Red eye relief? Or not. Massive eye drop recall expands to 3.1 million bottles

A California-based pharmaceutical company has expanded its national eye drops recall to include more than 3 million bottles distributed to retailers, including Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid.

K.C. Pharmaceuticals, Inc. voluntarily initiated the recall on March 3. An FDA notice cites “lack of assurance of sterility” as the reason.

In the last week, the eye drops recall was designated a Class II recall, which, according to the FDA, is “a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”

It’s not clear if there have been any reports of adverse effects related to the eye drops recall.

Which eye drops were recalled?

See the full list of affected products and affected retailers here.

• 1,023,096 bottles of Dry Eye Relief Drops
• 589,848 bottles of Artificial Tears Sterile Lubricant Eye Drops
• 378,144 bottles of Sterile Eye Drops Original Formula
• 315,144 bottles of Sterily Eye Drops Redness Lubricant
• 303,216 bottles of Eye Drops (advanced relief)
• 245,184 bottles of Ultra Lubricating Eye Drops
• 182, 484 bottles of Steril Eye Drops AC
• 74,016 bottles of Sterile Eye Drops Soothing Tears

There have been several eye drop recalls apart from this one in recent years. Many have dealt with concerns over contamination.

Indian health care company Kilitch Healthcare has issued a voluntary recall for 27 eye drop products, following FDA warning.