Children’s fever-reducing medications are getting harder to find, but for most kids, a fever isn’t inherently dangerous.
Sales of pediatric formulations of drugs like acetaminophen and ibuprofen went up 26% nationwide in October 2022 compared to the same month last year, according to NPR.
While there’s no problem in manufacturing the drugs, sold as Tylenol and Motrin, above-average demand has led to empty store shelves in some places. King Soopers grocery stores have limited customers to buying two children’s pain and fever products at a time.
Fevers can be dangerous in infants, especially those under 3 months old, because their immune systems are immature and they haven’t had most of their shots, said Dr. Christine Jelinek-Berents, a pediatrician at Kaiser Permanente Colorado. If a newborn has a fever, parents should call their doctor immediately, she said.
For older children, however, the decision to treat a fever depends on symptoms, Jelinek-Berents said. If a child feels mostly well and is behaving normally, it’s not necessary to give them medication for the fever, even if it’s a high fever, she said.