Dangerous name pair - Durezol and Durasal

We have notified the FDA about a potentially dangerous situation due to a couple of drug names that are way too similar.

DUREZOL (difluprednate ophthalmic emulsion) 0.05% (click here) is a steroid eye medication used to treat inflammation after eye surgery. DURASAL is a solution containing 26% salicylic acid that is used to treat common and plantar warts (click here).

If someone accidentally places Durasal in the eye, it could cause severe burns and possibly permanent blindness.

Fortunately, the brush applicator packaging for Durasal makes such a mix-up unlikely. The product is also clearly labeled that it is not for use in the eyes. However, we know that strange things happen, and we’ve certainly heard of situations where non-eye medications somehow wind up in the eye.

To be safe, please read the labels of all medications very carefully. Do NOT store any product not meant for the eye near anywhere near an eye drop or ointment. We have advised pharmacists and FDA about the situation and asked them to separate these drugs far away from one another.

consumermedsafety.org