More children in hospital as shortage of cold and flu medicine continues

News -

As flu season takes off, more children are filling emergency departments and hospital beds.

"I think that this is going to be a tough season for everybody," said Dr. Leah Bartlett, a pediatrician at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH).

"Interestingly, this year we're seeing even kids that are older, above the age of two, up to five or six with significant illness and even requiring hospitalization."

Further complicating matters is a shortage of children's cold and flu medication.

"We've never had a back order situation on Tylenol and ibuprofen at the same time, so we're doing our best to sort of meet that demand and help parents out," said Lou Celli, the pharmacist and owner at Springwater Pharmacy.

The pharmacist is working to fill the gap caused by the industry-wide cold and flu medication shortage by making medicine for sick kids.

"You don't need a prescription if you need to access some acetaminophen or ibuprofen; you can speak to your pharmacist if they can compound it for you," said Celli.

Celli said he is working around the clock fulfilling orders, which are good for about two weeks.

"Your pharmacist is a good source of advice for how to navigate these challenges right now," said Celli.

Barrie pharmacist Marwa Rady is also offering help to parents over the phone, trying to figure out how much adult medication is appropriate for kids.

"Reach out to your pharmacist. They will help you with the adult-dosing adjustment and definitely get the flu shot this year; it's very important to have the flu shot," said Rady.

According to RVH, its pediatric unit is currently over capacity, treating six out of its eight patients for RSV.

"For the past two weeks the pediatric unit has consistenly been between 100 and 130 per cent capacity with 80 per cent of the admissions being RSV bronchiolitis. We have also accepted one pediatric patient to the adult ICU (16-year-old with diabetes not RSV) due to the high capacity on pediatrics units in the region," said Donna Danyluk, communications manager with RVH, in an email to CTV.

With flu season just getting underway, public health officials are reminding residents who have children who are sick to contact their local healthcare provider and, if conditions don't improve, not to hesitate to visit their local hospital.