Children’s pain meds shortage continues in Canada

As shortages across Canada continue for pain medications for children, parents are having concerns heading into the winter season.

Dunya Aziz, a mother of two from Windsor, said it is the worst-case scenario for there to be these shortages during this time of year.

“It’s winter and the kids most of the time are getting sick and having fevers and they need Tylenol,” said Aziz. “I’m not happy at all with this situation.”

Aziz also said Tylenol specifically is the most suitable pain medication for her kids due to allergies, so this also an added factor of stress with the shortages.

“I’m trying to find them another medicine but I’m not sure if it will be as good as Tylenol for them,” said Aziz.

Last week, Canada waived the bilingual labelling requirements in order to bring tens of thousands of children’s pain relief medicine into the country.

The agency’s chief medical advisor, Dr. Supriya Sharma, advised that children’s Tylenol, Advil and Motrin have been imported from the US and Australia.

The medicine is being sent to hospitals first as the government waits for proposals from pharmaceutical companies able to ship more product for over-the-counter purchases.

Across the border, Weena Kathawa, mother of four, lives in Michigan and is concerned about the shortages in Canada.

“This is a very frustrating situation because I am mom of four kids who constantly get sick, and I wouldn’t be able to imagine going to a pharmacy and not finding over-the-counter fever medicine or pain medicine,” Kathawa said.

Her advice for the Canadian moms is to try and find home remedies that will help in the meantime and if possible, to try and cross the border to find a pharmacy that has fever and pain medicine for kids.

“It is very sad, I wish there was a way to help,” Kathawa said. She added that she is also worried about if this were to ever happen in the US.

“As a precaution I always try and buy extra Tylenol during the wintertime because I know my kids get sick a lot during this time,” she said.