If You Bought This Common Medication at Walmart, Stop Using it Now
You will want to contact the company for a full refund.
The beauty of shopping at Walmart is the sheer variety of products the store offers. You can find everything you need in one convenient spot, whether you're picking up barbecue supplies or a new outfit for Fourth of July celebrations. Walmart even has a pharmacy, where you can easily fill prescriptions or purchase medication to treat any ache or pain. But now, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a new warning about one common medication sold at Walmart, which you'll want to stop using immediately. Read on to discover what you'll want to purge from your medicine cabinet.
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Another medication was recalled this week.
Finding out about recalls can be disconcerting, as they often indicate that a product, food, or medication could be dangerous to use or consume. And recently, different products have been subject to recall, including another medication, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned could put anyone taking it at serious risk. According to the June 29 announcement, California-based Bryant Ranch Prepack Inc. issued a voluntary recall of one lot of its Morphine Sulfate 30 mg Extended Release tablets and Morphine Sulfate 60 mg Extended-Release tablets due to a packaging error that swapped the labels.
According to the FDA, the mixup could lead to overdose or death in those taking 60 mg tablets instead of 30 mg, and withdrawal or untreated pain for those taking 30 mg instead of 60 mg. Those who had the affected medication, identified by lot numbers 179642 and 179643, were instructed by the FDA to stop using it immediately. And while the recalled tablets were prescribed to treat more serious pain, a more common pain reliever could now be putting you at risk as well.
The CPSC issued a recall of a topical pain reliever.
On June 30, the CPSC announced that Mohnark Pharmaceuticals had voluntarily recalled its Lidocaine 4% Topical Anesthetic Cream. According to the notice, the product came in a white tube with a flip-top closure and had the name "Mohnark Pharmaceuticals" on the right side of the tube, printed beneath the company's blue and green logo. A total of eight lots were affected by the recall, identified by codes 01202201, 210201, 210301, 210503, 210505, 210601, 211002, and 210401. On the bottom side panel, recalled lidocaine also has a Universal Product Code (UPC) of 86000023224906.
Lidocaine skin cream or ointment is an anesthetic, according to Cleveland Clinic, which can help relieve and prevent pain, causing loss of feeling in your skin and surrounding tissues.
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The lidocaine poses a specific risk to children.
Approximately 9,000 units of the anesthetic cream were sold online at Walmart.com and Amazon.com between Jan. 2021 and Jan. 2022, generally priced at $7, the CPSC said. But the product is dangerous to have at home due to its lack of child-resistant packaging.
In accordance with the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA), lidocaine is required to come in child-resistant packaging, as the product could be poisonous if it is opened and ingested by a young child.
If you have this medication, stop using it.
According to the CPSC, to ensure everyone in your home is safe—including children and grandchildren—you should stop using the recalled lidocaine and make sure it is stored out of kids' sight and reach.
And even though there haven't been any reported injuries, consumers are instructed to contact Mohnark Pharmaceuticals for a refund and instructions on how to properly dispose of the lidocaine. If you are a "known purchaser," the company will be reaching out to you directly, the CPSC said.
You can call Mohnark Pharmaceuticals toll-free between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) Monday through Friday at 866-611-5206. The CPSC also lists Mohnark's website as a contact method, www.mohnark.com, but the site is "currently under construction," and didn't allow access to recall information prior to publication.
