Hay fever tablets run low across the country due to chlorphenamine maleate shortage

Hay fever tablets are running low across the country due to an ingredient shortage – and the timing couldn’t be worse as forecasters are predicting a rise in pollen levels.

Stocks of chlorphenamine maleate, an active ingredient in Piriton medication and other such remedies, are widely limited, according to Boots

It comes as drug shortages in England reach their worst level ever, with hormone replacement therapy (HRT), steroids and blood pressure drugs also affected.

Piriton tablets are out of stock online at Boots, Lloyds Pharmacy and Coop Pharmacy but its syrups for children are still available.

The shortages seem to be only in medications containing chlorphenamine maleate, with other types of antihistamines more readily available.

It us understood that tablets using cetirizine hydrochloride are in good supply, which includes Allacan, Benadryl, Piriteze and own-brand varieties.

Both cetirizine and chlorphenamine can be used to treat hay fever, but people often find that one is more suited to them, the NHS says. Medication using cetirizine hydrochloride is less likely to make someone feel sleepy as a side effect.

Separately, about half a million patients in England are being stung by shortages of medicines for a wide range of conditions, which has been blamed on post-Brexit trade rule changes, Covid lockdowns in China and the rising cost of raw materials

Pollen levels are expected to peak as the two main types – from trees and grass – are simultaneously released in mid-May.

Tree pollen is most common between late-March and mid-May, whereas grass pollen lasts for longer, and is released from mid-May to July. It is also the variety that more people are allergic to.

The Met Office has also warned that pollen ‘levels will be high across much of the UK today and Tuesday’.

And it is thought that the pollen season could be extended due to climate change, as well as warmer weather bringing invasive, and more pollen-rich plants to the country.

The issue with hay fever tablets comes as the UK has experienced a general drugs shortage problem in recent weeks.

Two-thirds of pharmacists have been facing supply issues every day, according to the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee.

And many of them are having to serve aggressive patients, after they are told that their prescribed medication is unavailable.

One of the most widely reported supply chain issues is with hormone replacement therapy (HRT), with demand rising among women in recent years.

Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, told The Times that about 500,000 patients are currently facing barriers to getting drugs they need for a wide range of conditions.

Pharmacists are calling for the Government to cut red tape that means they could supply substitute medications without having to send patients back to their GP for a whole new prescription.

Industry insiders claim that increases to the costs of raw ingredients, energy and shipping are the drivers of the current crisis.

But disruptions caused by the pandemic, most recently China’s reversion to strict city-wide lockdowns, are exacerbating the issues, as is Brexit.

Hannbeck told the newspaper: ‘Shortages impact patients the most. Where stable medication has to be changed the process can often be complex and stressful for patients. Some medicines for example for cancer and blood pressure are difficult to substitute.

‘It is pharmacies up and down the country that are dealing with these impositions every day and this should be recognised.

‘What is more, frustrations [of] the public are often resulting in verbal abuse. Acts of violence towards pharmacy teams should not be tolerated. The job is hard enough without having to endure abuse and threats.’

Desperate women have been forced to ration their prescriptions or turn to the black market due to a shortage of HRT drugs, particularly a rub-on gel called Oestrogel.

The British Menopause Society has issued guidance to doctors on alternatives for HRT brands which are in short supply — but these switches cannot be issued by pharmacists.