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catscradle Nov. 18th, 2003 12:48 pm)
catscradle Nov. 18th, 2003 12:48 pm)Or - What Happens When Steph is Avoiding Her Work Responsibilities
Cold and flu season is upon us and raging with a vengence this year. So, I've put together this little cough drop rating list as my little contabution to the CDC. Here's my cough lozenge rating on a scale of 1 to 4 stars:
Cêpacol ** - Cêpacol tastes like menthol diabetic candy. It always feels like it's going to slip down my throat before I have the chance to gain any benefit from it, so I'm far too nervous to allow for it's soothing long lasting relief from sore throat pain. Plus it has that damn pretentous line over the "e" - I guess to keep us all from accidentally pronouncing it with a short "e". All in all, I think it's cråp.
Cêpastat ** - This is Cêpacol for when you really want to end your sore throat pain now, as oppossed to when you don't mind if it takes a little while so long as it goes away at some point. As far as I can tell, the menthol is a bit stronger, but it still tastes like diabetic candy.
Fisherman's Friend **** - This is THE cough lozenge. It is not for the faint of heart. If you think you're coming down with a cold and are about to embark on a long trip through the north Atlantic in a small row boat for a few weeks, this is the cough drop for you. What Fisherman's Friend will do is remove your lungs and store them in a safe place next to the fireplace while you go on your trip. There is initial pain as your lungs are blown out of your chest via Alien method, but the end benefits are remarkable. You get them back good as new. Promise. This cough drop only comes in one flavor, though no one has ever been able to prove exactly what it is.
Halls *** - Halls is a favorite stand by of mine. An old reliable that proves a little bit of menthol and cherry flavoring goes a long way. It tastes good enough to suck down an entire bag of it in one day, while still tasting enough like medicine to make you think you're helping yourself. It comes if a variety of flavors from cherry and honey lemon to death white menthol. You can also get them with the extra syrup in the center for "longer lasting relief." It's suppose to coat the throat. Kind of like that gum with the juicy center they used to sell - I think it was called Chewels, or something like that. My personal favorite are the ones that come in the square rolls. Something about the shape that I just like better than the oval ones in the bags.
Ludens * - buying a box of Ludens when you have a sore throat is sort of like buying a box of sugar cubes with flavoring. It's candy. If all you need is to keep your throat moistened, peppermint candy is the better way to go.
Ricola *** - This is a nice, non-menthol, herbal type cough drop bought to us by the Swiss. The taste is pleasant enough, especially for people that can't stand the taste of menthol. It comes in a variety of flavors, though I prefer the dirt brown colored ones. They also have drops with echinacea for those trying to keep the germs away. Plus it has those cool commercials with those funky horns.
Robitussin *** - While Robitussin cough syrup seems to be the cure all for everything (including cancer - thank you, Chris Rock) - the drops are a little less impressive. I'd put them on the same ranking as Halls and Vicks. They come is a variety of flavors.
Smith Brothers * - It's like Ludens only with a bitter after taste. When I was a kid I thought it was all cool because it came in a box that made it look like it was found in an old abandoned coal mine from 1890. Instead of Smith Brothers, mix a little honey, lemon and whiskey (or aprocot brandy as my uncle Bob used to) and slam it. Good stuff.
Vicks *** - another old standby. They're much the same as Halls, except you can get them in a triangular shape.
Now you're saying "STEPH! You missed my all time favorite totally herbal, vegan brand X cough lozenge!" Well, I've not tried it myself, but I found a link here for it: Herbal Vegan Cough Drops
So try to stay cold and flu free, but if you can't, I hope this guide helps.
Cold and flu season is upon us and raging with a vengence this year. So, I've put together this little cough drop rating list as my little contabution to the CDC. Here's my cough lozenge rating on a scale of 1 to 4 stars:
Cêpacol ** - Cêpacol tastes like menthol diabetic candy. It always feels like it's going to slip down my throat before I have the chance to gain any benefit from it, so I'm far too nervous to allow for it's soothing long lasting relief from sore throat pain. Plus it has that damn pretentous line over the "e" - I guess to keep us all from accidentally pronouncing it with a short "e". All in all, I think it's cråp.
Cêpastat ** - This is Cêpacol for when you really want to end your sore throat pain now, as oppossed to when you don't mind if it takes a little while so long as it goes away at some point. As far as I can tell, the menthol is a bit stronger, but it still tastes like diabetic candy.
Fisherman's Friend **** - This is THE cough lozenge. It is not for the faint of heart. If you think you're coming down with a cold and are about to embark on a long trip through the north Atlantic in a small row boat for a few weeks, this is the cough drop for you. What Fisherman's Friend will do is remove your lungs and store them in a safe place next to the fireplace while you go on your trip. There is initial pain as your lungs are blown out of your chest via Alien method, but the end benefits are remarkable. You get them back good as new. Promise. This cough drop only comes in one flavor, though no one has ever been able to prove exactly what it is.
Halls *** - Halls is a favorite stand by of mine. An old reliable that proves a little bit of menthol and cherry flavoring goes a long way. It tastes good enough to suck down an entire bag of it in one day, while still tasting enough like medicine to make you think you're helping yourself. It comes if a variety of flavors from cherry and honey lemon to death white menthol. You can also get them with the extra syrup in the center for "longer lasting relief." It's suppose to coat the throat. Kind of like that gum with the juicy center they used to sell - I think it was called Chewels, or something like that. My personal favorite are the ones that come in the square rolls. Something about the shape that I just like better than the oval ones in the bags.
Ludens * - buying a box of Ludens when you have a sore throat is sort of like buying a box of sugar cubes with flavoring. It's candy. If all you need is to keep your throat moistened, peppermint candy is the better way to go.
Ricola *** - This is a nice, non-menthol, herbal type cough drop bought to us by the Swiss. The taste is pleasant enough, especially for people that can't stand the taste of menthol. It comes in a variety of flavors, though I prefer the dirt brown colored ones. They also have drops with echinacea for those trying to keep the germs away. Plus it has those cool commercials with those funky horns.
Robitussin *** - While Robitussin cough syrup seems to be the cure all for everything (including cancer - thank you, Chris Rock) - the drops are a little less impressive. I'd put them on the same ranking as Halls and Vicks. They come is a variety of flavors.
Smith Brothers * - It's like Ludens only with a bitter after taste. When I was a kid I thought it was all cool because it came in a box that made it look like it was found in an old abandoned coal mine from 1890. Instead of Smith Brothers, mix a little honey, lemon and whiskey (or aprocot brandy as my uncle Bob used to) and slam it. Good stuff.
Vicks *** - another old standby. They're much the same as Halls, except you can get them in a triangular shape.
Now you're saying "STEPH! You missed my all time favorite totally herbal, vegan brand X cough lozenge!" Well, I've not tried it myself, but I found a link here for it: Herbal Vegan Cough Drops
So try to stay cold and flu free, but if you can't, I hope this guide helps.
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They do. I have no empirical proof, and indeed, proof that that is not so, but they *do*. Which is why the first thing I buy when my throat gets scratchy is a bag of sugar free Ricolas (diabetes. Fun.) and slowly eat it, two "drops" at a time.
And it must be the original flavor because the others don't work.
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Still, good stuff.
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I know I've harmed at least one human (sorry, Mom!) when trying to eject the thing, projectile-like, from my mouth at high velocity. It felt like she'd given me a live coal to rest upon my tongue. Damned thing tried to burn a hole right through it.
And I maintain to this day that I was NOT aiming for her eye!
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What have you been up too? I've not seen you in ages!
*HUGS*
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I love Fisherman's friends; I used to use them in place of my inhaler in the hockey rink. Or rather in hopes that I wouldn't have to use my inhaler since they somehow made it harder for me to breathe.
They do come in a number of different flavours. There's regular, extra-strong, and sugar free. I think the sugar free one is mint or menthol. There may have also be a sugar one that was menthol or eucalyptus.
Also, supposedly hot peppers will also help with coughs and colds. Your body's normal reaction to the heat will help get rid of that pesky phlegm.
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picture here (http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jhtml?CATID=100208&PRODID=352491)
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Okay, I'll have to go out and try that one. Thanks =)
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I look forward to finding out if you like them.
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You are odd in a good way
My favorite is Ricola or the generic available at CVS. I've used Fisherman's Friend too, but oddly I use it in cases when I have some truly terrible taste in my mouth and I need something that will destroy the memory of the memory of that taste. I first discovered this property while eating at the Savannah airport, when I accidentaly swallowed down my windpipe and got horrible acid, well, almost-barfing, and I couldn't do anything about the taste afterward except F.F., which worked wonderfully! More recently, I used up a 1/2 box of it while recovering from the extremely unfortunate and traumatizing experience of eating about a tablespoon of durian, the most terrible food on the entire world.
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Re: You are odd in a good way
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Re: You are odd in a good way
I am on very friendly terms with a woman named V, who runs the neighborhood coffeeshop with her husband. Basically, having heard from a friend that V likes durian (which he had sampled and called "unbelievably foul"), I got her some from the international farmer's market. Well, I thought this was a good thing but it wasn't, because after she got my gift, she was so excited she wanted to share it with us neighbors. T
here were four of us and she began to cut it up, anticipating that each of us would be having a desert bowl full. We were already worried but as soon as she cut it, we all started thinking maybe that wouldn't work, so we asked her just to put out a little in a bowl and let us all "sample" it. So we each had about a tablespoon. My neighbor Maria had it in her mouth about 1/2 second before she discreetly slipped over to the garbage can. I think maybe I was the only one who actually chewed and swallowed and OH did I regret it.
There are just SO many things wrong with durian. First, it looks like brain, second its texture is somewhere between custard and an internal organ, third it STINKS, and fourth, it has the WORST taste! Caleb and I have determined that durian has a taste that one normally would never associate with a fruit -- normally you'd associate it with rotten mean! The visceral reaction I got from that durian was as bad as if I'd eaten rotten human remains or something.
It took TWO DAYS to get the taste of my mouth/throat/stomach/nasal passages. I had to take Fisherman's Friend, eat tons of candy, hot Mexicna food, the WORKS... and even NOW, monthly later, I can still remember how it tasted. That is just so WRONG! I'm not suprised durian is actually banned or restricted in certain Asian countries and cities.
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Re: You are odd in a good way
As for Fisherman's Friend - yeah, I can see where you'd use that to wipe out the memory of a memory of a taste. That will do it. . .
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Re: You are odd in a good way
I recently found I've got a chronic sinus infection. "Chronic" is right, I think I've had that since like 1986... Sadly, I don't think the treatment I got for it has fixed whatever it is, my ears still hurt. Maybe it's incurable.
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Re: You are odd in a good way
Sinus problems are the worst. Started mine in the ice storm of '93 and things went down hill from there. Never had a problem before that ice storm. In 1997 I had sinus surgery. It really helped with the infections, but I still have pressure problems - I'm not sure there's a cure for that =P
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The wonder cure-all Robitussin even promotes fertility.
Halls has recently come out with these new Fruit Breezers lozenges that are yummy, yummy but not quite as affective as the ole menthol.
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I'm not sure about fruit breezers. Sounds a little like Ludens. Hmmm. . . I'll have to check those too.
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I'm going to try Fisherman's Friend next time I need cough drops.
Is it sad that I sometimes buy N'ice because of the penguins on the box? I like the sugar free ones because I hate the fuzzy teeth from the sugary ones like Ludens.
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Get bored more? Me? At work? That can be arranged ;)
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Now all I need is a case of the 110-proof Nyquil and I am ready for winter!
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DO Tell: where can one find Fisherman's Friend?
From: (Anonymous)
Chocolate works
Logictutorial.com
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