Children’s fever medication in short supply, likely into winter months

A shortage of acetaminophen for children and infants is a scary reality Saskatchewan parents are currently facing.

Stephanie Yeboah, manager of Nanogram Pharmacy, said the shortage of the drug, in both liquid and chewable forms, has been ongoing for the past few months in Saskatchewan, since the start of summer.

It started with Tylenol, Yeboah said, with the suppliers citing increased demand and supply chain problems as the reasons behind the shortage. The issues then expanded to include Advil and Ibuprofen.

Yeboah said the need has been “higher than normal” over the summer, likely because of an increase in respiratory tract infections and fevers in children.

That could be because of COVID-19 — there have been a few summer spikes, Yeboah said — or the common cold, as the province hasn’t quite entered into influenza season yet. However, with more people taking their masks off and spending more time in the company of others, it could explain an increase in illnesses.

“That transmission just snowballs,” Yeboah said.

The pharmacist expects the shortage to last through the fall and into the winter.

“It’s concerning to me, as a mom,” Yeboah shared.

“If I had a sick child or a child that had a fever, I open the medicine cabinet, I’m out of acetaminophen or Tylenol, I’m out of Ibuprofen, I don’t have anything (so) I run to the store. There’s nothing there and there’s nothing I can give to my child — that is concerning.”

The products that remain have been flying off the shelves, with many families panic-buying in bulk.

“We have parents coming in, quite stressed, looking for these products,” Yeboah said.

Most pharmacies are out of the medicines altogether, but some in Saskatoon do still have a few Tylenol, Advil, Ibuprofen or generic options available. Nanogram Pharmacy is one, but Yeboah said the store’s supplies will only last so long.

“Please just buy what you need, and then when supplies do level out, it’s a lot easier and it won’t take so long (to restock),” Yeboah said.

Nanogram Pharmacy doesn’t need to panic as much about their stock, however, because they have a unique ability to compound more complex medications in-house — including acetaminophen, chewables and acetaminophen freezies.

Patients can come in and present a prescription — something Yeboah said doctors are very willing to provide right now with these medicines so difficult to come by — for the product. The pharmacy will then use the raw ingredients of the medicine to compound it.

The pharmacy can even flavour the medication to make it more enjoyable for child patients. Yeboah recommended cherry or tutti frutti flavours for kids, because they mix well with acetaminophen.

Yeboah said they also have the option of using bulk supplies normally used to fill prescriptions during a time of shortages like this, as long as patients can come in for a consultation.