The withdrawal of a popular contact lens solution was confirmed last night by the Irish Medicines Board (IMB).
Bausch and Lomb have issued a voluntary product recall to permanently remove the following contact lens solution, ReNu with MoistureLoc Multi-Purpose, from the worldwide market, a statement from the Irish Medicines Board said.
"The decision has been taken following an investigation by Bausch and Lomb which led them to suspect that a certain aspect of the MoistureLoc formula may increase the relative risk of Fusarium infection, a form of eye infection. To date there have been no confirmed reported incidents of Fusarium keratitis in Ireland.
The recall applies to all batches of Bausch and Lomb manufactured ReNu with MoistureLoc Multi-Purpose Contact Lens Solution on the Irish market and consumers are advised to switch to an alternative contact lens care solution.
The IMB advised contact lens wearers here to:
Immediately stop using the ReNu with MoistureLoc Multi-Purpose Contact Lens Solution.
Discard all remaining ReNu MoistureLoc solution and return the bottle to your eye-care practitioner/optician to exchange it for an alternative lens care solution.
Consult your eye-care professional/optician concerning use of an appropriate alternative cleaning/disinfectant product.
Continue to follow lens care practices as advised by your eye-care professional/optician.
The IMB is advising pharmacies and retail outlets to immediately stop sales of ReNu with MoistureLoc Multi-Purpose. Retailers should conduct the recall as outlined by Bausch and Lomb and should contact the company to obtain details of the recall action.
The IMB said doctors and nurses with patients presenting with possible eye infections should consider fungal infections as a potential causative organism, investigate accordingly, retain contact lenses and solutions for analysis, refer the patient if appropriate, and report contact lens related infections to the manufacturer.
Bausch and Lomb have established a free phone number for Irish customers 1800-409077 and further information can be obtained from the Bausch and Lomb website www.Moistureloc.eu \ (www.bausch.com \ ).