Thanks to the 'tripledemic,' it can be hard to find kids' fever-reducing medicines

It can be hard to find children's fever-reducing medication in some areas. At a Bed Bath & Beyond in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, a few products were in stock while others were sold out. (Laurel Wamsley/NPR)

If you stroll the cold and flu medicine aisle these days, you might notice shelves that are bare, or nearly so. Some medicines that can be particularly hard to find are fever reducers for kids, like children's Tylenol, Motrin or Advil.

Drug manufacturers point to a big spike in demand. That's not surprising, given the surge in three respiratory viruses right now: COVID, RSV and influenza, what has been termed a "tripledemic."