I had a horrible cold at the start of the year which left me feeling pretty miserable and run-down. At the time, I bought several over-the-counter medicines in a bid to try and help some of my symptoms.

One of the worst symptoms I was suffering from at the time was a very dry throat, which felt quite tickly and scratchy. I felt that it was quite uncomfortable to talk (so I tended not to - much to my husband's delight..!!) as a result of my throat being so dry. I thought that using some sort of lozenge or throat pastille might help to alleviate these symptoms and make my throat feel a little more comfortable. I actually bought two types of throat lozenge at the time, one of which was from the well-known range of "Tunes" lozenges. There was only one flavour option available to me at the time, which was blackcurrant.

I paid around 70 pence for the small, 37g oblong-shaped package of Tunes from a local (independent) pharmacy store. I didn't count the lozenges but I would estimate there are around a dozen in the package, so I don't think the price is particularly excessive. I have also bought the blackcurrant Tunes (and a cherry-flavoured alternative) from my local grocery store in the past, as well as other drugstores and some supermarkets such as Sainsbury's and so I feel they are quite widely available.

The lozenges are a dark purple colour and they look quite attractive. I can smell the blackcurrant flavouring from the lozenges quite easily as you would expect with a product aimed at clearing your blocked nose and helping your sore throat! The smell is very pleasant although I do think they smell quite sweet, and so felt slightly reassured that the Tunes Blackcurrant Lozenges are "Sugar Free" as I do worry about products like this having a detrimental effect on my dental health. I believe that the Tunes may cause a laxative effect if taken to excess, but I found that one lozenge every few hours was more than enough for me and wouldn't personally have been tempted to take any more than this anyway.

I thought that the Tunes tasted very nice, and I do particularly enjoy blackcurrant flavoured sweets and drinks anyway so this was no surprise to me. I didn't find that they were overly sweet, nor were they sickly or bitter at all.

The Blackcurrant Tunes contain menthol in their ingredients, which can have a positive effect if you are suffering from a heavy cold or a head cold. Menthol works well at combating the unpleasant 'stuffy' feeling in the nasal canals that I'm very familiar with as I suffer on and off with sinus problems. Using products containing menthol can help to alleviate the 'stuffy' feeling in the head and face that can be caused as a result of having sinus problems or a heavy cold, and I have found its use can be quite beneficial.

To be honest, the worst of the symptoms I was experiencing at the time was in relation to my throat as I mentioned earlier, so I didn't particularly notice any huge difference to my nose/head/sinuses after using the Blackcurrant Tunes recently, as they weren't particularly affected by the cold I was suffering from at that time. I was aware of the presence of the menthol when I was sucking on one of the Tunes lozenges however, and found its cooling qualities felt very pleasant in my tender throat and blocked nasal passages.

In terms of my tickly, dry throat, I found the Blackcurrant Tunes worked quite well with alleviating the dry feeling, but I didn't feel they offered any sort of benefit to the tickling or scratching feeling that I was experiencing at the time. I have came to the conclusion therefore, that the lozenges offered some sort of lubrication to my tender , dry throat but I felt that any benefit I had felt was extremely short-lived. For this reason, I abandoned using the Tunes after only a day, and sought out an alternative medication with a little more 'oomph' to help combat the unpleasant 'tickling' that I was suffering from.

In conclusion, I would buy the Tunes again if I was suffering from a more minor cold-related ailment, such as a runny nose, or a dry throat. For any symptoms that are worse than this however, I find the lozenges are fairly ineffective and don't do enough to ward of my symptoms. In an emergency, or if nothing else was to hand, I would certainly use the Tunes and I did like the fact that they were sugar free as many other lozenges are not.