Federal health regulators have warned consumers to stop using certain brands of eye drops due to potential fungal and bacterial contamination.
The Food and Drug Administration advised people not to buy Dr. Berne’s MSM Drops 5% Solution and LightEyez MSM Eye Drops-Eye Repair drops. The agency said using these products could pose serious health risks, including vision and life-threatening infections.
The eye drops are sold online but are considered illegal because they are not approved for use in the United States and contain the illegally marketed ingredient methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). .
The FDA agreed to voluntarily recall Dr. Byrne’s MSM Drop 5% Solution on August 21, but Lighteyes Limited did not respond to the authorities and took steps to protect consumers. said no.
The FDA is urging consumers in possession of drops to dispose of them according to these instructions.
There have been no reports of side effects associated with the use of either product, but the FDA says testing by random sampling of these brands found them to be contaminated with microbes and not sterile. The agency is conducting regular testing of eye drops after a recent spate of deaths and blindness from illnesses linked to drug-resistant eye drops.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in May that at least 81 people have contracted the bacterium so far, including four deaths and 14 blindness. The CDC also announced that four people had surgery to remove their eyeballs due to infections.
After the recall, U.S. health inspectors visited a factory in India where the eye drops were being manufactured and found problems with how the drops were manufactured and inspected, including inadequate sterility measures.
Cases have been reported from 18 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
A Miramar resident is taking legal action, claiming he lost an eye after using eye drops that are now withdrawn due to possible bacterial contamination. NBC 6’s Chris Hash reports