JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The FDA is warning consumers to stop using more than two dozen over-the-counter eye drop products.
Certain products sold at major retail stores and pharmacies like Target and CVS could cause an eye infection that could lead to vision loss.
The FDA issued warnings about 27 eye drop products that contain bacteria that could cause eye infections and potentially lead to vision loss or blindness.
Jacksonville optometrist Dr. Christian Guier said not to push off a doctor’s visit if something feels off with your eyes.
“I always say when somebody comes in my office and says my eyes don’t feel right, they don’t look right, I’m listening for a couple of things. I call it RSVP. I’m listening for number one, are your eyes red, are they more red than they should be? Are they sensitive to light? Is your vision diminished or blurred? Do you have any eye pain? Any of those or any combination of those could mean that there is an infection,” Guier said.
According to the FDA, several eye drop products contain a dangerous drug-resistant bacteria known as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Eye drops contaminated with this bacterium have been linked to at least four deaths and several infections nationwide.
This is the FDA’s second recall of contaminated eye drops.
“The first one was very worrisome. Earlier this year at the very beginning of the year, there were some very serious infections affecting more than 80 people across 18 states. So, this was a national so-called epidemic of a very severe infection that caused significant vision loss. It was a very aggressive bacteria that was not responsive to any of our topical antibiotic therapies,” Guier said.