Aspergum: Is it a Great Cure or Something to Avoid?

Whenever I had a sore throat, I would usually go to the store and pick up a pack of Aspergum, which always masked the pain to my satisfaction.

Several weeks ago I took a trip to Portland Oregon, leaving behind sunny and warm Arizona for a wet and cold Portland June. On one of my last days there I woke up with a sore throat. Since I had my tonsils removed in my early thirties, I rarely get sore throats. Before my tonsils were removed, a sore throat always meant a bout of strep throat. While I doubted strep was around the corner, I still wanted to get rid of the pain.

We took a trip to the local grocery store, and stopped in their pharmacy section. I couldn't find the Aspergum anywhere. I went up to the pharmacist counter and asked if they had any Aspergum. The woman behind the counter said, "wow, I haven't heard of that product in ages. Let me check." I heard her ask the pharmacist if the store sold Aspergum, to which he replied "I hope not".

I was both surprised and curious at the pharmacist's reply. I asked why he was so anti-Apergum, as it was one product that always worked for me. His reply was that the way the product eliminated the pain was to actually damage the nerves in the throat. I was surprised, I had never heard this before.

The Pharmacist then when on to tell me that if the store did have Aspergum, he would not sell it to me. He took me over to the lozenges aisle, and picked out something that might ease my pain.

When I returned to Arizona, with my sore throat, my mother offered me some Aspergum, to which I declined and told her what the pharmacist had told me. She was surprised, for like me, it had always been a favorite product for fighting the pain of a sore throat.

Later I went online, searching for information on Aspergum. I could only find the normal warnings, usually those associated with using aspirin in general. I found one medical website that claimed Aspergum didn't stop sore throat pain, as coating your throat in aspirin would have no such affect. A placebo for all these years?

My final verdict: ask your doctor. When you see your doctor for a sore throat, let him or her know the opinion of this one pharmacist, and see if your physician concurs.