It may seem crazy to loyal readers of the Consumerist, but people often important news when it comes to product recalls. NPR introduces us to James Millard Wilson, an art student in Baltimore who missed the news of the American Medical Optic (AMO) Complete MoisturePLUS Multipurpose Contact Lens Solution. He used to solution and got a painful eye infection that could have lead to blindness if he hadn’t gone to the hospital.

How did he miss the news? James doesn’t watch tv or use the internet.

“We rely on the media to a greater or lesser extent depending on the particular recall we’re working on,” Tim Ulatowski of the Food and Drug Administration says. Is that enough? What about people who don’t like the media? From NPR:

“Now the problem with that, of course, is that if you’re not reading, watching or listening in the right place, you’re gonna miss the news,” says Donald Mays, senior director for public safety planning for Consumer Reports magazine.

Many people did miss the announcement. The company checked and found stores that still had Complete MoisturePLUS Multipurpose solution on their shelves.

Reports of new infections came in to the CDC. The FDA had to send out a second press release a couple of weeks ago. Ulatowski said the challenge was the size of the recall — 28 million bottles since May 2005.

“It’s difficult to reach into everyone’s medicine cabinet to determine that that product has been controlled and returned or disposed of by the consumer,” he says.

It certainly is. We direct your attention to the failures of the “Great Peanut Butter Recall of 2007.” So, we guess the moral of the story is that if you have a friend who doesn’t use the internet or watch TV, tell them about each and every product recall you read about. They may hate you, but at least they won’t go blind.

It’s Easy to Miss the Memo on Product Recalls [NPR]

PREVIOUSLY: Most Contact Lens Wearers Don’t Know About AMO’s MoisturePlus Recall
AMO Recalls Complete Moisture Plus Multi-Purpose Solution

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