Is a cough drop just a cough drop? Do store brand cough drops work? These are the questions that motivated me to attempt the Rite-Aid brand cough drop challenge this winter, as I sat here battling a winter cold. Standing in the aisle of Rite-Aid, I was faced with the challenge of choosing a bag of cough drops from dozens of name brand cough drops with a variety of flavors. The sale sign caught my eye, and I reached for a bag of the Rite Aid brand cough drops, priced 79 cents lower than the Halls Cough Drops. I decided to see which Rite Aid Cough Drop was worth the sale price and chose three different Rite Aid Cough Drop flavors to test out.
As a challenge for my Rite Aid Cough Drops taste test, I made the daring move of picking up a package of Rite Aid Menthol Eucalyptus Cough Drops. I have a cold so this was the perfect time to try out some cough drops. It is not recommended that anyone try this at home who is not seeking relief for cold symptoms. Rite Aid offers a Rite Aid Satisfaction Guarantee on their products, which states that a product can be returned if a customer is not satisfied and a refund will be issued. I only paid 99 cents for each package, so I was willing to give Rite Aid brand Cough Drops a try.
Rite Aid Cough Drops: The Cough Drop Challenge
Each package contains 30 individually wrapped cough drops. The different colored plastic bags have a reseal feature once you tear the bag open at the slit at the top. Each cough drop is the size of a medium sized hard candy. The cough drops are not recommended for children under the age of 3 and a doctor should be consulted before offering these cough drops to younger children. Based on the size of the cough drop, there is a choking hazard that should also be considered when offering the cough drops to kids.
Rite Aid Cough Drops are supposed to provide temporary relief to those suffering from minor cold symptoms. Symptoms such as mouth or throat soreness or irritation or a slight cough are examples of minor cold symptoms. The cough drops should provide a break from such symptoms, at least for a little while. The cough drops should not be considered as a medicine that will cure more serious cold or cough conditions or symptoms. One cough drop every two hours is the recommended dosage.
Warnings Listed on the Rite Aid Cough Drops Packages
People with emphysema, chronic cough related to smoking, or asthma and/or cough with excessive phlegm, should consult a doctor before taking this product. Pregnant or nursing women and children under 3 should consult with their doctor before taking.
Rite Aid Menthol Eucalyptus Cough Drops
Active Ingredient: Menthol 6.5mg (cough suppressant/oral anesthetic)
Inactive Ingredients: Eucalyptus oil, flavoring, glucose syrup, and sucrose.
Rite Aid Honey Lemon Cough Drops
Active Ingredient: Menthol 7mg
Inactive Ingredients: Beta carotene, eucalyptus oil, glucose syrup, honey, lemon flavor, and sucrose.
Rite Aid Cherry Cough Drops
Menthol 7mg
Inactive ingredients: Cherry flavor, eucalyptus oil, FD& C blue no. 2, FD&C; red no.40, glucose syrup, sucrose.
Directions for Use
Place one cough drop in the mouth and allow the cough drop to slowly dissolve. The process may be repeated for up to two days on an every two hours basis.
My Experience
Overall, I think that the brand compares well to the name brand competitors that offer similar products, and I am convinced that cough drop flavors are a matter of personal preference. The Rite Aid Cough Drops generally served the purpose of temporarily relieving some of my minor cold symptoms. My first taste test was one of the strongest cough drop flavors. I rated each cough drop flavor on a few different dimensions.
Rite Aid Menthol Eucalyptus Cough Drops
TASTE: These cough drops smelled like a jar of Vicks Vapor Rub, and after a few minutes in my mouth, also tasted that way. At first, the sweetness disguises the menthol flavor, but after about the cough drop started to dissolvie, the menthol flavor presented itself strongly. I would compare it to chewing a very strong chewing gum or mint. I did not finish the cough drop, because my mouth felt like it was on fire with menthol and my eyes were ready to water.
SYMPTOM RELIEF: I managed to keep this flavored cough drop in my mouth for only a few minutes. In that short time, however, the cough drop seemed to clear my head and open my nasal passages. I had a tingly sensation in my mouth.
VALUE: The Menthol Euclayptus flavor is a good choice for a strong cough drop twith full-flavored menthol.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Rite Aid Menthol Eucalyptus Cough Drops are cough drops for the brave or for those that reqire some serious menthol vapors to clear a stuffy nose.
Rite Aid Honey Lemon Cough Drops
TASTE: I initially tasted a sweeter blend of honey and lemon but after about two minutes, the menthol flavoring began to take over the flavor. The honey lemon cough drops were stronger than I had anticipated. The honey and lemon flavors are a nice combination in this coupgh drop and despite the initial sweetness, this cough drop has some menthol “kick” to it.
SYMPTOM RELIEF: The symptom relief worked especially well for my headache, caused by congested nasal passages. The menthol in the cough drop provides some numbing features for a sore throat and I did not cough for at least an hour afterward.
VALUE: This cough drop easily matches other name brand cough drops.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The Rite Aid Honey Lemon Cough Drops are not too strong and not too sweet.
Rite Aid Cherry Cough Drops
TASTE: The Rite Aid Cherry Flavor Cough Drops were my favorite of the three cough drop flavors that I tested. The flavor compares well to that of a Hall’s Cherry Cough Drop in many ways. The cherry flavor offers a sweetness to balance the menthol flavor.
SYMPTOM RELIEF: This flavor provides good symptom relief for stuffy noses and despite the cherry flavor, it is potent enough to feel the vapors after a few minutes. One cough drop took approximately 10 minutes to completely dissolve.
VALUE: You really can’t beat the Rite Aid Cherry Cough Drops with the 99 cent price tag!
FINAL THOUGHTS: The Rite Aid Cherry Cough Drops were my favorite of the three. If you like the brand name cherry flavored cough drops, this cough drop is a great alternative.
Conclusions
The Rite Aid Cough Drop testing was successful in alleviating some of my minor cold symptoms. If I were to choose on flavor to purchase in the future, I would buy the Rite Aid Cherry Cough Drops. The Rite Aid Menthol Euclayptus cough Drops were too strong for my tastes and I could not finish one completely because the strength of the Menthol flavoring was just too strong. In the future I would purchase this brand again, but only in the cherry and honey lemon flavors.
Rite Aid Contact Information:
Rite Aid Corporation
Harrisburg, PA 17105
www.riteaid.com
