PEOPLE are only just realising that Lemsip is no better than cheap painkillers to treat colds.
Many have been hit by cold and flu symptoms this winter, with some taking to social media to complain about their 'super cold'.
In order to ease their symptoms, they've been flocking to supermarkets and pharmacies to pick up remedies that might help.
One common cold and flu treatment is Lemsip.
They come in sachets in different flavours, which you then mix with hot water.
On its website, it claims that there is 'nothing faster or stronger for cold, flu and chesty cough'.
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Lemsip contain paracetamol and phenylephrine, which is supposed to help clear stuffy noses.
However, various studies have shown that these congestents don't work - meaning that people might be better just taking pain relief for their symptoms.
University of Florida pharmacy researchers tested various brands and found that the ingredient phenylephrine, does not stop congestion.
Randy Hatton, professor at the University of Florida pharmacy school said: "The evidence is clear that oral phenylephrine does not work.
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“If it doesn’t get into the blood in the first place, it can’t go to the nose and cause nasal constriction and therefore relieve your congestion," Prof Hatton told the Wall Street Journal.
Oral phenylephrine is metabolised in the gut and liver.
Prof Hatton explained that it can't actually reach the bloodstream and cause the blood vessels to narrow - a process which would provide relief.
Speaking to The Sun, co-founder and registered manager of online pharmacy The Independent Pharmacy Scott McDougall said there are two types of decongestants.
"Phenylephrine or pseudoephedrine. Phenylephrine is available over the counter (OTC) and doesn’t require a prescription.
"It’s often considered less effective than pseudoephedrine which tends to only be available through prescription or with a pharmacist present – pseudoephedrine is not widely available to the general public otherwise," he said.
On realising that the ingredients won't actually help their symptoms, many social media users have said 'why can't we have a cold remedy that actually works'.
One said: "It’s the only remedy that helps me. I swear by it. So it’s all placebo?"
Another user added: "I'm convinced it makes me feel better."
"I find cold remedies really make a difference to my stuffy nose and allow me to sleep/get through the day - but I'd be hard-pressed to tell you which drug is the one that works best," another added.
One said that it was the 'food of the gods' and that they wouldn't be without it'.
However, some already said they were aware the product doesn't work: "I just use paracetamol and hot Vimto and buy a nasal spray decongestant."
Another said that their go to remedy is hot Ribena with ibuprofen.
They claimed: "It's basically what Lemsip is - hot drink with painkillers - and Lemsip is a total f**** scam."
In Boots ten sachets of Lemsip sachets will set you back £4.50.
However, paracetamol costs just 49p for the pharmacy's own brand, with ibuprofen costing 55p.
Scott added that though the individual active ingredients are the same between branded and generic versions.
"Often companies will produce proprietary combinations – whereby a single generic version does not exist and you will need to take several different generic tablets to make an equivalent formulation," he said.
He added: "Some cold and flu medicines are also formulated as liquids and have a noticeable taste associated with them.
"As the non-active ingredients may differ, some patients may prefer the taste of a branded version, and if an unpleasant taste results in patients not taking the recommended dosage the effect will not be optimal."
It comes after it was revealed that there is a shortage of Lemsip across the UK.
Demand for the products is said to be “much higher than in years gone by” as Britain grapples with flu, Covid and winter colds.
MONEY SAVING
One GP previously said that there is a money-saving hack that could help cut your bill when it comes to the pharmacy.
Dr Karan Rajan said whenever you purchase medication, you should make sure you look for the PL number.
This is the product licence number, which is a unique number of the package which helps identify it.
Posting online, he explained: "If you spot two different packets with the same PL number even if the packaging if completely different and one is branded and one is non-branded, the active ingredient, the formulation and the product is exactly the same.
"When a company develops a drug, it's given unique rights to sell it for a number of years, but once that term ends, any company can make it."
This means that the exact same ingredients are in medications that can sometimes cost double the price for the branded version.
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In a statement, Reckitt, the manufacturers of Lemsip said:
"Consumer pricing is at the sole discretion of the retailer. Whilst some ingredients may be the same, finished products may have differences that can influence taste, feel or ease of use.
"We invest in research and development, as well as proprietary manufacturing processes, to bring new [and improved] products to market to satisfy consumer needs."
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