No ibuprofen and no nasal spray: Medicines are becoming scarce

Created: 06/07/2022, 06:00

By: Raphael Scherer

A child is sick in bed: painkillers are scarce - especially those for children.

(icon picture).

© DPA

Delivery bottlenecks, especially for painkillers for children, are causing problems for pharmacies and patients in the district.

District – Pharmacist Margarete Meyer sits on the phone much more than usual.

Because painkiller juices for children with ibuprofen, as well as paracetamol juices, which are otherwise simply ordered automatically via wholesalers, are scarce.

That's why she tries to find alternatives for the Forellen Apotheke in Glonn through other companies until the original brands that her customers know are available again: "It's very difficult at the moment."

But the bottlenecks don't stop with the two drugs: betahistine for dizziness, tamoxifen for breast cancer or the enzyme preparation Wobenzym for inflammation are just as scarce as usual, reports Meyer.

But even more everyday substances such as calcium, electrolytes or saline solution are missing.

Meyer then has to phone various alternative companies, both nationally and internationally.

Raw materials and accessories are missing

Bernd Grünberg, delegate of the Bavarian Chamber of Pharmacists and operator of the Eber pharmacy in Ebersberg, can only confirm this: "It's 'not nice' for children in particular that the painkillers are gone," he says.

He hears similar complaints everywhere in the pharmacy industry.

The reason for this is, on the one hand, the production facilities abroad.

On the one hand, the raw materials themselves are lacking due to delivery problems in India or China, but at the same time simple plastic accessories for medicine containers, such as the pumps for nasal sprays, come from there.

"These are points where we are simply dependent."

Donations to the Ukraine as a possible trigger for the bottleneck

At the same time, the production of medicines such as painkillers for children would become less and less profitable for large corporations, so that several would shut down production.

"The pharmacists are currently advising on whether they adopt something like this as a prescription drug," says Grünberg.

This would allow pharmacies to produce the drugs themselves in the laboratory, but with more effort and a correspondingly higher price.

"We also donated some to the Ukraine," Meyer recalls while in Glonn.

"If this is done on a large scale, it may well be that there are problems," she suspects.

The rush of customers to pharmacies has also increased since the pandemic, as people are increasingly stocking up on medicines privately.

Increased demand could also result in bottlenecks.

Rush to pharmacies is growing

The rush of customers in the Ebersberg branch also grew at Grünberg: "If more people go outside again, they get more sunburn, mosquito bites, runny nose, cough and hoarseness.

If more people leave, more people get infected again and go to the pharmacy,” he concludes.

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The second reason for the rush is the dying of pharmacies.

More and more branches are closing because the nearby doctors have moved away or the maintenance costs have exploded so that some branches are no longer profitable.

This is the alternative for painkillers

Then the previous customers have to go to the other ones.

The rising costs are hitting pharmacies just like everyone else, and according to Grünberg's forecast, sooner or later customers will be faced with a price increase.

Fortunately, no child has to go to bed with pain first.

Because there is an alternative to Ibu juices: "We still have enough suppositories, but not every child likes them," says Meyer, adding with a smile: "And some adults don't either."

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