In 2014 the UK spent £234.3 million on over-the counter cold and flu decongestants. As we gear ourselves up for this year’s outbreak of winter illness, EPM carried out a survey to find out which remedies the public turn to
Image: urbanbuzz
In addition to these well-known medications to treat cold and flu, other answers included hot lemon and honey, alcohol and to ‘man-up’.
Lemsip
Lemsip launched its first medicine in 1969. Now in 2015 it is one of the favourites in our survey with 23.5% of people saying it is their first choice for cold and flu treatment
On the Lemsip website it says: “Finding the right remedy can be half the battle in getting on the road to recovery. We'll help you think about your most troublesome symptoms and suggest the most effective way to tackle them.”
Based on the results of this survey we think the general public would probably agree with this statement.
Supermarket-own brands
Sharing the poll position with Lemsip, 23.5% of people also said that they would choose supermarket-own brands of medicine to treat their cold and flu symptoms.
According to Amy Miller from Chester supermarket-own brands are worth buying. “If you read the ingredients, sometimes each sachet actually has a larger dose of active drugs than the corresponding branded alternative. It’s always worth checking the labels for the different dose levels".
Image: mandritoiu
Day and Night Nurse
This brand was the favourite of 21% of people and managed to steal second position in the survey.
Day and Night Nurse is a combination pack containing two types of capsules. The orange and yellow day nurse capsules contain three active ingredients, paracetamol, pseudoephedrine and pholcodine. The green and white night nurse capsules contain paracetamol, promethazine and dextromethorphan.
In the survey, Debbie Goodwin from North Wales said: “I use Day and Night Nurse when I have a cold without fail because it always works, definitely my go-to.”
Image: James W Copeland
Generic paracetamol
Paracetamol came to the UK in the 1950s but concerns about its safety meant the drug did not start to gain popularity until the 1970s. Now this drug is commonly used with the NHS spending £80 million on paracetamol prescriptions in 2014.
Paracetamol came third place in our survey with 20% of people saying that it was there ‘go-to’ for all manner of minor aches and pains which included, in this case, the symptoms that come with a general cold.
Laura Johnson from North Wales said: “I use paracetamol when I’m in pain – that includes the headaches, sore throat or stiff neck I get with colds.”
Beechams cold and flu
On its website Beechams say that its cold and flu range treats headaches, fevers, aches and pains, blocked noses and sore throats, which 12% of the people in our survey agreed with.
Charli Denny from High Wycombe said that if she has a cold, “I use Vicks nasal spray to start with but if it gets too bad I use Beechams to shift it.”
Other brands/medications mentioned as being popular during cold and flu season were Vicks, generic ibuprofen, Corvonia and Sudafed.
