If you use eyedrops for lubrication or itchiness, you need to be aware that a very serious health problem has arisen concerning some brands. So far it's killed three people, blinded eight, and led to four persons needing to have an eyeball surgically removed.
Click the image below for a larger view, or click here to be taken to the original tweet.
The New York Post reports:
The drops — manufactured in India — are blamed for a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that “had never been reported in the United States prior to this outbreak,” the CDC said.
It is also “extensively drug-resistant,” the center warned.
The CDC noted that “patients reported over 10 different brands of artificial tears and some patients used multiple brands” — but EzriCare Artificial Tears “was the brand most commonly reported.”
“This was the only common artificial tears product identified across the four healthcare facility clusters,” the warning stated.
“Patients and healthcare providers should immediately stop the use of EzriCare Artificial Tears,” the agency said.
“Patients who have used EzriCare or Delsam Pharma’s artificial tears and who have signs or symptoms of an eye infection should seek medical care immediately.”
Users “not experiencing any signs or symptoms of infection” do not need to seek medical care, but should look out for symptoms including blurred vision, redness or feeling like something is in the eye as well as “yellow, green, or clear discharge from the eye.”
There's more at the link.
Note that it's not just the named brands of eyedrops that may carry a risk of infection. Those manufacturers also label their product for other vendors, and unless you check very carefully, you may not know that the latter come from the same factory.
I'm taking this very seriously, as I use eyedrops for lubrication. I hope none of my readers have been affected.
Peter
9 comments:
We discovered in 2020 just how little we produce in the US for the medical industry.
Precursers for medicens come from China as do medical devices.
Pharmicuticals come from India.
That is, very arguably, a massive natonal security issue
Ouch!!!
You can DIY your own eye drops, from basic saline to any lubricants you want to add in.
Packaged eye drops were cheap and easily available; it made sense just to toss one in the cart when you were getting low instead of making your own.
This is just the latest on contaminated or fake drugs in the supply chain; I've been noticing them going back for over ten years. Nowadays, it might be worth your time to avoid prepackaged drugs when possible.
Good old sterile saline without preservatives is the way to go. Wife has allergies to a lot of preservatives and that's what she uses
And, yeah, that's what happens when you set very strict standards in the Use country. Manufacturing goes to a looser regulatory country.
An item very high on my gratitude list is that I only have one prescription medicine: an eyedrop for prevention of glaucoma. This is a very concerning story, and I will be very cautious in watching for any symptoms out of the ordinary. Thanks for posting this.
My mother in law worked as a housekeeper for an ophthalmic surgeon. He told her that the best substitute for tears and to use as an eye wash was one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and one pint of boiling water.
Obviously, allow to cool before using ... Nowadays you have to assume idiots will try it boiling hot. >};o)
It will keep for a long time and so cheap that you can discard it if you don't want to store it.
Phil B
Don't buy food or pharmaceuticals from China or India. They can't be trusted, for a number of reasons. The problem can't/won't be fixed, due to their cultures.
Anyone know where the list of all companies re-packaging the contaminated junk - of anything - from India can be found? Any so-called "American" companies whoring out their labels on this kind of thing?
How about finding what should be "Reliable Sources" for meds, both OTC and prescription? I've had prescription drugs recalled by the issuing local pharmacy because of contamination. It's long been known to never buy a brand-name tourniquet from Amazon because so many are counterfeit and Amazon does such a poor job of policing everyone who sells counterfeit ANYTHING through Amazon. Are there reliable sources for OTC meds and if so, who? How do we know?
" Are there reliable sources for OTC meds and if so, who?"
See if any of your local pharmacies are "compounding pharmacies" maybe? Those are the ones that make their own on site.
I honestly don't know if there are any in operation in the US anymore.
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