7. Halls Intense Cool ($2.37 for 30) I appreciate that the Halls wrappers feature encouraging sayings like, "Impress yourself today," and "Buckle down and push forth." I do not appreciate that the Halls new Intense Cool drops with extra-strong menthol make me want to puke. I think part of the problem is that when I taste something labeled "menthol" I expect mint, when, in fact, mint and menthol are two different flavors. Menthol is derived from the mint or peppermint plant, but it differs structurally and has local-anesthetic qualities. I suppose this lozenge works, because even three minutes after I spat it out, my throat still felt cool. That said, I think it would probably work better if I could stand to leave it on my tongue longer.
Verdict: Would use in an emergency only.
6. Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops ($3.79 for 32) These are strange. They aren't individually wrapped and they're, well, softish. So you open the bag, and out fall a bunch of red oblong gummy candy-looking things. They taste like average cherry throat drops -- neither awful nor amazing -- but I didn't really feel as if they did anything to soothe my throat. They have the taste and effect of a stale red gummy bear. And I was put off by the fact that, though you're supposed to "dissolve one or two drops slowly in mouth," I just wanted to chew the damn things. I mean really, who sucks on gummy bears or gummy worms? It's instinctual to chew, I tell you. Instinctual!
Verdict: Would use if I ran out of gummy bears, but not for a sore throat.
5. Luden's Wild Cherry Throat Drops ($2.27 for 30) Hello, Luden's Wild Cherry throat drops! You are like a breath of fresh spring air in a sea of chemical menthol! Okay, so Luden's drops aren't really designed to do the exact same thing as similar drops containing menthol. The active ingredient is pectin, which is used as a demulcent, creating a thin film over the mucous membrane in your throat to soothe the pain. So where menthol helps numb a sore throat, pectin helps smooth over an irritated one. The Luden's Wild Cherry drops are great-tasting and effective for an annoying tickle, but they might not combat that nasty throat inflammation caused by the flu.
Verdict: Would use and pretend they're actually helping my throat.
4. Halls Breezers ($2.99 for 25) I'm a little sad that Halls Breezers don't contain any anesthetics or pain relievers or cough suppressants, because they taste so good. The Creamy Strawberry flavor ones actually taste like a strawberries-and-cream candy, but it seems that the lozenges are good only for coating an itchy throat, rather than killing the pain. The bag notes that they soothe everyday throat irritations, and it doesn't instruct you not to take a certain amount within a certain time period, which would put you at risk of overdosing. Nope, not an issue. So, really, these are pretty much candy that might make your throat less itchy.
Verdict: Would use for mild throat irritation/candy cravings.
