Waterloo region families eager for more children’s pain meds arriving in Canada
Children’s cold and flu medications are on the way to restock bare pharmacy shelves, as the federal government is currently securing foreign imports to improve supply, and some pharmacies have seen those shipments already this weekend.
Shawna Alemu of Waterloo region says the months-long children’s medication shortage has been difficult with her four children sick at home.
“My heart was breaking for my kids," she said. "It is scary to me to think that your children are sick and there’s really nothing you can do."
New imports of children’s pain relief medication are meant to alleviate Alemu’s concerns. The federal government announced Friday that one million bottles are arriving on store shelves and an additional 500,000 bottles will arrive over the next three weeks.
The head of the Ontario Pharmacists Association says it’s not a long-term fix.
"A million packages of the children's Tylenol and Advil aren’t going to last long," said Justin Bates. "We're talking weeks, not months, so this is really a short-term solution and it's an indication of abject failure when we have to import drugs."
While the influx of medication may be short-term solution, it is welcomed news to a Kitchener family.
"I mean it's kind of a relief," said parent Rachel Verhoeven. "We were dealing with my five-year-old having a cold or some sort of viral thing going around and nothing was bringing her temperatures down other than Tylenol or Advil."
The shortage has been attributed to a spike in viral illnesses that began in spring, when demands are usually low, but as the flu viciously worked its way through communities, shelves were left bare leaving families scrambling to find medication.
"There’s a limit of one per household, which I totally get, said Alemu. "But even if you have four kids, five kids, six kids, that’s not even going to get you through a couple days of fever for your family."
Even with the new shipments, pharmacists are still working to conserve what they receive and some shipments are headed to hospitals first.
"We still, you know, don’t have all of the supply that we need to make sure that people who really need it for kids that are sick are able to get the supply,” said Dr. Sheli Dattani, an Ottawa pharmacist and vice present of Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada.
As parents prepare to live through a fourth week of a national flu epidemic, talking to a pharmacist might be the best course of action while medication trickles back onto pharmacy shelves.
"Many pharmacists locally have pulled off the lower dose for adult medication in order to be able to use that medication to prepare it for children in a way that would make the most sense," said Dr. Dattani. "So, whatever you do as a parent, don’t go giving adult medication to a child."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion, 1 person seriously injured: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
How to overcome 'savings guilt' when you're living paycheque to paycheque
As the higher cost of living continues to squeeze household budgets, many Canadians find they have even less left over at the end of every month to squirrel away for the future.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.