Pain, fever medicines for children scarce on pharmacy shelves

Children's liquid medicine shortage worries parents There’s a shortage of liquid Tylenol and Advil for kids and infants across Canada, including the Maritimes.

Laura Clark often uses over-the-counter liquid Tylenol for her young kids when they have a fever.

“With my three children, we rely on it,” she says. “Actually, right now, I’m home with our middle child who picked up a bug from her younger brother, so we've used it as recently as this morning.”

But the next time Clark goes to buy it, it may be harder to find, because shelves in some Maritime pharmacies are out of stock or nearly out of many liquid pain and fever formulations for children and infants.

“What we are seeing is an increase in demand for produces that treat pain and fever for children,” says Barry Power, a pharmacist and editor-in-chief at the Canadian Pharmacists Association in Ottawa.

Power says the recent demand is due to spikes in COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses among youth.

“We're seeing spikes in RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) in children as well,” says Power. “So we're starting to see a bit of a perfect storm where there are a lot of things circulating that children are getting.”

But while Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto recently sent a letter to outpatient caregivers advising they may need to get a prescription for these medications because of the short supply, the Association says that’s not necessary.

“Talk to your pharmacist, absolutely,” says Halifax pharmacist Greg Richard. Richard says a pharmacist can help caregivers find other options for parents in need of pain and fever medication, and can give the best advice on the proper dosage of certain products for a particular child.

“Even though you may not be able to find Tylenol brand, there may be other brands on the shelves you’re just not familiar with,” he says. “Depending on the dose, a chewable may be an option. It just depends on the situation.”

The IWK Health Centre says its inpatient and emergency supplies of liquid acetaminophen and ibuprofen products is adequate.

Dr. Melanie MacInnis, the IWK’s clinical pharmacy specialist for pediatric emergency medicine, also says sometimes a child’s fever doesn’t require medication.

“Just because the thermometer may say that your child has a fever, if they are otherwise well, and behaving and playing like they normally would, there’s no need to treat.”

The Canadian Association of Pharmacists says manufacturers are still producing the drugs, so supply issues may be sporadic depending on location.

It’s also reminding consumers not to stockpile to make sure there's enough medications on the shelves for those who need it.