Finding children's medicine still a struggle for parents

Does your kid have a fever, pain or a sinus infection from all the pollen? Treating it often involves rotating children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen, but you may have a hard time finding them.

"Wherever we see it, it’s like gold," said Raleigh dad Nicolas Parsatoon.

Parsatoon scoured stores for children’s Tylenol and Motrin after his two kids’ recent surgeries.

"At least a dozen and not successful," he told 5 On Your Side about his search.

After using up what they had and unable to find more, the Parsatoons turned to family.

"We’ve had our family in New York, just come in and like mail it down to us," he said.

It’s been this way for months. In December, WRAL News told you CVS and Walgreens were limiting the amount of children’s pain medications people could buy as COVID, the flu and RSV cases surged.

We’ve since learned that surge helped push demand for pain and fever reducers up 65% in November compared to the previous year. In December, demand eased a bit but was still up 30%.

"All that stuff has been unavailable for months and months and months," said Brent Talley, the Pharmacist Manager at Hayes Barton Pharmacy.

Cases of those illnesses are now dropping and some supply is coming back, but early spring threatens to throw another curveball.

"All the flowers and stuff are opening up," Talley said. "So, you’re gonna have a whole lot of allergies and probably some sinus infections that go along with that. So, the demand may not drop off just yet."

Amoxicillin, a common antibiotic for children, is officially in shortage according to the FDA, however acetaminophen and Iibuprofen are not.

The FDA gave 5 On Your Side a statement on the situation: "The FDA recognizes the potential impact that increased demand of certain products may have on health care providers and patients. While the agency does not manufacturer drugs and cannot require a pharmaceutical company to make a drug, make more of a drug, or change the distribution of a drug, the public should rest assured the FDA is working closely with numerous manufacturers and others in the supply chain to understand, mitigate and prevent or reduce the impact of intermittent or increased demand of certain products. The FDA understands that manufacturers expect availability to continue to increase in the near future."

The FDA also recently issued guidance to help increase the supply of ibuprofen in hospitals by allowing some hospital systems to make their own ibuprofen. 5 On Your Side checked with WakeMed, Duke University Hospitals and UNC Health. All told us they have been able to maintain an adequate supply of commercially manufactured medicine.

Parsatoon now has what he needs, saying, "But, I know plenty of other parents and neighbors are still searching for it themselves."

So, what can you do if you’re struggling to find a medication?

"Go talk to [your] pharmacists and see if [your] child could take an alternative product," suggested Mary Covington Coleman, Women and Children’s Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator at WakeMed.

"I would also say come to one of the WakeMed Outpatient Pharmacy," said Covington Coleman.

Checking to see if your hospital has a pharmacy may be another option other than your regular drug store.

The 5 On Your Side team had to do some searching, but after checking four grocery and drug stores; we did find children’s Tylenol and Motrin.

Look online: CVS was completely out of children’s Motrin in Raleigh when we checked. Walgreens canceled the first online order our team placed, but the second arrived in less than an hour. Just be prepared to pay extra in delivery fees.

Finally, when you do find what you need, don’t stockpile.

"You really only need one for right now. And really after that, I do think that the supply would fix itself," Talley said.