Mum begs Australians to stop panic-buying medication after she was unable to buy her life-saving medication for her toddler son
- Natalie Benson could not find Ventolin for her son, Oliver, three, earlier this week
- The Sunshine Coast mum has begged panic-buyers stop stockpiling medication
- She said all four chemists were empty and her son’s lungs shut off without it
- The government has placed a limit on medication purchases to combat the issue
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
A mum has begged Australians to stop panic-buying medication after she was unable to buy her son a life-saving asthma puffer.
Sunshine Coast woman Natalie Benson tried to find Ventolin at four chemists for her asthmatic toddler, Oliver, three, after he fell sick earlier this week.
But the medication that prevents his from ‘lungs shutting off’ had been completely swiped by stockpilers amid coronavirus fears.
‘My son is sick at the moment, and as soon as the asthma comes into that he cannot breathe. It can be very dangerous for him, his lungs can shut off,’ Ms Benson told ABC News.
Natalie Benson (pictured with her husband), from QLD’s Sunshine Coast, has begged Australians to stop panic buying life-saving medication
‘If you don’t have asthma or need it then don’t go stockpiling it, as people like my son really need it.
‘It doesn’t actually help people who don’t have asthma, so it’s a waste and then the people who need it end up in hospital taking up an oxygen mask instead.’
Ms Benson said without medication, Oliver spends up to two nights hospitalised as his oxygen levels are boosted.
On Thursday, the government announced sales of prescription medications and critical over-the-counter drugs would be limited to a month’s supply to stop bulk-buying.
The QLD mother said it was disappointing people were choosing to place lives at risk and that the government had to step in.
Three-year-old Oliver is asthmatic and needs Ventolin to breathe
She added that staff at a local pharmacy told her they had been abused after trying to stop a man from buying four puffers when they learned he did not have asthma and intended to store them.
The country’s peak industry body said pharmacies nationwide are reporting panic buying as well as physical and verbal abuse towards staff who intervene.
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia president Chris Freeman said although there is no issue with the, spike in demand has created a delay.
He said the shortages caused by panic-buyers could result in death for people whose lives rely on receiving medication.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the panic buying frenzy sweeping the country has been one of ‘the most disappointing things’ he has seen in ‘Australian behaviour’ in response to this crisis.
Mr Morrison urged people at a press conference on Wednesday to refrain from hoarding as supermarkets and pharmacies shelves continued to be depleted.
‘Stop hoarding. I can’t be more blunt about it. Stop it,’ he said.
Ms Benson said staff from a local pharmacy told her they had been abused while attempting to stop a man from bulk-buying asthma puffers