WAUNAKEE, Wis. — For parents, cold and flu season can be a very stressful time of the year. This season, medication shortages are contributing to the stress.
As more children come down with COVID-19, RSV and the flu, parents are scrambling to find Children’s Tylenol and other over-the-counter medications.
With a shortage hitting most of the U.S., Heather Walker, a pharmacist at Hometown Pharmacy in Waunakee struggles to keep up with demand.
“So if I am looking at our warehouse just to check and see what kind of stock they have, there is not much in stock right now,” said Walker.
Walker’s pharmacy had one bottle of Children’s Tylenol left on Monday Jan. 2, but that bottle did not stay on the shelf long.
Becky Conder, a customer at Hometown Pharmacy claimed the last bottle.
"I am going to get it for my three grandsons, my daughter can not find any down in Illinois where she lives,” said Conder.
Conder’s daughter works at a pharmacy in Illinois and despite her connections, she could not find any over-the-counter medications for her children.
“She has twins and one of the twins had influenza with a fever and all she could do was give them cool water baths,” said Conder.
With the tripledemic upon us, the main reason for the shortage is the increased demand. Walker says she has no idea when these over-the- counter medications will be restocked.
“It is kind of random, sometimes I check the stock and I order it right away and the next day it is all gone or even later that day it is all gone.
Walker said if you can’t find any over-the-counter medications for your children, you should call your provider to find out what the next best option is.
“We have people that are crushing the Tylenol tablets, crushing the ibuprofen tablets and mixing that into something but definitely don't do that on your own, contact your provider,” said Walker.