Bausch & Lomb Lens Solution Causes Eye Infections

Paul Kiesel

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Bausch & Lomb ReNu with Mostiure Loc was, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, responsible for a recent outbreak of fungal eye infections. The company had suggested purchasers poor eye hygiene was the probable cause of the infections but the researchers writing for the American Medical Association formally concluded the link between Bausch & Lomb and eye infections. When initial reports of infections relating to ReNu with Mositure Loc were made the company was quick to distance themselves from any responsibility and only when public pressure was brought to bear did the company, finally, agree to a national recall of their product first domestically and then internationally. The Journal concluded that no increased risk of infection was present in any of the other Bausch & Lomb lens solutions.

Practicing good contact lens hygiene is a prudent and common-sense measure for all contact lens wearers, irrespective of contact lens solution used," Dr. Douglas C. Chang, a fungal disease specialist at the Centers for Disease Control who was lead author on the report, wrote in an e-mail interview. "However, the most important message for contact lens wearers is to stop using MoistureLoc, and throw out any MoistureLoc solution purchased before the recall."

The infections showed up in Asia last year and peaked in the United States this past spring, shortly after Bausch & Lomb withdrew MoistureLoc from the domestic market on April 13. Bausch & Lomb announced a worldwide recall a month later. The debacle caused the company's stock price and profit forecasts to plunge.