BLINDING EYE DROPS

“MOM MY EYES FEEL IRRITATED!” you scream while rubbing your eyes. Has this ever happened to you? They feel as dry as the Sahara desert and more uncomfortable than a pair of wet socks. Well, one of the most common solutions your mother may suggest is putting on some eye drops, but the FDA may say otherwise.

On October 25th the FDA announced that they had prompted an investigation and uncovered that over 2 dozen products were manufactured in unsanitary conditions. This has contaminated them causing them to become contaminated with harmful bacteria. If you’re interested in seeing all the eye drops that got recalled, click here.

Though the FDA did not directly state which companies created these eye drops, they did ask for popular vendors such as CVS, Target, and Rite Aid to pull their products off the shelves. However, Leader, Rugby (both under Cardinal Health), and Velocity Pharma eye drops may still be out there, which it is suggested to avoid. 

The FDA also added that they would like for consumers to get rid of these products by taking them to the drug disposal or making sure they can be discarded in the toilet. 

A CVS spokesperson stated, “We’re committed to ensuring the products we offer are safe, work as intended, and satisfy customers, and are fully cooperating with the FDA on this matter”. Other companies as well are also focusing on finding the root cause, such as Cardinal Health saying, “[We] placed all identified impacted eye drop products in our inventory on hold”. 

Now why is this important? Well, when asked what one uses and expects out of eye drops, Sarah Gao, a sophomore here at Harborfields said, “Personally I use eye drops after I wear my contacts so that my eyes don’t dry out or burn. I expect eye drops not to burn my eyes but to soothe them and allow my eyes to retain their moisture.”

Assuming one uses eye drops every day, not only can this cause dryness and discomfort, but even vision loss and blindness. Especially if someone is depending on eye drops like an eye contact user or someone with conjunctivitis (known as pink eye). This may amp up the discomfort throughout the day whether it's at school, work, or anywhere else. 

For now, though, it's best to deal with the pain and inform your mom and everyone else to stay away from these products as the FDA advises.