Complete Moisture Plus contact lens solution was recalled after it was linked to an outbreak of a painful and potentially blinding eye infection.
Government officials on May 29, 2007 warned users of the cleaning and storage solution made by Advanced Medical Optics to discard the solution while it investigated 138 confirmed cases of acanthamoeba keratitis, a parasite-caused infection that is difficult to detect and treat.
Symptoms include pain in one or both eyes, redness, blurry vision and sensitivity to light.
If you or a loved one suffered a severe eye infection or blindness potentially linked to Complete Moisture Plus contact lens solution, you may want to contact a product recall attorney.
Advanced Medical Optics had recalled 2.9 million bottles of the same contact lens solution last November after they were found to contain a bacterial contamination, though most of that solution had been sold in Asia.
The latest problem was not related to the product being contaminated but rather that experts believed it failed to protect against contamination commonly found in water and soil. Some users may have contracted the amoeba-borne infection while showering, swimming or using hot tubs.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that since January 2005 it had interviewed 46 people who developed acanthamoeba keratitis. Of 36 who used contact lens solution, 21 (or 58 percent) said they had used Complete Moisture Plus products.
The potential problem first came to light in 2004 when doctors at the University of Illinois-Chicago noticed more than a dozen cases of the infection, which is very rare, affecting only one or two contact users out of every one million. Of 35 patients treated by UIC doctors, 55 percent exclusively used products made by Advanced Medical Optics. The doctors notified the CDC.
The CDC has advised consumers to throw away any unused solution and also any lenses or lens cases that came into contact with the solution. California-based Advanced Medical Optics, which voluntarily recalled the lens solution, also told consumers to immediately discard Complete Moisture Plus lens solution and to call 1-888-899-9183.
Kline & Specter, PC, with some 30 attorneys, several of whom are also doctors, has experience investigating and litigating health-related defective product cases. Contact a product recall lawyer today.