Some pharmacies recently have been running low on stocks of Paracetamol, the drug mostly used to treat dengue patients.
A random check with drug stores and convenience stores revealed that they have been inundated with customers stocking up on the pain killer.
Roglyn Hinds, a director of A.S Brydens, agents for Panadol, said sales of that drug increased significantly during October.
“We usually sell about 9 000 boxes of 18 tablets each month, but in October we sold about 10 000 boxes of 18,” she said.
Some outlets were sold out of drugs like Panadol and Paramol which are variations of Paracetamol, the generic name for the drug.
“People aren’t taking any chances with dengue and they have been snapping up drugs like Panadol over the past few weeks,” one City pharmacist said.
The pharmacist explained that one of the reasons why Paracetamol was so popular as a treatment of dengue symptoms, was because it did not contain aspirin.
“Aspirin can cause gastric irritation and bleeding and this would aggravate anyone with dengue, so doctors usually prescribe aspirin-free drugs like Panadol,” the pharmacist added.