On October 25, the Food and Drug Administration issued a list of several eyedrops sold at national retailers, after investigations found "insanitary conditions in the manufacturing facility and positive bacterial test results from environmental sampling of critical drug production areas," according to a statement from the FDA.
Consumers should immediately discard the products listed in this notice, as the use of contaminated eye drops pose the risk of eye infections "that could result in partial vision loss or blindness." Although the FDA has not received any reports of infections associated with the use of these eye drops, the agency is monitoring the situation closely.
Brands included in the emergency notice include Equate, sold by Walmart, as well as store brands from Target, Rite Aid, CVS, and Cardinal Health brands Rugby and Leader. Consumers are urged to check the full list on the FDA website, as not all formulations of the preceding brands are affected by the notice.
Healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse events or quality issues with any medicine to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program.
