LAKE PARK, Fla. — In the height of sick season, some parents find themselves concerned when they go to look for children's fever reducers and pain medications. The question is, when will it all end?
Nirav Patel, a pharmacist and owner of Robalo Pharmacy in Lake Park, checks his shelves and stock for supply.
"I am trying to hunt it down," he said. "I've been able to get little at a time on hand."
It's a personal mission to help his patients.
"For the 20 years that I've been a pharmacist, I've never seen a need like this," Patel said.
Many parents say the sickness seems everlasting right now.
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"We can't find anything anywhere and we have sick kids. It's terrible," mother Katherine Olivier said. "The shelves are empty no matter where you go."
She said it's overwhelming, being on the hunt for meds, with sick kids in tow.
"When your kid has a fever, it's really stressful," she said.
Dr. Shannon Fox-Levine, a pediatrician, said the problem is real.
"It makes sense that the more that people are using Motrin and Tylenol, the more quickly they might be disappearing from the shelves and the supplier is having trouble keeping up with the demand," she said. "What everyone needs to remember, though, is that fever is our friend, and it's important to not over-treat fever."
She said stay in contact with your doctor, treat the symptoms of the child, things like malaise and body ache. She also said tepid baths do help. Fox-Levine warned about taking matters into your own hands when it comes to medication.
"To play pharmacist at home is not recommended," she said. "Absolutely, if there were a complete shortage of all liquid medications, then we would be able to guide parents as far as how to maybe use the tablets, but that is not recommended at this point."
Now, many, like Patel, are left wondering when bare shelves will fill back up.
"It's a great question," Patel said. "I am hoping this ends soon, because it's affecting a lot of people. Right now we are in a flu season, RSV is very heavy and COVID is back."
