Supply of children's chewable medicine dwindling in Quebec, along with liquid Tylenol
The Quebec Order of Pharmacists is urging parents to resist the temptation to hoard certain hard-to-find children's medicines should they happen upon a well-stocked store.
Liquid suspensions of acetaminophen and ibuprofen for children remain in short supply in many pharmacies across the province and in the rest of the country, after several months.
On Tuesday, a Quebec manufacturer of generic and store-brand drugs, Laboratoire Riva, also reported a shortage of its chewable acetaminophen tablets.
But the order's president Bertrand Bolduc said stockpiling is not the answer and can even pose a risk to children who find it in the home.
"We don't advise to stockpile because acetaminophen is one of the most dangerous products for intoxication of kids, especially because it's flavoured," Bolduc said, adding that every year there are pediatric emergency room visits for suspected cases of poisoning.
He suggests parents ask their pharmacist for an alternative to the formats or concentrations they're used to giving their kids when they're in pain or have a fever, whether they're acetaminophen products known by the trade name Tylenol, or ibuprofen, contained in Advil products.
In addition, parents can turn to generic or house brands instead, although Bolduc conceded that stock of those products is also diminishing.
But there are solutions.
"Sometimes we're going to use a very similar product like pediatric oral drops that are used for newborns and that we can use for a little bit older kids," Bolduc said. "And if we have a teenager or someone who's able to swallow, we can use chewable tablets, possibly adult tablets they can cut and take with food, like peanut butter," he suggested.
In a pinch, it's also possible for pharmacists to compound the product, which means preparing it themselves by mixing the active ingredient with liquid suspension material.
"They can order the ingredients, and it's very easy to do. Every pharmacist has the ability to do that," he explained.
The shortages are being blamed in part on global supply chain issues, but drug manufacturers are doing what they can "to catch up," according to Justin Bates, the CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association.
"The raw materials, sourcing, and putting all this together has caused challenges with respect to keeping and maintaining the supply of these products," Bates said. "And on top of that, we have unprecedented demand due to both cold and flu as well as fever and pain that we haven't normally seen at this time of year."
Bolduc agreed that the situation is highly unusual.
"Usually, when we have a drug shortage, we have a manufacturing plant that has a problem, there's been a flood, a fire," he said, "but this time it's likely due to unavoidable poor planning brought on by the pandemic."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Iran's judiciary confirms rapper Toomaj Salehi death sentence
Iran's judiciary confirmed the death sentence of well-known Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi but added that he is entitled to a sentence reduction, state media reported on Thursday.