Strepsils Lozenges > Reviews (37)

What does a foal and my throat have in common? Both are a little hoarse. I tell you, seeing as I can barely speak right now, I’m grateful that the internet exists as a medium to get across my terrible jokes!

That’s right, I’ve been struck down with yet another cold, and as well as having a nose that could run for England right now, I’m also suffering with a croaky throat. Seeing as I am 100% male, I’ve decided that I need medication as there is no way that I could possibly be expected to ask my natural defences to cope with this affliction.

A quick search through the cupboards uncovered a packet of Strepsils which were left over from the last bout of disease to hit the SeasonTicketless house. The box holds 24 lozenges each of which are approximately 15mm in diameter. This particular box doesn’t have a flavour as you would expect and is instead labelled merely as “Strepsils with Vitamin C 100mg”. The colours used in the packaging are black text and orange graphics, and fortunately this isn’t misleading as the lozenges themselves have a distinctly orange flavour. The packaging also displays the simple claim at the top: “Soothing effective relief for sore throats” with the word “effective” in italics. Whether they are trying to imply that other brands are ineffective is anyone’s guess, but this wasn’t my main reason for buying the packet in the first place. The reason was, quite simply, that they were on a “Buy One Get One Free” offer in Boots and also that Strepsils are a brand that I have been familiar with for a long time.

Slightly tacky to the touch, with a subtle smell, the taste is not unpleasant, though I would not describe it as a taste you would go out of your way to get to. Each lozenge is designed to be sucked, which makes them last for a good couple of minutes and allows the medicinal properties to be swallowed slowly. As soon as you start sucking you can feel the benefit of the lozenge, as you lose the itchiness and irritability that being hoarse brings. Unfortunately you can also feel your tongue begin to tingle slightly and lose sensation which is a result of the numbing ingredients. It’s nice to know that the lozenge will do the same for your sore throat as it does for your tongue, but I can’t help but feel that these soothing qualities would be better concentrated on just the throat.

The box instructs you to dissolve one lozenge in the mouth every 2 to 3 hours, which seems ok on the face of things. Unfortunately the effect of each lozenge tends to last for less than an hour which means that you are back to square one before long.

The aftertaste is strange. Although you can still taste the fruity flavour, your mouth feels refreshed – the same peculiar feeling that you get having eaten a mint. The sore throat, as I mentioned above, has been relieved, albeit temporarily.

For around £1.79 per packet, they are good value at short-term relief which is welcomed at the height of a cold. On a “Buy One Get One Free” offer they are even better value. Although the lozenges are by no means the answer to getting rid of the annoying symptoms that a sore throat brings, they allow you to plough through the day at work.

Three stars. Cheap and cheerful, but no more than a stop-gap solution. I’d hate to see the other implied ineffective lozenges!