Contact lens maker CooperVision is stepping up efforts to get the word out about a recall it issued in August about thousands of faulty contact lenses.

CooperVision announced the recall of 600,000 pairs of Avaira Toric contact lenses in mid-August.

The recall affected Canada as well, where Avaira Toric lenses are sold as Encore Toric. In Canada, about 7,000 pairs of lenses were affected, though only among certain lots.

They were sold by eye care professionals, online and through large retailers.

The defective lenses contain a residue caused by a manufacturing problem. That's resulted in lenses that have been linked to pain, red eye and blurred vision by wearers.

When CooperVision first announced the recall, it focused its efforts on more than 7,000 eye care professionals who sell the lenses. It then asked those eye doctors to contact their patients about the recall. But the Food and Drug Administration told the company Tuesday that a larger publicity effort was needed because consumers were not getting the message about the defective lenses.

FDA spokeswoman Morgan Liscinsky told the Associated Press late Wednesday that the agency is reviewing CooperVision's latest announcement to see if it addresses the agency's concerns.

"Failing resolution of those concerns, the FDA may issue a separate public communication," Liscinsky told AP in an emailed statement.

The FDA generally negotiates the terms of product recalls with companies, but cannot order a company to recall a product or dictate the terms of the recall, the way it now can with food recalls.

CooperVision said it "has fully cooperated with the FDA and continues to closely monitor the situation."

It says that if customers experience any irritation with their CooperVision lenses, they should stop wearing the lenses immediately and contact their eye care practitioner for advice.

Since not everyone experiences the same symptoms from the problematic residue behind the recall, CooperVision recommends customers:

• Go to the CooperVision recall web page at www.coopervision.com/recall, and enter the lot number of your package to see whether your lenses have been recalled.

• Or, use the toll-free consumer hotline (1-855-526-6737)

Distributors have been asked to send back all Avaira/Encore Toric products, not just specific lot numbers, so the company could ensure that affected lenses were removed.

"Health Canada is monitoring the recall and will inform Canadians if new safety information arises," a spokesperson said. The agency has not received any reports of adverse events related to the products.