Demand grows for children’s painkillers amid COVID, flu and RSV ‘tripledemic’
Both Dr. Mayank Amin and his wife are pharmacists. They are also parents to a one-and-a-half-year-old boy, with another on the way.
They try to be well prepared for any illnesses or medical needs that may arise in your home, especially during the winter with the increase in circulating seasonal viruses.
That includes keeping pain relievers or cough and cold medicine on hand, which seems easy enough, given their professions. Amin owns and works at Skippack Pharmacy in Montgomery County.
“Sometimes when my wife tells me, ‘Make sure we have this in our medicine cabinet,’ I always wonder why, when I can take it home from the pharmacy any day.” Amin said.
But widespread illness among children during a “triple epidemic” of respiratory illnesses this year is increasing demand for children’s pain relievers and fever reducers, putting chain pharmacies and smaller community pharmacies across the country in short supply.
Amin said Skippack has not escaped the effects of the shortage.
“The father of a 1.5-year-old called us today and they were looking for just Motrin, Tylenol, any kind of fever reducer,” he said. “I looked at our shelves, he was completely empty.”
Demand for these drugs is outpacing current supply and some pharmacies have limited the number of products that can be purchased in a single purchase.
Amin said the good news is that medicines are still coming. While one pharmacy may be out of supply on any given day, another store may have some in stock.
However, the high use of these drugs in more homes means there is a greater potential for accidentally giving the wrong dose, experts say.
Dr. Jeanette Trella said the region’s Poison Control Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has seen a double monthly increase in calls related to cough and cold medicines compared to the same increase measured month-over-month. last year.
“We could also postulate that if a drug that we are used to using, say liquid Tylenol, is not available and we have to try other types of drugs or dosage forms, that would increase our risk of medication errors,” he said.
Trella is a pharmacist and Senior Director of the Center for Public Preparedness and Response at CHOP, which houses the Regional Poison Control Center for Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.
To avoid unintentional therapeutic errors, since they are classified by poison control, Trella said that reading the labels on the back of the medicines is essential. Most will have dosage ranges for children based on their age and weight.
It is also important to understand the difference between a [milliliter] and a teaspoon, and make sure we’re using measuring devices so we can give that most accurate dosage for our youngest children,” he said.
Amin said brand-name drugs like Tylenol and Motrin may be popular, but generic versions of those drugs are just as effective.
“If you go to a store and see children’s ibuprofen or baby ibuprofen or paracetamol, it’s exactly the same thing,” he said. “Make sure you grab that bottle, because that will help you too.”
However, the high use of these drugs in more homes means there is a greater potential for accidentally giving the wrong dose, experts say.
Dr. Jeanette Trella said the region’s Poison Control Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has seen a double monthly increase in calls related to cough and cold medicines compared to the same increase measured month-over-month. last year.
“We could also postulate that if a drug that we are used to using, say liquid Tylenol, is not available and we have to try other types of drugs or dosage forms, that would increase our risk of medication errors,” he said.
Trella is a pharmacist and Senior Director of the Center for Public Preparedness and Response at CHOP, which houses the Regional Poison Control Center for Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.
To avoid unintentional therapeutic errors, since they are classified by poison control, Trella said that reading the labels on the back of the medicines is essential. Most will have dosage ranges for children based on their age and weight.
It is also important to understand the difference between a [milliliter] and a teaspoon, and make sure we’re using measuring devices so we can give that most accurate dosage for our youngest children,” he said.
Amin said brand-name drugs like Tylenol and Motrin may be popular, but generic versions of those drugs are just as effective.
“If you go to a store and see children’s ibuprofen or baby ibuprofen or paracetamol, it’s exactly the same thing,” he said. “Make sure you grab that bottle, because that will help you too.”