{"id":159314,"date":"2025-11-25T19:14:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T19:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/159314\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T19:14:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T19:14:09","slug":"drugstore-nasal-spray-recalled-for-bacteria-contamination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/159314\/","title":{"rendered":"Drugstore nasal spray recalled for bacteria contamination"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Peak <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/01\/24\/health\/the-cold-and-flu-must-haves-you-need-to-buy-before-you-get-sick\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">cold and flu season<\/a> may be upon us, but you\u2019ll want to take a second look at that drugstore nasal spray to clear a stuffed up nose.<\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.accessdata.fda.gov\/scripts\/ires\/?Product=217306\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">recall<\/a>\u00a0has been initiated for more than 41,000 bottles of Walgreens saline nasal spray with xylitol due to a possible bacterial contamination.<\/p>\n<p>Walgreen\u2019s voluntarily recalled the product due to a contamination of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microbiologyresearch.org\/content\/journal\/ijsem\/10.1099\/ijsem.0.001836\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Pseudomonas lactis<\/a>,\u00a0a bacterium commonly associated with raw milk products, according to the Food and Drug Administration.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.50146628;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"37761410\" width=\"886\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/nasal-spray-1.jpg\" alt=\"Walgreens Saline Nasal Spray with Xylitol, 1.5 oz (45 mL), displayed with its packaging.\" class=\"wp-image-37761410\"  \/>A\u00a0recall\u00a0has been initiated for more than 41,000 bottles of Walgreens saline nasal spray with xylitol due to a possible bacterial contamination. Walgreens<\/p>\n<p>The FDA labeled the recall a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/safety\/industry-guidance-recalls\/recalls-background-and-definitions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Class II<\/a>, the second-highest risk level, meaning the possibility of serious health consequences is \u201cremote,\u201d but there is a chance of temporary or reversible effects.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/pseudomonas-aeruginosa\/about\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">species of bacteria<\/a> found in the nasal spray can cause milk to spoil, and carries serious potential health risks such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections.<\/p>\n<p>The nasal spray is typically used to provide relief from nasal congestion and sinus pressure from a common cold or <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/03\/15\/lifestyle\/spring-allergy-season-is-here-avoid-these-foods-to-suffer-less\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">allergies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The recall affected two batches of the 1.5 oz spray bottle, Lot #61409 expiring Feb. 28, 2027 and Lot #71861 expiring Aug. 31, 2027.<\/p>\n<p>While the FDA initiated the recall on Nov. 11, specific instructions weren\u2019t provided. But it\u2019s recommended to stop use and toss or return it.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"37761421\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AdobeStock_469451117.jpg\" alt=\"African American woman with curly hair blowing her nose into a tissue in bed, covered in a white blanket.\" class=\"wp-image-37761421\"  \/>Saline nasal sprays, in particular, are often used to flush out irritants like dust and pollen while providing moisture in dry environments caused by low humidity, air travel or heated environments. Pixel-Shot \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n<p>Nasal sprays are common to reduce inflammation and clear up stuffiness.<\/p>\n<p>Saline nasal sprays, in particular, are often used to flush out irritants like dust and pollen while providing moisture in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nyp.org\/healthlibrary\/definitions\/saline-nasal-sprays-and-nose-drops\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">dry environments<\/a> caused by low humidity, air travel or heated environments \u2014 all common wintertime problems.<\/p>\n<p>But overuse can lead to rebound congestion, also known as <a href=\"http:\/\/swelling of the nasal passages and persistent stuffiness that can be even more severe than the original problem\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">rhinitis medicamentosa<\/a>, a condition that actually worsens symptoms like swelling of the nasal passage and even more severe persistent stuffiness.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, a <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/06\/11\/business\/cvs-branded-nasal-spray\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CVS-branded nasal spray for babies<\/a> was recalled after they were found to have been produced in unsanitary conditions. The machines used to produce them were also used to make pesticides,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/features\/2024-06-10\/cvs-brand-drug-recalls-expose-link-to-tainted-factories?srnd=homepage-americas&amp;sref=MTy2GeXk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Bloomberg News reported.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Peak cold and flu season may be upon us, but you\u2019ll want to take a second look at&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159315,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[2161,1689,1913,103,61,60,371,63322],"class_list":{"0":"post-159314","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-bacteria","9":"tag-fda","10":"tag-flu","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-medication","15":"tag-recalls"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}