SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) -Two recalls by a major pharmaceutical company has led to a shortage of Sudafed. The decongestant has been on the market for years. But this year it's difficult for pharmacies to get, and even harder for customers to find.
Geoffrey Baer is panicked because he can't find Sudafed. He says it's his lifeline at this time of the year. "Can’t breathe head is packed watery eyes swelling up."
His doctor prescribed a mixture of allergy medication and Sudafed. "I don't want to run out of this stuff because it's the only thing that has worked, and this is, as everybody already knows, this is one of the worst allergy seasons that there has ever been."
Timothy Auger at Jolly's Corner Pharmacy says it's not just a matter of supply and demand; the problem is there is no supply. Johnson and Johnson, the maker of Sudafed, had a massive recall last January because of inadequate cleaning procedures in one of its plants. Then, in February more than six hundred thousand packages of Sudafed were recalled because of a labeling error.
Auger says that shut down production. "Because some of their products were taken off the market for manufacturing issues, they want to make sure that all of their facilities are up to standard so they have stopped making it temporarily."
Generic forms of Sudafed are available and auger says they offer the same amount of active ingredients, but admits they don't work as well for everyone. "Some people they can't use generics. They just don't work."
Baer says he's one of those people. "I have tried all sorts of antihistamine and the entire over the counter." Baer says without Sudafed he is a prisoner of pollen. "Summer is like a joke. It’s beautiful. It’s gorgeous outside and you can't go outside.”
Local pharmacists say it's unclear when Sudafed will be readily available again. Some are hearing it will be in August. Meanwhile, if the generic form of the medication is ineffective, and you are suffering, compounding pharmacies can create Sudafed for you but you must have prescription from you doctor.
