Man breaks down in tears after losing sight in eye due to contaminated eyedrops

Image: CBS)

A firefighter broke down in tears after revealing he lost his sight in one eye due to contaminated eyedrops.

Adam Di Sarro, from Naples, Florida, US, was an avid consumer of Artificial Tears for multiple years as he used to suffer from dry eyes.

However, he has now launched legal action against the manufacturers and the distributor's, Amazon, after he suffered extensive damage to his eyes.

His symptoms included itching and redness but it soon escalated as within a couple of hours he could not even see.

Mr Di Sarro said: "The redness came on, the irritation came on, a lot of itching, and it was abnormal. It just progressively got worse, to the point where I couldn't even see within a few hours."

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According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the fire captain is among 68 people in 16 states who have been infected with a "rare strain" of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The latest figures have shown three people have died and eight others have lost their vision after using the artificial tears.

In addition, four patients were forced to have their eyeballs removed following the infection.

Mr Di Sarro was prescribed a dose of antibiotics to treat his contaminated eyes but they failed to work - and he was warned by medics he could lose his eyesight.

He said: "That was hard. And is still hard because I'm still not at work, going on five months."

Manufactures EzriCare and Deslam Phama were forced to recall their products in February from pharmacies across the US following the outbreak.

Cases have been identified in California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

According to the CDC two of the brands, which were made in India and imported into the US, were scrapped from the shelves following the outbreak.

In January, the organisation urged the public to stop using EzriCare Artificial Tears and Delsam Pharma's Artificial Tears.

A month later, Global Pharma, which owns the brands, recalled the products after a formal recommendation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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The eyedrops were also across Walmart, Target, CVS and on Amazon - with the products having been pulled since the outbreak.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said anyone who has used the recalled eyedrops or artificial tears should contact a doctor if they are experiencing symptoms.

Some of the symptoms include yellow, green, or clear discharge from the eye, discomfort or pain, redness, blurry vision and increase sensitivity to light.

Clara Oliva, from Florida, is suing the makers of EzriCare Artificial Tears after she was left legally blind after using the products.

Her lawyer Natasha Cortes said: "My client is horribly injured and now legally blind. I am currently investigating others similarly injured by this recalled product.

"These companies must be held accountable for the devastating consequences their product has caused Ms. Oliva and other consumers."