Parents frustrated as children's cold and flu medication shortages continue
There are bare shelves across Eastern Ontario pharmacies as children’s Tylenol and Advil shortages continue to be an issue, here and across Canada.
“What am I supposed to do if he gets sick? With COVID it just makes things a lot scarier,” says new mom Alysha, adding that not having quick access to medications for her 10-month-old son Grayson makes her nervous.
“I don’t want to sit there and watch my son be sick and not having anything I can do to combat his temperature rising,” she says.
There’s a shortage of children’s cold and flu medications in both liquid and chewable forms.
Store shelves have been left empty, and those that do have it are limiting the amount people can buy.
Zachary Spicer says more needs to be done.
“We have friends who are going to the United States to get children’s Advil and Tylenol so it’s a concern,” he says.
He has a three-year-old sick at home. After visiting more than two dozen pharmacies, he says he got a bottle by knowing someone who had made the trip to the U.S.
“It should be a five-minute trip to the pharmacy,” he says. “These kids are at a stage where they get colds. They get sick. There’s COVID out there still.”
The Ontario Pharmacists Association says the shortage is driven by higher-than normal demand due to COVID-19 and cold and flu season. People are stocking up.
Pharmacist Cathy Walker says if your child wakes up sick in the middle of the night and you don’t have medication, keep them comfortable or take them to the emergency room if their fever is too high.
Walker warns to never substitute with an adult tablet without first talking to a doctor or pharmacist.
“The dose is so much different than an adult dose,” she explains. “The proper dose requires somebody who’s going to be absolutely sure the dose isn’t too high for the age and weight of the child.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.