Pharmacies Running Low On Children's Pain Killers Due To Surge In Illnesses

Lots of kids are getting sick and to make matters worse, parents are having a hard time finding the medicines kids need to feel better.

Pediatricians said Tylenol and Advil are flying off the shelves because of a surge in RSV, Flu, and COVID cases. Doctors have some advice about what to do if your kid's medicine is out of stock.

Dr. Theresa Horton calls this a triple-epidemic. She said in her 30 years as a pediatrician, this is the busiest season she has ever seen.

"It's one of the busiest flu seasons we've ever seen, along with the busiest RSV seasons we've ever seen, coronavirus is coming back. We have para-influenza, endovirus, and rhinovirus which are all normal respiratory viruses that we usually see. We're just seeing a lot of them all at the same time," said Dr. Theresa Horton, Pediatrician at Utica Park Clinic in Owasso.

“Tylenol has a safer profile for children so that tends to be the one we go for," said Dr. Kathy Campbell, Medicap Pharmacy.

Doctors and pharmacists said there's a shortage of many over the counter medications including children's liquid Tylenol.

“Children’s formulations of acetaminophen as well as amoxicillin, which is an antibiotic, we’re having issues in the supply chain across the board with those. We’re also seeing big shortages in Tamiflu. There’s also an increase in demand and a moderate supply and we’re all just having trouble sourcing that at a local level. We still rely on most of our production of most of these chemicals to be out of the country," said Dr. Campbell.

Doctor Kathy Campbell owns Medicap Pharmacy in Owasso. “I have not had a difficult time getting it, but my demand’s a little different and I go from different sources. We also compound solution so even if I did have trouble getting it, I have the ability with the doctors order to take an adult formulation and transform it into a liquid for children," said Dr. Campbell.

"It's not so much that we, 'oh wow, we're having a lot of trouble with tylenol.' We're having a little bit of trouble, but my concern is that people might turn to aspirin. Children's aspirin is not for children," said Dr. Horton.

Doctor Theresa Horton with Utica Park Clinic said taking aspirin while you're sick and under the age of 20 puts you at a higher risk for Reye's syndrome.

"It can cause life threatening swelling in both the brain and the liver," said Dr. Horton.

She said a store brand is just as good as the name brand, and said if your kid is over six months old, Ibuprofen or Advil are also fine to use.

"[Advil and Tylenol] are two different, completely different ways of reducing fever. They're different medications. They work in the body a different way. They're processed in different ways. So Tylenol will get cleared out through the liver and ibprofun gets cleared out through the kidneys," said Dr. Horton.

She said babies under six months should avoid Advil because their kidneys are not quite ready to process the medication. Dr. Horton said if your child is taking pills, make sure they are taking an appropriate dosage.

"Frozen peas are fabulous to have children practice swallowing pills. They're small, they're round, they're pill shaped. If your kids don't like peas it's okay, because frozen peas taste like ice," said Dr. Horton.

She said taking fever reducers isn't always necessary; it boils down to the discomfort you're experiencing. Dr. Horton said parents should trust their instincts.

"If your child has a fever it's okay to let the fever run, because fever is part of our bodies way of fighting the illness; however, it makes you really uncomfortable, especially when you have the flu because those are some of the highest fevers that you're gonna get," said Dr. Horton.

She said if the fever gets to be too high, go see a doctor. Dr. Horton said you can take a lukewarm bath, wear less layers, use fans to cool yourself off, and drink cold liquids to help with a fever.