For the past three or four nights I have woken up in the night with my own coughing. It is a very dry cough that has left my throat red, raw and swollen. I have been so stressed and busy lately that I have been ignoring this problem instead of getting myself something from the pharmacy. Today my throat was killing me so I rummaged around in my medicine cabinet and found a rather old packet of Strepsils in the Honey and Lemon flavor. I started sucking one straight away and carried on about my business and noticed that my throat felt completely anaesthetized and the soreness had gone. I was impressed! These provided an instant relief. These do not actually deal with the cough though and my throat felt sore again when I had another coughing fit twenty minutes later, but the soothed feeling created by the Strepsil returned so I did not have to take another one. The taste of the sweet is not delicious but it is an inoffensive taste. They are honey and lemon and they have quite a tart taste but I can cope with it. I was surprised at how effective these Strepsils are and they are going to keep my throat soothed until I get to the shop later and buy myself some cough syrup to stop the actual coughing. I found I wanted to suck another Strepsil about two hours later as a top up.

A packet of Strepsils costs about £3.50 and there are different kinds to suit different kinds of problems. For example, there is a menthol one if you have a blocked nose as well, a milder one for mild sore throats or a stronger kind for really painful throats. The active ingredients – if I can spell them – are amylmetacresol and dichlorobenzyl if that means anything to you, and they are supposed to work by killing the bacteria that causes the infection, soreness and swelling. This is an effective product that I would recommend.

Rating: 9