University of Iowa Professor Tested MoistureLoc Solution

John Hopkins

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When multi-million dollar conglomerates send their products out to the trusting public, we expect some level of reasonable testing and safeguarding of the public's health. So, is that really too much to expect? Is the public's reasonable safety from profit motivated products really that insignificant? Is Corporate America really determining what the public should and should not be protected from? Are profits over safety becoming acceptable?

It is comforting to know that there are physicians in our country who do, in fact, worry about our safety. Dr. Christine Sindt cares and tried to do something about it! When Bausch released its MoistureLoc product in November of 2004, Dr. Sindt tested it. She found that MoistureLoc produced an unusual amount of staining that she believed could lead to corneal damage. Dr. Sindt contacted Bausch & Lomb to warn them and was told that sufficient testing had been done and the solution "passed". Dr. Sindt urged Bausch to conduct testing on the potential for corneal damage; since Bausch's Fred Edmunds admitted that testing had not been done.

Dr. Sindt then waited, probably with the expectation that Bausch would further test the solution and come out with a new one. We now know, of course, that Bausch must not have done any further testing; at least that led them to correct or remove the product. That is until people began reporting significant infections in July of 2005. Reporting would probably be the key word here; since many of these infections went undiagnosed or successfully treated until someone put two and two together and saw a trend of infections linked to MoistureLoc.

So, thank you Dr. Sindt for trying to protect your patients and the rest of us. Shame on corporations who turn a blind eye to problems with their products until the threat of lawsuits outweighs the promise of profits!