Like A Hot Toddy In A Lozenge

I remember several years ago when I first starting hearing the Ricola commercials on television. They had an alpine yodeler announcing "Ricolaaaaaaa" through a large sheep horn of some sort. My daughter was little back then and she used to run around the house saying "ricolaaaaa." It used to drive me nuts...but it was indeed cute. The advertising campaign must have been effective because a trip to the drug store makes it appear that Ricola has risen to the ranks of Halls when it comes to cough drops. A wide selection of well stocked choices indicates that the company has a major toe hold on this market.

After returning from a trip to Las Vegas I ended up with a cough and a sinus infection. I took Mucinex which was supposed to help with the cough (as well as the sinus congestion). The Muxinex didn't provide much relief, so I purchased some cough drops. Cough drops are not a product that I use excessively...but I have needed them for the past two weeks. I am currently still trying to shake the cough. I started out with Halls Ginger Ale cough drops which were disgusting. I returned to Wal-Mart where I purchased Halls Naturals, which were much better. On my third trip, I purchased a few bags of Ricola cough drops, which are the best of the lot.

The flavors I purchased included Lemon Mint, Honey Lemon and Cherry Honey. I like the flavor of the Cherry Honey the best, but they are throat drops not cough drops. The Lemon Mint is also a throat drop, while the Honey Lemon with Echinacea is a cough drop. These flavors are also very good. The cough that I have is a persistent dry cough originating deep in my chest. It can be very aggravating and requires frequent consumption of cough drops. The ricola Lemon Mint drops provide temporary relief from the cough, although I find at certain times of the day I require more than other times. The throat drops are pleasant to take and even with frequent use, the flavor hasn't caused me any concern. With a few flavors to switch between, it keeps me from getting burned out on one flavor.

The active ingredient in the Lemon Throat Drops is Menthol. In addition to the menthol, these drops also contain Citric acid, extract of lemon balm, extract of Ricola herb mixture (elder, horehound, hyssop, lemon balm, linden flower, mallow, peppermint, sage, thyme, wild thyme) lemon oil, peppermint oil, starch syrup, sugar. Ricola recommends dosage at two drops per hour for an adults and children older than six. For children under six years old, you should consult a physician.

Ricola offers several products aside from the Lemon Throat Drop to provide an assortment of flavors and to address a variety of symptoms. These products include Natural Herb, Honey Lemon, Honey Herb and Orange Spice Cough Drops, Sugar Free Cough Drops in Menthol, Mountain Herb and Green Tea flavors, The throat drops mentioned above in both regular and sugar free, Nature's Protection Drops (Like First Defense) in Orange Mint, Elderberry and Cranberry, Ricola Refreshers in Elderflower and Lemon Mint and Ricola Breath Mints in Peppermint, Spearmint and Lemon Mint. With this selection of products it is easy to switch up your flavors so that you don't get too burned out on one.

Based on my recollections of the huge advertising campaign undertaken by Ricola in the Mid 1990s, I thought that they were a newcomer to the market. The company was founded in 1924 as a candy company. By 1940, Ricola had developed a throat drop based on an herbal formula made from natural Swiss herbs. This product is still sold today under the name Original Herb Cough Drop. The company is based in Laufen Switzerland and is still owned by the founding company. So, in spite of the advertising campaign introducing Ricola to the American masses, this company has a long established history in Switzerland.

Having a cough can be aggravating enough. With all of the products on the market that are supposed to treat a cough, many of them are simply not effective. There are prescribed products that can help with a cough, but the cough syrup products are probably about the best I've used for treating a chronic cough. However, I don't care much for cough syrup, so cough drops are the next best thing. When it comes to cough drops, I am very picky about the flavor...if it doesn't taste good, I'm not going to take it anyway. Ricola Lemon Mint drops taste good and effectively provide relief (albeit temporary) for my nagging cough. I would give Ricola Lemon Mint drops five stars out of a possible five.