Drops That Change Eye Color? Experts Sound the Alarm

Welcome to Culture Clinic, MedPage Today‘s collaboration with Northwell Health to offer a healthcare professional’s take on the latest viral medical topics.

Earlier this week, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) released a statement sounding the alarm on products being advertised as eye color-changing drops.

The products have been making the rounds online, including on social media, and may appeal to individuals who would prefer a different eye color than the one they were genetically gifted.

“Consumers seeing these products on TikTok or elsewhere online need to know that they are not FDA approved,” JoAnn Giaconi, MD, clinical spokesperson for AAO, said in the statement. “The ads show dramatic before-and-after shots and vague information on how the drops actually work to change eye color. But here’s the reality, there’s no evidence that they do anything at all, and no evidence that they’re safe.”

Manufacturers claim the eye drops include an ingredient that adjusts natural levels of melanin in the iris, AAO noted in its warning.

However, there is “nothing approved by the FDA that can actually do this,” Alina Djougarian, MD, an ophthalmologist with Northwell Health in New York, told MedPage Today. Statements like a “brown eye turning blue” are “false advertising,” she said.

The pigment of the eye is genetically determined, she explained. If someone is doing something that causes depigmentation, this could lead to serious inflammation or elevated pressure in the eye, which could lead to glaucoma or other serious conditions that could cause blindness.

There could be serious or permanent damage, she said, as did the AAO in its warning.

Though Djougarian said she hasn’t seen any patients who have actually used the so-called eye color-changing drops, she said she did hear someone mention seeing them online.

When she searched to find out the active ingredient, she said she discovered that “there’s no consistency.”

“The scariest part is, there’s no ingredient list necessarily on the box,” she added. “We don’t know how they’re making these solutions.”

Recently, there has been an issue of contamination with certain over-the-counter artificial tears, Djougarian noted. The eye color-changing products could be contaminated with bacteria or other pathogens, which could lead to serious eye infections.

Ultimately, the only safe way to temporarily change one’s eye color is through the use of colored contact lenses prescribed by an eye care professional, Djougarian said. These are prescription products that also need to be fitted properly in order to prevent inflammation and infection.

Individuals searching online “might not know … the risks,” she said regarding the need for more information and awareness about eye color-changing products.

Before taking any medication — even something that seems harmless, like eye drops — individuals should consult with a physician, she said.