Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

kingdazy t1_jcr5u1j wrote

Removal. Of. Eyeballs.

Fuck me, I'm never buying eyedrops again.

997

Astro4545 t1_jcrlxe7 wrote

Yeah, losing my eye sight is one of my biggest fears.

254

BSDShoes t1_jctgfxf wrote

I'm losing eyesight, it's no fun and irritating at times. Had a puck hit one of my eyes years ago when I played hockey so I can barely see out of it, and now I have a macular degeneration developing in my good eye. I have to use huge fonts to be able to read.

73

FlyingPoitato t1_jcubq4o wrote

Praying for synetic eyes to become available in the future, losing vision is like worse than losing an arm imo

23

FuckYourDamnCouch t1_jcv8kkg wrote

I'd lose an arm and a leg before I lost my vision. Being blind is insane to me, big shout out to blind people who still kill it everyday.

22

tikstar t1_jcw5s41 wrote

Nice typed out shout out to the blind community!

11

FuckYourDamnCouch t1_jcw84id wrote

Blind people use TTS to navigate. It's honestly super impressive, but when that's your best option you end up using it well. Must be a pain to read reddit threads though. They're probably full of shit and you have to wait for this dumb robot to say the dumb words, that end up having no meaning at all.

I'm sure if you were blind you would be a lot more selective on what you do on the Internet though. Why waste your time on here, am I right blind people?

13

An_Ugly_Bastard t1_jd2fqsh wrote

It's easier to fix limbs with automail. You need philosopher stone to get your vision back.

1

Worldly_Ad1295 t1_jcuwmzq wrote

40 stitches above my left 15 below my right. Lucky to be able to see at all . Yes... Hockey here too ..

3

Harley_Quinn_Lawton t1_jcs613c wrote

Eye drops are safe. It was one particular brand that dropped the ball.

If you don’t use artificial tears, especially as you get older and your eyes dry out, you run a risk of developing some nasty issues that can also lead towards enucleation.

99

TheLurkingMenace t1_jcsrjh6 wrote

Well, if one brand can fuck up like this, what's to keep others from doing it too? You'd think keeping dangerous bacteria out of eyedrops would be a simple matter, but apparently not.

81

monospaceman t1_jcteprc wrote

The article is pretty clear about it. These problems were centred around preservative-free drops, and therefore bacteria was able to breed.

43

Blenderx06 t1_jcti3c4 wrote

Unfortunately if you have chronic dry eye issues, doctors prescribe the use of preservative free drops only, as the preservatives can make things worse.

40

daveboy2000 t1_jcxhbni wrote

Well hopefully there'll be some preservatives that don't by the time we need them.

1

Blenderx06 t1_jcxilzz wrote

Covid left me with neuropathic dry eye since last year.

2

ElleHopper t1_jcu7xzw wrote

Preservatives can irritate the eye quite a bit if they need to be used daily or multiple times a day. Most people with moderate to severe dry eye are advised to use preservative free drops to prevent that.

9

dk00111 t1_jctmfwt wrote

Even though these eye drops were marketed as preservative free, if you look at the ingredient list, it has a preservative in it.

8

nimassane t1_jdxzg97 wrote

Well this is great for my anxiety. I have chronic dry eyes and constantly rely on Refresh preservative free eye drops every 2 hours.

1

Darryl_Lict t1_jcszdpb wrote

India. Don't buy eyedrops from India. Unfortunately these were distributed in the US, and I personally would never check the country of manufacture for most medicine I buy.

36

Piotr-Rasputin t1_jct4yb5 wrote

Tons of drugs are manufactured in India. Source: Work in a hospital pharmacy

53

Aazadan t1_jcuyv9v wrote

India's laws, especially towards generic medications, make it pretty easy to develop medications there.

For the most part, we don't hear about too many product failures from them.

4

reconrose t1_jcsi0nu wrote

Yeah it's sad how reactionary people are. You wouldn't be able to use any products if you want use that which never had a single brand's product recalled.

23

tastysnake667 t1_jcsj2y7 wrote

This is why I don’t drink water, eat food, or breathe air!!

16

RiverGyoll t1_jcu6oca wrote

Is this a cultural thing or related to a climate or anything? Can anyone outside North America speak to how widespread the use of “artificial tears” is in their nation? I’ve never even heard the term. I’ve heard of eye drops obviously.

2

ElleHopper t1_jcux6mi wrote

It can be related to climate, genetics, or other diseases that a person has. Women also have a higher likelihood of developing dry eye due to hormonal effect on the glands' production. Lower humidity environments make the tear film evaporate more quickly, so even someone who hasn't ever felt dry eye may not be able to move to a dry climate without feeling it.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19115918/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7401914/

4

HeyOP t1_jcvaimw wrote

Which studies have correlated lack of use of eye drops among an otherwise healthy population and an increase of eye disease? Is "if you don't use artificial tears" meant to be qualified by anything, like age or preexisting condition? Marijuana users and people riding motorcycles with a skull cap helmet and no goggles?

Edit: As an aside, it's two brands and one manufacturer.

1

Harley_Quinn_Lawton t1_jcvmmhz wrote

Artificial tears helps prevent dry eye. Dry eye can lead to corneal abrasions and corneal ulcers.

I’m not saying it’s something people should do all the time - but the risk of never using drops again far outweighs the benefits.

3

HeyOP t1_jcvwydy wrote

> Artificial tears helps prevent dry eye. Dry eye can lead to corneal abrasions and corneal ulcers.

Okay great, wasn't really the question.

> I’m not saying it’s something people should do all the time

Nor have I accused you of saying as much, nor interpreted your statements to mean as much. I appreciate you trying to address what you believe is at issue, though. What you have said was:

> If you don’t use artificial tears [...] you run a risk of developing some nasty issues that can also lead towards enucleation.

Which is a statement of correlation. Can you support it other than simply saying "moistening your eye helps prevent your eyes from being dry and the issues that that can lead to?" Total dry eye sufferers comprise about 13% of the most at-risk age group of 50+ in the US, and of course that total of sufferers includes those not within that age group. Compared to total population it's about *5%. The apparent common sense simplicity of your above first two sentences notwithstanding, I don't believe my skepticism of that stated correlative relationship is undue.

And for my part, to also address possible misinterpretation, I'm not saying people shouldn't use them. What I'm asking is that statements of correlation that imply a product is indespensible to everyone either be supported or couched in appropriate qualifiers required for the statement to be supported.

Edit: The asterisk, 4% became 5% to round up appropriately. I thought I'd already hit the 5 but apparently had not. Apologies.

−1

crusader86 t1_jcskost wrote

I definitely had to do a double take on that headline, yikes!

4

peddroelm t1_jct6827 wrote

> gets bad case of food poisoning
I'm never buying food again !

2

PhoenixReborn t1_jcwfqaq wrote

I mean food poisoning has definitely turned me off of some food.

5

SirRockalotTDS t1_jcts3u1 wrote

Good call. You'll never have bacteria close to your eyes now!

Ignorance is bliss...

1

herbalhippie t1_jcrsydp wrote

I am REALLY leery of generic medications from India after having a bad reaction to a generic some years back.

Read "Bottle of Lies" by Katherine Eban for a real eye-opener. No pun intended.

Edit: Just reading the reviews of this book on Amazon is frightening.

208

[deleted] t1_jcrtn8d wrote

[deleted]

48

-a-medium-place- t1_jcs8miw wrote

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but over 70% of US drugs (including branded) have active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) made overseas, primarily in India and China. It’s kind of unavoidable. I work in pharma… I really wish our manufacturing was more US-based because I have read the inspection nightmares, but in theory they are regulated to the same standard as US manufacturers so it’s not something I would lose sleep over.

76

herbalhippie t1_jcrtv5q wrote

Yeah, I always look now. Especially if my pharmacy hands me a different generic than one I've been taking. And eyedrops, it's going to be an expensive, reputable brand for me.

India is a huge part of the generic market. Maybe most of it, I haven't looked into it lately.

Edit: Just looking today two of the companies mentioned are located in Chennai, which is tropical. Somehow tropical India and medications just doesn't sound like a good mix to me.

45

Ariandrin t1_jcsxkaa wrote

Two of my medications, that are both brand name, and I have been taking safely for years, come from a manufacturer that operates in India.

11

shewy92 t1_jctxp7o wrote

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/05/12/722216512/bottle-of-lies-exposes-the-dark-side-of-the-generic-drug-boom

>Other Ranbaxy plants squeaked through regulatory inspections entirely, like the plant that manufactured generic Lipitor, the blockbuster cholesterol drug. Less than a year after that plant passed an inspection in 2012, Ranbaxy admitted that some of the millions of generic Lipitor pills already dispensed in the U.S. were suffused with tiny shards of blue glass.

Yikes.

>The situation was even worse in Africa, where many manufacturers shipped their lowest-quality drugs. Some were completely counterfeit, with independent lab analysis showing no active ingredients whatsoever. Those that had active ingredients often didn't have enough, and doctors would need to prescribe anywhere from double to 10 times the typical dose to achieve an effect, according to Eban.

So they were basically selling placebos to African countries?

>Eventually, Ranbaxy, as a company, was brought to justice. But none of the individuals responsible were prosecuted

Of course they weren't. And I wouldn't call a $200m fee justice when it's a billion dollar company

23

scyth21 t1_jcu16xm wrote

Funny enough our main raw material for producing Adderall came from India. Since we were a GMP facility I had to assume everything was kosher. Plus it goes through a gauntlet of tests before being shipped out.

3

username___taken t1_jcro3e0 wrote

Has anyone made an app to track recalls before?

Edit: From: https://pirg.org/edfund/resources/finding-food-recalls/

Sign up for recall alerts from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If you have a Twitter account, follow the agencies’ Twitter accounts: @FDArecalls and @USDAFoodSafety. Getting real-time alerts is especially important if there are people with severe allergies, or kids, pregnant women, elderly folks or people with compromised immune systems in the home.

195

spacepeenuts t1_jcrtvwx wrote

I bought these on Amazon and used 2 entire bottles!

120

HockeyDad1981 t1_jcrvwsn wrote

Did you use speech to text for this comment since you don’t have eyeballs anymore?

212

Iohet t1_jcsstdh wrote

Buying medication on Amazon is honestly a terrifying concept. I have zero trust in them with their counterfeit issues or quality control

71

mces97 t1_jcrws1h wrote

Don't use eye drops with preservatives. Usually the preservative is BAK. Very harsh on the ocular surface. Use the preservative free individual vials, or what I use, they now have eyedrop containers that are preservative free and more cost effective. Just don't touch the tip to your eyeball and you should be good. If the drops are ever cloudy, throw em away.

27

bigheadweeze t1_jcsuv68 wrote

What are the container drops you have that are preservative-free? Haven't had much luck finding any.

4

Fn_up_adulting t1_jcswsqr wrote

Systane. The bottle design used for the preservative free drops can be a pain but you get more for the money than the single use drops.

8

call_me_jelli t1_jcszdg3 wrote

Okay but don't preservatives generally protect from bacteria growing in bottles like this?

5

Blenderx06 t1_jctibgi wrote

Doctors don't want you using preservatives if you have chronic dry eye.

5

Fn_up_adulting t1_jcszrjj wrote

The bottle valve is designed to prevent airflow into the bottle and thus contamination. What makes the bottle a pain is that the valve can make it difficult to get the drops out.

https://biomedres.us/pdfs/BJSTR.MS.ID.007130.pdf

4

mces97 t1_jcuypt3 wrote

Yeah. I've tried a few different brands and I settled on Bio True because it's the easiest to get out without having to squeeze squeeze. And it's also cheaper in 2 packs, and get a few recurring deliveries on Amazon. I go through about 1 a week or two. I have to take glaucoma drops for high eye pressure and those do contain BAK Gonna try to switch to a different type without BAK.

1

mces97 t1_jcu43nl wrote

I use Bio true preservative free. Can even use them with contacts. And you can use them as many times as you want since it's just essentially an artificial tear with no harsh chemicals.

2

captainhaddock t1_jcwsofw wrote

I use Alcon Tears Naturale II for my chronic dry eye (caused by lasik I got 25 years ago). They advertise the fact that it contains polyquad as "a preservative with a better safety profile". Hopefully that's true.

2

mces97 t1_jcwtxke wrote

Just did a quick search and it does seem polyquad is a good safe preservative. What's annoying is it's in glaucoma drops outside the US, while most here use BAK. Like why can't the companies just do a quick trial using a different preservative and just reformulate it with that one change? BAK honestly should not be in any eye drops since safer and just as effective alternative preservatives exist. Even more bs is Travaton brand uses Sofvia, but the generic uses BAK. One is 300 bucks, one is 10. Such damn bs.

2

TipAwkward5008 t1_jcw5o20 wrote

You used eye drops from Amazon, the flea market of the internet??! Are you aware of Amazon's fake and used product issues even when it's 'sold by Amazon'?

4

Strificus t1_jcrbwk5 wrote

Well that is fucking scary

80

InternetPeon t1_jcr5b45 wrote

Wow - those artificial tears led to real tears.

70

PathOfDawn t1_jcr6yrl wrote

Or, in some cases, no tears ever again

54

SpiralDimentia t1_jcrijg2 wrote

Not true, in most cases people without eyes can still cry, as it’s not the eye that produces tears.

49

PathOfDawn t1_jcrjjkh wrote

Today I learned

19

thedinnerman t1_jcsha2p wrote

You have 6 types of glands that make 3 components of tears:

Lacrimal glands, Krause glands and Wolfring glands make the water part

Zeiss and meibomian make the oil

Goblet cells make the mucous part

They're all important but they get worse as you age. Artifical tears are a great product, but like most medicines can be ruined by the process of producing them. As many comments have mentioned, generics can occasionally be an issue with contamination whereas brand names in the US all have better quality controls.

5

Sonyguyus t1_jcs5g8u wrote

I think Johnson and Johnson beat them to the “No more tears” trademark or else this would fit perfectly.

1

humanregularbeing t1_jcs5wb7 wrote

Note to self: add "put cheap drops in your eyes" to the list of things never to do again, right after "nasal-irrigate with tap water."

64

phoenixgsu t1_jdk7n96 wrote

Just avoid all medical products made in India. Quality control is a major issue there.

2

meowpower777 t1_jcs1ar6 wrote

Side effects of our eye drops may include: redness, swelling, surgical removal of eyes. If any of the following occurs, discontinue use immediately.

42

DemonBliss33 t1_jcsm2p0 wrote

I work in retail and was responsible for pulling these specific eye drops off the shelves. Scary thing is…there were 7 boxes, but one was open and the eye drops missing. Someone stole these recalled eye drops. RIP.

42

thedinnerman t1_jcsi2am wrote

I am an ophthalmologist, please don't ask me questions about your specific eyes.

This is a huge concern for our community for a number of reasons. Firstly, the biggest concern here is the lack of quality control. These brands of artificial tears, as far as I know, are not manufactured in the US and are not well known companies.

One of the biggest issues is that artificial tears are over the counter and not paid by insurance (at least in the US). Because of this, people are often going to gravitate towards cheaper products since it's coming out of pocket. Further, there isn't great guidance on which brands to buy (which is why many of my patients tell me they take visine, which is a terrible drop).

Additionally, dry eye is a serious condition (one that I don't focus on in my subspecialty) that can lead to really unfortunate conditions. Firstly, the vast majority of your eyes ability to make clear images (refractive power) comes from your tear film (how well your eye is wet). Having poor tear film (common with aging) can lead to blurry vision.

But even worse, chronic dry eye can lead to scratches on the eye, scarring, or even permanent vision loss. It can make the eye susceptible to infections and at risk for needing a corneal transplant. The vast majority of eyes don't get this bad but it's important to manage it.

The fundamental problem is that treatments like these are not being handled as medical problems, but rather out of pocket expenses. This leads to many brands on the shelf and competing companies and no standardized process to ensure safety.

I won't endorse certain brands but there are many reputable brands that you can find with the help of your local eye specialist.

41

castaneom t1_jctfg1l wrote

I wear contacts and I struggled for many years to find drops that would help get rid of my dry eyes. Finally found them.. I’ve been using the same brand for like 4-5 years!

5

Top_Bodybuilder8001 t1_jctb12t wrote

Why is Visine a terrible drop?

4

thedinnerman t1_jctbmgf wrote

Visine makes your eyes less red by constricting the blood vessels in your eye. This constriction leads to less blood flow to the various tear glands of the eye, making your eyes dryer and more irritated. It doesn't address why your eye is irritated and in fact makes it worse

30

phoenixgsu t1_jdk7it9 wrote

I work in the industry on the quality and regulatory side of manufacturing. I wouldn't buy any product from India,any of these companies focus on generics and knockoffs and lack real GMP l, quality systems and quality control even though they are regulated by FDA.

1

moschles t1_jcsuj2u wrote

As a user of eyedrops like this, I'm disappointed in CNN being sketchy about which brands are part of the recall. They only say "call this number".

31

kshizzlenizzle t1_jcw4vev wrote

I was trying to find what brands, I use eye drops constantly, although usually the rohto brand.

5

criticalpwnage t1_jcs8x2y wrote

On the bright side, this is an excellent product for anyone looking to get rid of those pesky eyeballs

18

jyukaku t1_jcs52s0 wrote

Shouldnt the health authorities be regulating this before even entering the market

16

Clear_Currency_6288 t1_jcuh1q3 wrote

In an ideal world...

2

phoenixgsu t1_jdk842g wrote

It is regulated. There are regulations for good manufacturing and good lab practices. The eye drops should have been sterile during the mfg process and even if they weren't it would have been caught by sterility testing. This company probably falsified a ton of records.

1

phoenixgsu t1_jdk8fcj wrote

They do. 21CFR210,211, and others. Products are supposed to be made sterile by the manufacturing process and confirmed through testing. Bet this company did neither. Companies in India are really bad about this.

1

pickleer t1_jcs82rc wrote

Oh, dear lord!!

When some deranged person tosses lye into the vat at the factory (true story) and eyedrop users go blind, that's one thing. When a restaurant worker doesn't fully clean the salad bar and folks get the shits, that's another. But when a big ol' factory that makes schtuff that people put in their eyes, day in and day out, fails to keep their systems fully ufking clean, THAT is an issue, a very big issue. And this is why we pay taxes and MUST DEMAND solid service from our governmental leaders. In capitalism, it's caveat emptor, or "buyer beware" because PROFIT is the primary motivator. That's why competency and diligence in our governmental apparatus is so much more important than political bullshit. Can we reasonably expect a profit-motivated corporation to cut corners? Yes. Can we reasonably expect government oversight and regulation to protect us from such possible threats? Well, that depends- did we elect officials according to the way they made us feel or the way they historically solved problems put to them in their past service. Rick Perry, a former state governor, was put in charge of a federal agency he'd once been unable to remember the name of during a presidential debate where he was listing three federal agencies he wanted to cut from the government. This is an example of a political appointment, not a practical or capable appointment. Go check his record, see for yourself how he did.

15

caddyofshak t1_jcreew8 wrote

Takes the read out, and also the rest of the color spectrum.

14

zstandig t1_jcsh9g4 wrote

Well, that's horrifying

7

Sonyguyus t1_jcs5jso wrote

How do you mess up saltwater? Also bacteria shouldn’t be able to survive in saline unless it’s living on the applicator instead of the solution.

5

thedinnerman t1_jcshfp9 wrote

The bacteria is a form of pseudomonas (one that we had not seen in humans as of yet). Pseudomonas can live in most fluids and cause really violent eye infections that cause damage very quickly.

The two worst contaminants would be pseudomonas and acanthomoeba since they can tolerate extremely hypertonic solutions

13

dk00111 t1_jctljkh wrote

Neither real tears or artificial tears are just saltwater.

4

Sonyguyus t1_jctlmno wrote

Maybe there’s more to it but bacteria shouldn’t be able to live in saltwater

0

dk00111 t1_jctmqi9 wrote

I don’t think the salt concentration is high enough to suppress bacterial growth.

There are 5% hypertonic saline eye drops that are different than artificial tears, but even those have preservatives added.

6

phoenixgsu t1_jdk7wgw wrote

Lots of bacteria are salt tolerant, and saline water has hardly any salt in it to begin with. Further, pseudomonas spp are a know human pathogen, company should have caught it in sterility testing but of course these companies in cut corners and falsify records.

1

MeAmMike t1_jcsqkir wrote

Wow, I didn’t see that coming

5

BSDShoes t1_jctfcuh wrote

What the ever loving Jesus???

5

TimeTraveler3056 t1_jcutfh7 wrote

Curious where these drops are manufactured?

4

SqualorTrawler t1_jd4f5ds wrote

India.

> The eye drops are made in India, and "we understand that the same product is also marketed under other brand names," the company says. The manufacturer, Global Pharma Healthcare PVT Limited, is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on a recall, EzriCare says.

A whole lot of pharmaceuticals are made there.

2

phoenixgsu t1_jdk6tjg wrote

I work in the industry. India is pretty bad about quality systems and regulatory conformance. There's a book called Bottle of Lies that goes into how bad it is. Companies in India are still subject to FDA law if it's on the market here in the US. If the law was followed this wouldn't have happened because the regulations stipulate what is required for good manufacturing practices, so it shouldn't have bacteria in it at all. Even if it did for some reason it should have been caught by sterility testing but it seems like they didn't do that or falsified the records.

FDA needs to crack down on overseas manufacturers.

1

trickster199 t1_jctl91o wrote

I wonder if the study regarding eye drops causing hair regrowth has any factors in this recall.

People have noticed that some eyedrop user's become problemed with overgrown eyelashes.

3

Expensive-Green-753 t1_jctwcen wrote

Nasty af. Needs litigating to oblivion. Isn't difficult to keep bacteria out, just shoddy practices and now some poor souls lose a huge part of their lives.

3

hawkwings t1_jcvd2yw wrote

Were some of the people saying, "My eyes hurt, so I better use eye drops. I'll keep using them until my eyes stop hurting."

3

T1442 t1_jcwa5ze wrote

Makes me want to use a different eyedrops in each eye so I only lose one eye in case of contamination.

3

z0mghii t1_jcsl72h wrote

Someone watched too much The Glory

2

ARobertNotABob t1_jcsqajs wrote

screams, recoils, continues twitching nervously

2

DaysGoTooFast t1_jctv0oc wrote

As someone who uses eyedrops from Mexico almost daily, oh fucking goodie… (yes, they’re from Mexico, but I’ve gotten many legit products from there)

2

Kanden_27 t1_jcxzc7j wrote

Fucking hell. I just started using eye drops because my contacts were giving me headaches. Guess I’d rather feel pain than nothing at all.

2

Danagrams t1_jd6jgp2 wrote

holy shit what a nightmare

2

Nabaseito t1_jdlfjcy wrote

I used eyedrops daily for months. Then I stopped using them for a while. Then I started using them again, and this happens.

Obviously, I'm terrified. I did some research and the brand I've been using has not been recalled, but I'm still scared as hell. Gotta go back to downing water for natural eye lubrication instead..

2

beebeereebozo t1_jcsr5aw wrote

Heaven forbid that "chemicals" should be added to prevent this.

−4

brostrider t1_jct6ziy wrote

If you are using eye drops many times a day, it isn't safe to use the kind with preservatives because they will cause a lot of irritation and burning. To my knowledge there is no safe preservative that can go into the eye many times a day. People with chronic dry eye need to use the preservative free drops that are in single use vials.

I have mild dry eye from a medication I took in the past. While on it I needed eye drops 4 or 5 times a day and preservative free was my only option.

8

beebeereebozo t1_jcunji6 wrote

Thanks, I did not know that. Interesting that the recalled EzriCare and Delsam products make no claim on the packaging that they do not contain preservatives or are specially formulated for someone like you. In fact, both products claim to contain boric acid, which is an antimicrobial. Guess this is not about being preservative free, just bad manufacturing practices.

2

phoenixgsu t1_jdk734a wrote

You don't need chemicals in them to prevent this. You need quality systems in place and to follow FDA regulations to prevent them from being contaminated in the first place. Sterility testing is also required and Id bet money this company just falsified them.

1