You can eat them like sweets, because they basically are... (Halls Soothers Throat Tablets)

Member Name: bamamo

Product:	Halls Soothers Throat Tablets
Date:	30/12/08 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Don't taste too medicinal, contain mild decongestants, cheap

Disadvantages: Don't really do too much for a really sore throat or blocked nose

I suppose there must be some sort of bright side to this horrendous flu which has struck so many of us down this Christmas. Yes, I got to be lazy for a few days (which was actually really boring) and yes, I did get some sort of unexpected Christmas break from work, but it also means that I guess now I can review Halls Soothers. I know, not much of a reward for feeling like death for almost a week, but anyway.

I have had the most horrendous sore throat, and I'm really bad at remembering when I have taken medication. If it still hurts, I take more. So I needed something other than Strepsils, which can only be taken every 2-3 hours and taste rotten anyway. My dad bought me some Soothers, which I've had plenty of in the past as sore throats are something of a regular occurrence for me.

I did find it quite amusing that when I was little my dad (a pharmacist) always used to give me Soothers when I was ill and told me not to "eat them like sweets". And here he was giving me them BECAUSE they can be taken more frequently.

Anyway, I got a three pack, which retails for £1.06 from Tesco and contains a pack each of Blackcurrant, Peach & Raspberry and Cherry. This is pretty good value because each packet of 10 individually-wrapped sweets sells for about 48p.

Now I'm not sure if the recipe of these has changed, because I do remember as a kid the packet clearly stated a dose you should not exceed (something ridiculous like two packets I believe) and now there is nothing of the sort. In fact, the wrapper doesn't mention anything about decongestant properties. They are labelled as "sweets with a fruit juice centre" and, besides the addition of menthol and eucalyptus oil, appear to be pretty bog standard boiled sweets with a syrupy centre.

I'm not overly fond of the taste, but I do think they've improved as they've got less medicinal (if they indeed have). You can't really taste the menthol all that much and I'm not sure it would do wonders if your nose was really congested. I would probably recommend getting a pack of Tunes or Airwaves gum for that purpose. As for soothing a throat, well obviously it doesn't have any kind of anaesthetic like other throat sweets do, so it's never going to be quite as powerful. To be honest, any kind of boiled sweet that you suck would be about as beneficial, I think.

Of the three flavours, I personally prefer peach and raspberry, which is weird because it's very peachy and I'm not usually a fan. To me, the blackcurrant just reminds me too much of the mediciney flavour they used to be like, and cherry is just okay. The centre is a bit sickly and not everyone is a fan of two different textures, eg a solid outer and goopy centre, in a one sweet, so it might not be to everyone's taste.

These are not a miracle product, nor do they taste great. They are better than nothing if you can't wait between doses of a stronger product, but I would opt for a more hardcore solution if you're really suffering!

Nutritionally, they are quite sugary and calorific (with 41g carbs and 165cal per pack), but if you're ill, worrying about calories is really the last thing you should be thinking about. Starve a fever, feed a cold and all that!

As a final word, these go very sticky and gross if you don't eat them pretty soon after opening the packet, despite each having its own wrapper.If you find a discarded half-packet in your bag, I would probably buy a new one...

Summary: I would pay more for a product that packs more of a punch!