination than other over-the-counter products. Because eye drops need to be sterile to prevent infection, Which is not true of oral and skincare products.
If you use any over-the-counter eye drops I would recommend you stick to the more branded artificial tears such as Optase, Refresh or Systane, to name a few as they are approved by the FDA and haven’t been implicated in recent FDA recalls.
To avoid getting eye infections from over-the-counter eye drops, make sure you follow the manufacturer’s instructions regarding the expiration date of the products and never use expired eye drops, share eye drops with someone else, or reuse eye drops from single-use vials.
Most importantly if you notice any unusual symptoms such as blurry vision, eye discharge, eye pain, redness of the eyelid or eye, a feeling like there is something in the eye, or increased sensitivity to light, contact your eye doctor right away to get a thorough eye exam.
