Helps me sleep but don't drink it all day (Lemsip)

Member Name: slinkyindieninja

Product:	Lemsip
Date:	12/05/09 (254 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Warms my throat, soothes my head

Disadvantages: Not that effective

Lemsip is a hot drink that comes in sachets of powder for individual servings, containing paracetamol to stop pain and phenylephrine hydrochloride as a decongestant, intended to help deal with some of the symptoms of colds and flu. To use it, you tear open the sachet, tip the contents into the mug of your choice and pour on hot water. The water should be hot, not boiling, the packet says, so after I've boiled it I always leave it to cool down in the kettle for a few minutes before use. Lots of people I know have never read the packets and use boiling water. I Googled to find out why hot water, not boiling is recommended, and the Australian Lemsip website says that it is just to lower the risk of accidents as the Lemsip power is effervescent and makes the volume of water increase faster than a person might anticipate.

Lemsip is an enormously popular product, being I think a fairly pleasant medicine to use. When I first tried it I thought it was revolting but over time I have gotten used to it, and now I actually find it a little too sweet for my taste. You can add honey or sugar to Lemsip once the powder has dissolved if you find the taste too sharp or bitter.

I gargle Lemsips every few gulps, this I find makes it more likely that the medicine gets to the tickly/sore parts of my throat.

You can drink Lemsip up to four times a day but I don't find it effective enough to bother with this. When I have a cold I drink hot water continuously (with a splash of lemon, orange and/or apple juice in it sometimes) to make me feel warmer, to compensate for all the liquid lost through my nose (eww, I know) and because it is gentler on sore or tickly throats than cold water. I would suggest that people who take four Lemsips a day try this, I only have a Lemsip right before I go to bed to give my throat that extra bit of relief and so the paracetamol can relieve any headachey symptoms that might stop me sleeping, I prefer to use a minimum of medicines as I find the longer I take them the less effective they become. If I have a really bad sore throat and/or cough I find that Lemsips will not help very much at all and instead I take proper cough medicine and gargle with a sore throat rinse or use a sore throat spray to numb the back of my mouth and throat so that I can't feel the tickles that make me cough (and therefore don't cough) and I sleep with an extra pillow.

Lemsip is a medicine containing paracetamol and you should not drink alcohol whilst using this product or take any paracetamol in pill form with it - although you can take two paracetamol pills or capsules together, there is more paracetamol in one Lemsip than in one paracetamol pill/capsule, so if you were to take a Lemsip and a pill you would overdose. You should also avoid getting into the habit of taking Lemsips for long periods of time because paracetamol is very bad for your liver, especially if you also consume alcohol regularly. If your symptoms persist for more than a few days speak to your pharmacist, they can recommend you medicines that may be more effective. If you have cats or snakes you must keep them away from any products containing paracetamol as it is highly toxic to them.

I would recommend Lemsip to anyone who has slight to moderate cold and flu symptoms, especially if your throat is tickly, but if you have a proper cough other medicines, especially those that numb or coat your throat so it no longer tickles, will be more effective.

Summary: Use wisely - it can help but lots of people take it when it won't do much good