Tylenol shortage adds to sickly season
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios
Parents are contending with strained supplies of children's pain relievers such as Tylenol and Motrin amid a trifecta of early and severe respiratory illnesses.
- Children's ibuprofen and acetaminophen can help treat fevers, coughs, headaches and other symptoms associated with COVID-19, RSV and the seasonal flu.
Threat level: "The demand is just unprecedented for this time of year," said Anita Brikman, a spokesperson for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. She added that sales were up 65% in November compared to the same month in 2021, Axios' Tina Reed writes.
- December sales data is not yet available.
Zoom in: Parents may have to try multiple pharmacies to find what they're looking for but should be able to locate at least a generic version, Steve Schexnayder, director of child and adolescent health at the Arkansas Department of Health, tells Axios.
- Using a less preferred but safe version of medications is better than none at all, Schexnayder added.
Yes, but: Schexnayder says parents should not give their kids aspirin to fight respiratory illnesses because it can cause Reye's Syndrome, a condition that leads to brain and liver swelling in children recovering from a viral infection.
State of play: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections are on the decline in Arkansas after a spike earlier this season.
- "Post-COVID, the viruses seem to have gotten their chronology mixed up and they just don’t quite know what season it is anymore," Schexnayder said. "We're still seeing high flu numbers right now."
- He added the state has recorded one pediatric death from flu. In total, 108 Arkansans died of the flu from early October through the end of 2022, according to data from the health department.