Easy tricks to cut costs of cold and flu medicines as prices DOUBLE – from Lemsip to Sudafed
GETTING a cold or flu is always a pain but sufferers now face an extra headache getting medicines.
Popular pills, powders and syrups have been hit with punishing inflation — and some have been taken off shelves after a safety scare.
Lemsip, Vicks and Sudafed are as much as double the price they were just two years ago.
And poorly people looking for popular products including Day Nurse won’t find them this winter.
But by shopping around or swapping products, you don’t need to pay through the (runny) nose.
Ele Clark, from consumer champion Which?, says: “As the mornings get darker and the weather gets colder, you can bet on coughs, colds and runny noses to be a constant feature in most households for the next few months and it can cost a small fortune to alleviate those symptoms especially compared to a few years ago.
“Full-price branded cold and flu medication can cost an awful lot more than the basic generic versions, despite both containing the same active ingredients, so it’s worth shopping around and opting for cheaper products when you can.”
IN-FLU-ATION: PRICES UP TO DOUBLE
Cough syrups have been hit the worst by price rises since 2021 — but cold and flu remedies have rocketed too, analysis by Which? shows.
Lemsip’s Mucus, Cough and Catarrh oral solution was £4 in Superdrug and Morrisons in September 2021 but has risen to £8 in Morrisons and an eye-watering £8.45 in Superdrug since February of this year.
Children’s medicines aren’t immune either, with Bronchostop Junior cough syrup rising from £3.99 to £7.39 at Superdrug in the past two years.
Decongestants also saw sharp rises in supermarkets.
At Asda, Sudafed’s Natural Relief blocked nose spray soared from £2.60 in 2021 to £5.50 this year.
Tubs of Vicks VapoRub cost £3.50 at Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose two years ago and are now £5 or more across them
A popular choice for many when ill, Lemsip’s flagship cold and flu sachets also rose from £3.50 to £5.50 at Asda and Morrisons.
To add insult to injury, many of these medications can cost up to £1 more when purchased from supermarket convenience stores.
GO OWN-LABEL
Many people swear by the likes of Lemsip and Nurofen when it comes to battling colds but they can cost up to three times more than generic counterparts.
However there’s virtually no difference between them, according to Which?.
Once the patent on any medication runs out, pharmaceutical companies can create generic copies for a much lower price.
It means supermarket own-brand medicines often contain the exact same ingredients and work just as well as big brands, but at a significantly lower cost.
SOME MEDICINES DON’T WORK
It’s not all in your head. Or in the case of the drug phenylephrine — a decongestant found in many cold and flu remedies — it still is.
For years, experts have questioned whether phenylephrine works at all.
The US Food and Drugs Administration recently concluded that when taken by mouth, it doesn’t.
This means you’ll get the same relief from paracetamol and a cuppa that you would from overpriced sachets — and for a fraction of the price.
While you’re at it, trade in sugary cough syrup for hot water with honey and lemon.
Which? research has found guaifenesin — the active ingredient in many cough syrups — may not be effective either.
NO MORE DAY NURSE
One drug that did offer relief from coughs — pholcodine — has been banned for safety reasons.
Medications containing pholcodine like Day Nurse, dry cough syrups and some cough pastilles have been taken off the market.
A government safety review showed there was a small increased risk for a rare but serious complication when going under general anaesthetic within 12 months of taking it.
Though the risk was small, the review found that the benefits from taking the drug didn’t outweigh the potential risks.
Counterpart Night Nurse, which uses dextromethorphan hydrobromide as its cough suppressant, is still on call for the night shift.
Money-saving medicine swaps
PAINKILLERS
Swap Nurofen 200mg tablets x 16, £2, Asda, for Asda ibuprofen 200mg caplets x 16, 80p.
THE Asda caplets contain the same 200mg of the active ibuprofen ingredient as the Nurofen – but at less than than half the price.
- Prices correct when collated by Which?
COLD & FLU SACHETS
Swap Lemsip Max x 10, £5, Tesco, for Tesco Max Strength x 10, £3
THESE medicines contain fever-reducer paracetamol and decongestant phenylephrine.
You could skip both options and go with Tesco’s own-brand paracetamol, 39p a pack, as evidence suggests phenylephrine is ineffective.
NASAL SPRAY
Swap Vicks Sinex nasal spray, 15ml, £5.25, Boots, for Boots decongestant nasal spray, 15ml, £2.99
BOTH have oxymetazoline hydrochloride to relieve nasal discomfort, but Vicks costs nearly double.
Sprays are a great quick fix but the NHS warns not to use them for more than one week or they may harm more than help.