North Texas doctors warn of recalled eye drops that could potentially blind

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) “Doctors in North Texas want you to be on the lookout for something that could make you permanently blind.

Last week, the CDC warned of two contaminated brands of eye drops subject to recall: Delsam Pharma artificial tears and EzriCare artificial tears.

Dry eye is a very common condition that many of us use eye drops to treat.

There is a good chance that people who are unaware of the danger may already have them in first aid kits or still find them on the shelves of some stores despite the recall.

Global Pharma Healthcare has two brands of artificial tears that are being taken off store shelves across the country.

Some vials of dry eye solutions were found to be contaminated with bacteria, resulting in 55 cases of infection, some of which resulted in permanent blindness and even one death.

Dr. Jaime Gonzalez, an optometrist in Plano, says more attention needs to be paid to the dangers the drops can pose.

Symptoms associated with infections include tearing, itching, redness, sensitivity to light, cloudiness, and pain.

“It’s a matter of hours, maybe a day or two, because these bacteria are eating the front of your eye, so you have to act very quickly,” he said.

He encourages dry eye sufferers to use only certain types of drops.

“We usually recommend preservative-free artificial tears that come in separate nasty containers,” he said.

Despite the fact that the manufacturer has demanded the return of the bottles, there is no guarantee that they are still not being sold to unsuspecting buyers.