The Food and Drug Administration has issued new warnings for certain brands of eye drops, which it says have fungal and bacterial contamination.
The FDA shared in a release that Dr. Berne’s MSM Drops 5% Solution and LightEyez MSM Eye Drops-Eye Repair contain an ingredient called methylsulfonylmethane, or MSM, which is not approved for use in eye drops.
The drops are both sold online and have been considered illegal as MSM is used to treat arthritis. Though it did note there are unproven claims that the ingredient can be used for a range of eye problems, however, the FDA has not authorized it for use.
“There are no legally marketed ophthalmic drugs that contain MSM as an active ingredient,” the FDA wrote.
So far, there haven’t been any reports of injuries associated with using the drops, though federal regulators have found contamination in samples of the drops, which poses risks to consumers.
According to the FDA, Dr. Berne’s MSM drops were contaminated with a bacterium called Bacillus and a fungus called Exophiala.
The agency warned that the LightEyez drops contained four kinds of bacterial contamination: Mycobacterium, Mycolicibacterium, Pseudomonas, and Methylorubrum.
“Using contaminated eye drops could result in minor to serious vision-threatening infection which could possibly progress to a life-threatening infection,” the FDA wrote.
The FDA shared that Dr. Berne has “verbally agreed” to voluntarily recall the product, but the products remained for sale online.
The FDA says that LightEyez has not responded to the agency.
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