HELP! I can\'t find Benadryl Fast Melts!!!

Yes, I have had a hard time,now that you mention it.
I keep seeing the strips.
I bought the strips thinking they were so convenient to carry since they are flat etc. Well, they are next to impossible to open without scissors. I threw them away.
Maybe the buyers at the drugstores are ordering the new improved stuff....

I found this on the web:
Pfizer Recalls Fastmelt Benadryl Products to Correct Labeling Error
MORRIS PLAINS, N.J., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Pfizer Inc today initiated
a voluntary recall from store shelves of Benadryl(R) Allergy & Sinus
Fastmelt(TM) and Benadryl(R) Children's Allergy/Cold Fastmelt(TM) tablets.
The action was taken to alert people with a rare inherited metabolic
condition known as phenylketonuria (PKU), who must control their intake of
phenylalanine. The Benadryl Fastmelt label incorrectly states the amount of
phenylalanine, which is contained in the common artificial sweetener
aspartame, an inactive ingredient in the Fastmelt products. The correct amount
of phenylalanine in both Fastmelt products is 4.6 mg per tablet, which is
higher than the amount shown on the label. For people who do not have PKU, the
Fastmelt labeling error does not raise this concern.
This recall does not affect any Benadryl medicines other than Benadryl
Fastmelt.
The National Institutes of Health estimates that one in 15,000 people is
born with PKU. Pfizer recommends that people with PKU take note of the correct
milligram content of phenylalanine in Benadryl Fastmelt products (4.6 mg per
tablet). For those consumers who have purchased a Fastmelt product and do not
wish to use it, Pfizer will replace it with a comparable Benadryl product or
issue a full refund.
Pfizer has informed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of this recall.
Pfizer also is contacting the leading PKU organizations nationwide in an
effort to communicate the correct information.
People with PKU seeking additional information may call the National
Coalition for PKU and Allied Disorders at 1 877 996-2723, or visit the
Coalition's website at [url="http://www.pku-allieddisorders.org."]http://www.pku-allieddisorders.org.[/url] Consumers seeking
more information about Benadryl Fastmelt products and this recall may visit
[url="http://www.prodhelp.com;"]http://www.prodhelp.com;[/url] or call 1-800-524-2624 daily between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time).
[This message has been edited by SFMom (edited July 26, 2007).]

Yikes, I also found this, although it's from 2005 and maybe it's not a problem anymore:
ISMP Safe Medicine, November/December 2005, Volume 3, Number 6.

we switched from the fast melts to the quick disolve strips, they work GREAT!!! If that helps at all, we've been using these(my older 2) for about 6mths(even at school we had a box). I just gave some to my son Jake, his nose is so sore today(but he's off his Zyrtec for testing next Tues). anyways, hope that helps
------------------
Chanda(mother of 4)
Sidney-8 1/2(beef and chocolate, grasses, molds, weeds, guinea pig & asthma)
Jake-6 1/2(peanut, all tree nuts, eggs, trees, grasses, weeds, molds, cats, dogs, guinea pig & eczema & asthma)
Carson-4 (milk, soy, egg, beef and pork, cats, dog, guinea pig, grass, mold, dust mite and EE)
Savannah-1 1/2 (milk and egg)

Someone else on here suggested precutting the strip packaging too...just to clarify --- NOT ALL THE WAY ACROSS! This opens it up to air and moisture.
I found that the whole "fold here and rip" doesn't work. So like others on here suggested, I cut along their "scored line" to break that last little bit...but I don't go too far. You can see where the seal ends and the opened part begins (if that makes sense). Totally helps.
Adrienne
------------------
30-something survivor of severe peanut/tree nut allergy

It took me a while to open one but the directions are not clear. You have to fold it where the dotted line is and tear the other way not in the direction of the dotted line like you would most packages. When you tear across the dotted line you will see a small cut, that is where it will tear open and then you do the same with the other side and you will have the top and the side open and can easily get the strip out.
Directions hopefully clearer: fold where the dotted line is. At the same time it is folded (lets say you are folding the left side). Take the top left corner and pull it to the right across the top (not in the direction of the dotted line - not downward, but across). You will see a little slit and it will tear off.
I took one the other day for the fist time. It made my tongue and throat so numb I almost thought I was having an allergic reaction. It went away after 15 min. Is this normal?
[This message has been edited by momll70 (edited July 27, 2007).]

momll--I had the same thought the first time I had one and things went numb! But it's normal.
We don't have a hard time opening these. There are two possible places if you mess up on the first one. Now, I do not give them to the school. In an emergency, I don't want anyone to have to mess with opening and failing. But truth is, we've used a lot of these, and I've only had trouble with one.
I do think the triaminic strips are easier to open, and for children they have the same amount of medicine as the benadryl strips do. And they taste better. But for adults, it's quite cost effective to get teh benadryl strips. If that's all I have, DS will tear it in half and put the other half back in the foil packet.
We've hardly ever used the Fast Melts, because the other options are just so good for our family.

I send my dd to school with her 2 epi's and a full bottle of Benadryl. It would be great if she didn't have to have that extra bottle and just strips. Do you feel comfortable with the strips instead?

Kathy, we send the strips to school now, our allergist suggested it last year(and write instructions for the strips for the nurse as well). I also now carry them in the Epi-pack, they fit ALOT better in my pack-thing. Plus you don't have to worry about the spoon and measuring. At a basketball game we attended last winter, he had to take one, I just ripped it with my teeth and laid it on his tongue, it's very easy. I think the burning(I've taken one too) is the mint flavor they put in it. If you drink something after it melts, it helps...the aftertaste isn't the best. I think it works faster then the liquid too, I notice my son starts to improve within about 20min(the liquid has taken up to an hour before). I do still have the liquid on hand at home though, for my younger ones. Good luck
------------------
Chanda(mother of 4)
Sidney-8 1/2(beef and chocolate, grasses, molds, weeds, guinea pig & asthma)
Jake-6 1/2(peanut, all tree nuts, eggs, trees, grasses, weeds, molds, cats, dogs, guinea pig & eczema & asthma)
Carson-4 (milk, soy, egg, beef and pork, cats, dog, guinea pig, grass, mold, dust mite and EE)
Savannah-1 1/2 (milk and egg)