Parents have been struggling to buy a well-known chickenpox medication - with pharmacies saying it has been out of stock for weeks.
One Watford pharmacy said it has received calls from parents outside of Hertfordshire searching for the over-the-counter medication calamine.
It comes after the UK Health Security Agency said chickenpox is on the rise among children in comparison to 2021 and 2020 when Covid restrictions were in place.
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The Park Pharmacy in Garston Park Parade told the Watford Observer calamine and most alternatives have been out of stock for nearly four weeks.
Its pharmacy assistant Michelle Haynes said: “We have four wholesalers that we order from and not one of them has got any stock.
“Parents are very stressed that they can’t buy any. They have said they have been to numerous pharmacies in the area to try and buy some.
“Some have ordered it online, but people are still waiting for deliveries.
“We’ve had people phone up from other counties, such as Sussex, asking us if we have any. It must be a nationwide problem now.”
Ms Haynes said that in her 22 years working at the pharmacy she has never experienced this kind of shortage.
She said: “Even when we had a massive outbreak of chickenpox a couple of years before the pandemic hit, we were still getting stock.”
Abell Chemist in London Road, Bushey, said it has had a shortage for nearly two months.
Superintendent pharmacist Mohamed Ameer said: “We have been waiting to find out when we will be able to get new stock, but there is no indication at all.”
It is also a problem at Vision Pharmacy in St Albans Road.
Pharmacist Mohammed Munir said: “We have no idea why it is such a problem. But lots of customers have been asking for it.”
A spokesperson from the National Pharmacy Association confirmed that some pharmacies have been unable to obtain calamine lotion.
They added: “Manufacturers have said the product is expected to be back in stock by the end of the month.”
Two of the country’s calamine suppliers, Alliance Healthcare and Thornton & Ross have been approached for comment.
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