Worried about a shortage of children's medications? Here's what you need to know
CBC
Amid a nationwide shortage of children's pain and fever medications, Health Canada was due to speak with manufacturers on Thursday to discuss ways to boost supply.
Parents across the country have noted empty shelves where they had hoped to find pediatric acetaminophen or ibuprofen products, like liquid Tylenol and Advil, or chewable tablets.
Conflicting advice from health organizations in recent days has led to confusion about how to buy the products and prompted concerns about potential panic-buying.
Pharmacists and other health organizations are urging the public not to hoard the medicines, as there are backup options available and pharmacists can offer individualized advice for treating kids.
Do you have questions or an experience to share about the children's medication shortage? Send an email to ask@cbc.ca
No, you do not need a prescription for children's acetaminophen or ibuprofen products. They are over-the-counter medicines, but the current shortage means they might not be on some store shelves.
If a parent is unable to find the medications, they should speak with a pharmacist, who can help by:
Pharmacists are experts in customizing medications for patients, and can easily do so if requested, said Bertrand Bolduc, president of the Quebec Order of Pharmacists.
"We have access to the active ingredients, we have recipes, we know how to mask the taste of that drug, so if push comes to shove, we'll make it ourselves," he told CBC Radio's Daybreak Montreal.
It would be up to an individual pharmacy to decide whether to charge a dispensing fee for medication from a stock bottle or for compounding medicine, several pharmacists told CBC News.
WATCH | Don't stockpile children's medicine, parents urged:
On Monday, Toronto's SickKids hospital advised parents and caregivers of its patients that they would now need a prescription for children's acetaminophen or ibuprofen products for take-home use, due to the nationwide shortage.
However, on Tuesday, the hospital clarified that advice, saying it "recommended" a prescription "to help ensure access" to a pharmacy's larger stock bottles, adding that its original message was not meant for the general public.
According to the Ontario Pharmacists Association, a prescription can be helpful because it tells the pharmacist the right amount of medication to dispense to the individual child, and what dosage to put on the label, based on their age and weight. That said, a prescription is not mandatory.
Aggressive patients and lack of security are making nurses feel unsafe in a rural Western Manitoba emergency union, says the Manitoba Nurses Union.
Saskatoon resident Delynne Bortis knew her commute to work Tuesday morning would be particularly difficult.
WARNING: This story contains details of abuse and intimate partner violence:
The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.