These Eye Drops Sold At Walmart & Walgreens Have Been Voluntarily Recalled

If you have sensitive eyes and frequently use over-the-counter drops to help soothe them, you may want to check your medicine cabinet. As CNN reported, a voluntary recall on eye drops sold at Walmart and Walgreens has recently been issued because the products might not be sterile and, therefore, could be dangerous to use.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on July 5 that the recalled products, produced by Altaire Pharmaceuticals, had been distributed to Walgreens and Walmarts across the country. The voluntary recall was issued as a "precautionary measure" due to "management concerns regarding the sufficiency of Quality Assurance controls over critical systems in the manufacturing facility," according to the FDA's recall notice. The specific reason noted on the FDA's notice reads, "Potential for nonsterility."

Romper's requests for further comment from Walmart, Walgreens, and Atlaire Pharmaceuticals were not immediately returned.

The products recalled from Walmart include allergy relief solutions, eye drops, and gel drops under the Equate store brand. According to the FDA, recalled items sold at Walmart include:

• Equate Restore Tears Lubricant Eye Drops Twin Pack: 49035-189-49.
• Equate Eye Allergy Relief Drops: 49035-887-13.
• Equate Sterile Lubricant Stye Ointment: 49035-875-50.
• Equate Comfort Gel Lubricant Eye Gel Twin Pack: 49035-197-49.
• Equate Restore PM Nighttime Lubricant Eye Ointment: 49035-191-50.
• Equate Night & Day Restore Tears Lubricant Eye Pack: 49035-883-59.
• Equate Support Advanced Twin Pack: 49035-885-49.
• Equate Support Advanced Lubricating Eye Drops Dose Preservative Free: 49035-882-54.
• Equate Support Advanced Lubricant Gel Drops Multi Dose Preservative Free: 49035-882-52.
• Equate Support Moisture Lubricant Eye Drops: 49035-145-10.
• Support Harmony Lubricant Eye Drops: 49035-145-10.

For products sold at Walgreens, the voluntary recall includes moisturizing eye drops, sodium chloride ophthalmic ointment, sodium chloride ophthalmic solution and lubricant eye ointment under the Walgreens store brand. According to the FDA, items recalled from Walgreen include:

• Lubricant Eye Drops Moisturizing: 0363-0185-13; lot 19095.
• Lubricant Eye Drops Moisturizing Twin Pack: 0363-0185-49; lot 19095.
• Sodium Chloride Ophthalmic Ointment, 5% Hypertonicity Eye Ointment: 0363-7500-50; lot TCI.
• Sodium Chloride Ophthalmic Solution, 5% Hypertonicity Eye Drops: 0363-0193-13; lots 19105 and 19050.
• Lubricant Eye Ointment PF Soothing: 0363-0191-50; lot TDB.

The recall also included several Perrigo prescription ointments, which you can find a full list of here. In all, this recall includes 23 products under different product names and brands and 150 affected lots, according to USA Today.

According to a statement released by Altaire Pharmaceuticals, all stores were notified via email on July 3 with directions to return the impacted lots back to them. And the company also noted in its statement that it directed stores to notify their customers of the recall.

If you use these products or have them in your medicine cabinet, be sure to have a close look at those labels. According to Altaire Pharmaceuticals' statement, "Administration of a non-sterile product intended to be sterile may result in serious and potentially life threatening infections or death." Fortunately, the company is not aware of any reports of illness or adverse effects thus far.

If you have any further questions regarding the recall, you can contact Altaire Pharmaceuticals Inc. by phone at 1-800-258-2471 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. You can also reach out via email at otcdruggist@aol.com. And as always, if you have any health concerns regarding your eye drops, be sure to reach out to your family doctor or ophthalmologist.