cough up the facts (Benylin Chesty Coughs Original)

Member Name: werewolf2

Product:	Benylin Chesty Coughs Original
Date:	10/07/02 (402 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: works

Disadvantages: price

I bought two cough medicines within a period of two weeks - Benylin and Lemsip (both for chesty coughs) but one cost more that 70p more than the other - and the cheaper version appeared to work better.

Benylin Chesty cough mixture was £3.39 from a local independent chemist.

HYPE or FACT?

On the bottle and box there are many claims from the manufacturers but are they factual or just hype? Here are my views on their claims:

 Benylin for Chesty coughs states that it is non-drowsy - a factor which is especially suited for those of us who have to drive. This seemed to work as stated so would appear to be factual.

 It has an immediate soothing effect - well this for me was just hype as it may have had a soothing effect but it certainly was not immediate and anything that claims to have an immediate effect should be taken with more than just a pinch of salt.

 It gives deep penetrating relief - to loosen phlegm, clear bronchial and nasal congestion and make your cough more productive - if I'd known that a cough could work I'd have given it the ironing to do! It certainly loosened the phlegm by the 3rd day but I do not think it made a blind bit of differnece to the nasal congestion - therefore this claim was only partially true.

USAGE:

The adult dosage is two 5ml spoons four times a day MAXIMUM. Children (6 to 12 years) is one 5ml spoonful four times a day.

WARNINGS:

Not recommended at all for children under 6.
Pregnant women or those who are breast-feeding should consult a doctor before taking the product.
Consult a pharmacist or doctor if symptoms persist.

These are very sensible precautions and are present on most medication that is available either on prescription or over the counter. However, after reading the ingredients I believe that there should be a further warning - for diebetics.

Each 5ml of syrup contains Guaifensi
n Ph Eur 100mg and L-Menthol Ph Eur 1.1mg. Other ingredients include glucose syrup, sugar solution, saccharin sodium, alcohol, sodium benzoate, colouring (E124).

Sodium content 16.65mg/5ml. This sounds like a high salt content .

Glucose and sugar solution are similar but very sugary but there is no warning for diabetics not to use it, which I would have thought it ought to do as too much sugar could cause them severe problems.

To say that there is a high sugar content, the mixture does not taste overly sweet so could be deceptive for diabetics. It tastes OK but has a small aftertaste once you've swallowed it wihich is not too bad but would be better if there was no aftertaste at all.

It is a dark red or even brown coloured liquid/syrup and is very thick. It was the best for loosening phlegm but not the best overall for price, effectiveness and taste.

werewolf2

Summary: