Aug. 23, 2023, 5:52 PM EDT
By Erika Edwards, NBC News
There are no reports yet of injuries from the drops, but the agency warned against using the products because of fungal and bacterial contamination.
The Food and Drug Administration is urging people to stop using certain brands of eyedrops found to have fungal and bacterial contamination.
The drops in question are Dr. Berne’s MSM Drops 5% Solution and LightEyez MSM Eye Drops-Eye Repair. Both are sold online but are considered illegal because they contain an ingredient called methylsulfonylmethane, or MSM.
The chemical is sometimes used to try to treat arthritis. It’s not approved for use in eyedrops, although there are unproven claims online that it can be used for a range of eye problems, including dryness and floaters.
“There are no legally marketed ophthalmic drugs that contain MSM as an active ingredient,” the FDA wrote in its warning, dated Aug. 22.
While there have been no reports of injuries associated with using the drops, federal regulators found contamination in samples of the drops that could pose a risk to consumers.
Dr. Berne’s MSM drops, according to the FDA, were contaminated with a type of bacterium called Bacillus, and a type of fungus called Exophiala.
The LightEyez drops contained three kinds of bacterial contamination: Pseudomonas, Mycobacterium, Mycolicibacterium and Methylorubrum, the agency said.
“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.