FDA warns customers to stop using eye drops sold by major retailers due to risk of eye infections

Twenty-six over-the-counter eye drop products including those sold under store brands such as CVS, Target and Rite Aid, could lead to a serious eye infection resulting in vision loss or blindness, the US Food and Drug Administration warns.

The agency found “insanitary conditions in the manufacturing facility and positive bacterial test results from environmental sampling of critical drug production areas in the facility” and is recommending the products be recalled.

The eye drops, sold under the brands CVS Health, Rite Aid, Target Up&Up, Leader (Cardinal Health), Rugby (Cardinal Health) and Velocity Pharma, are supposed to be sterile.

There are no reports of injuries from using the products at this time, according to the FDA, but the agency says that anyone “who has signs or symptoms of an eye infection after using these products should talk to their health care provider or seek medical care immediately.”

It also advises that anyone with these eye drops should discard them immediately.

Target, Rite Aid and CVS are removing the products from store shelves and will stop selling them online. The products sold under Leader, Velocity and Rugby’s names may still be in some stores or available online and should not be purchased, the FDA said.

Earlier this year, the FDA issued a warning not to use several other eye drop products due to microbial contamination. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the use of eye drops contaminated with a drug-resistant bacteria resulted in some patients experiencing vision loss, surgical removal of their eyes and death.