San Diego, CADespite being recalled in April of this year, ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution was still recording a two percent market share into September, indicating that the product was still available for sale in some stores long after the recall.
This market data calls into question whether or not manufacturer Bausch and Lomb was aggressive enough in alerting the public, including retailers, patients, and medical professionals, to the recall and potential problems with ReNu with MoistureLoc.
The contact lens solution was recalled on April 9 after it was linked to Fusarium keratitis, a serious fungal condition. The FDA announced in the spring that Bausch and Lomb had decided to voluntarily stop shipping ReNu with MoistureLoc while causes of the infections were investigated. A week later the company issued a voluntary market withdrawal and requested that retailers suspend sales while they continued the investigation. The following month ReNu with MoistureLoc was permanently pulled off market shelves when a link between Fusarium keratitis-- which can cause blindness -- and ReNu, was determined
The permanent recall was announced after the Centers for Disease Control confirmed more than 100 cases of the fungal infection around the country. Some researchers believe that Bausch and Lomb knew well before April that there were potential risks with ReNu with MoistureLoc. Those researchers claim that medical officials in Hong Kong alerted the company to these problems in November, 2005 but the company did not act on those warnings until April, 2006.
Among the problems linked to ReNu with MoistureLoc is that one of the ingredients in the contact lens solution, sodium phosphate, depletes the eyes of enzymes which causes eyes to dry out and leads to infections. Other problems include blurry vision, eye pain, eye redness, sensitivity to light, and discharge. Fungal eye infections can also lead to severe eyesight damage and even blindness.
That ReNu with MoistureLoc is still on store shelves shows that the company has not done nearly enough to warn retailers, users, and doctors about the risks involved or about the recall. As long as ReNu with MoistureLoc is still being sold, consumers are at risk for developing serious problems related to using the product.