With allergy season around the corner, people look for a solution to sore throats, a common symptom of allergies, fevers, and other sicknesses.
In recent years especially, with the extension of allergy season, it’s now more of an issue than ever to find temporary relief until the symptoms pass. Coughdrops are a great example, being easy to use and convenient to carry around in a pocket. However, it’s important to remember that they are only a temporary solution.
In 2015, a study from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), found that in 2015 alone, over 282 million cough drops were sold in the United States. That number has only increased in recent years along with the total national health expenditures, currently at $14,570 per capita.
Cough drops work by soothing irritated or sore throats, lubricating the area, and potentially reducing the cough reflex by utilizing ingredients like menthol, honey, and glycerin, which provide a cooling, numbing, and protective effect.
“There are two main types of cough drops: natural ones like Ricola that just help us soothe our throats, and cough drops with pain relief medications, usually involving benzocaine medicine,” said Daniel Wong, a local pharmacist.
Causes of sore throats include being sick due to allergies and overusing one’s voice from yelling at a party or participating in a choir.
“It’s kind of like taking cold medicine, where it doesn’t make you get healthy quicker, but it makes it more pleasant and makes it easier to sing or talk,” said Ian Bass, a junior at Nueva High School who uses coughdrops from being in the choir, resulting in the overuse of his voice.
Karen Bowman is the chorus teacher at Fox Elementary School, which requires extensive use of her voice.
“When I’m doing Fox Extravaganza, and I’m teaching chorus for 10 weeks with only 30 minutes of practice, I lose my voice a lot because there’s a lot of other noises going on, and I have to try to have a high voice to get above all the other noises going on. When I’m teaching, I use cough drops along with drinking a lot of water, and then I usually have to tell the kids that I’ve lost my voice, and I have to talk very quietly,” Bowman said.
In terms of preference, Bowman prefers the Ricola sugar-free cough drops because she has diabetes which often limits her options.
A Wisconsin community clinician made clinical observations that suggested that excessive use of over-the-counter (OTC) cough drops may exacerbate rather than benefit coughs, so it’s important that while cough drops help ease the pain, what’s best for recovery is a full night of rest and drinking lots of water, according to a study from the NCBI.
“If the cough or symptoms don’t stop in two or three days, then I would recommend patients for stronger stuff or trying cough syrup to directly target the cough rather than the symptoms,” Wong said.
