Consumer council takes critical look at eyedrops
Eyedrops users take heed! Frequent use of drops to moisturize the eyes may cause harm, rather than bringing relief to the them, warned the Consumer Council on Wednesday.
Most over-the-counter eye moisturizers contain preservatives that can be toxic. The council suggested consumers carefully check to ensure that eyedrops contain no preservatives before purchasing them. Preservatives may cause dryness and irritations to the cornea. If the cornea is affected due to dryness, eyedrops with preservatives will only make matters worse.
The council examined 16 over-the-counter eye moisturizers available in the market. Eye moisturizers are designed to smooth eye fatigue, reduce redness, and alleviate allergy symptoms.
The council found that 13 of 16 samples contain preservatives. Two of the 13 failed to declare on their labels that the products contained preservatives. The council submitted the two cases involving samples of, Hisamitsu Ganryo Jun Eye Drops and Rohto Eye Mosturizer, to the Department of Health for follow up.
The initial findings by the department showed that the two eye care products were not registered as pharmaceutical products because they contained no active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Under existing guidelines for labeling registered pharmaceutical products, sterile pharmaceutical products are required to make a clear declaration if they contain preservatives.
Chief Executive of the Council Connie Lau Yin-hing said the government should regulate eye moisturizers which currently are not registered as pharmaceutical products, but which do contain preservatives. Improper use of the eyedrops may lead to visual impairment or even blindness, the council warned.
For contact len wearers, the council warned them to avoid use of eyedrops while wearing the lenses. The council also suggested that len wearers should wait at least 15 minutes before putting on their lenses after using eyedrops. In that way, the lens’ surfaces will not come into contact with the toxic preservatives and long-term exposure to the potentially damaging materials can be prevented. In the meantime, the council warned consumers to be cautious especially when using eyedrops containing steroids.
Reported cases show that overuse of eyedrops containing steroids causes thinning of the cornea and a rise of the intraocular pressure that eventually may induce rupture. Eyedrops with steroids normally are prescribed by doctors and, the council cautions, they should be used carefully in accordance with doctors’ instructions. In one case, an elderly woman bought over-the-counter eye drops that claimed to remove redness. After several weeks’ usage, she suffered a ruptured eyeball from overuse of the drops containing steroids. She lost her eyesight and had her eyeball removed.
In another case, father of a five-year old boy decided to increase the dosage of steroid eye drops prescribed for by a doctor, without consulting the boy’s physician. The pressure on the boy’s eyes was found to have gone up considerably. His cornea was swollen, leaving him vulnerable to a full rupture.
Eyeball rupture is usually caused by a physical injury, such as a car accident or hit by a hard object, said Kelvin Chong Kam-lung, assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.