Zicam Cold Remedy Chewables, Strawberry, 25 Chewable Squares

Recently I came down with a cold, and with only 3 days away till my vacation starts I wanted to kick this sickness as soon as possible. I went down to my local CVS and stocked up on a few things that I thought would help kick the cold, and kick it quick.

Everyone I know has always recommended Zicam for colds, so naturally I went looking for this particular brand of medicine first. I figured if everyone says it is good, than it must be good.
I came across quite a few products with the Zicam label, but most of them seemed like something I would not be able to swallow; such as the drink tablets (gag), and nose swabs (ew).

Then I came across Zicam Cold Remedy Chewable, Strawberry, 25 chewable squares.

On the box the chewables looked like delicious Starburst squares, and I figured if anything was going to go down my throat without me throwing it back up, likely these chewables would be the easiest. (I have an extremely weak stomach for bad tastes).

According to the package, using Zicam Cold Remedy Chewables, Strawberry, 25 chewable squares would allow me to get over my cold faster, reduce the severity of the cold, and the duration.
It sounded perfect, charming, marvelous... now hopefully it worked as well as it sounded!

My Use:
 
Inside of the box there is a clear sandwich bag type wrap, with 25 individually wrapped Zicam
chewables.

I opened one up, and popped it into my mouth. According to the directions I was to chew it in my mouth for awhile, and then swallow it. I was to repeat this process every 3 hours until the symptoms are gone.
At first chewing the strawberry flavored chewable was easy. It had a nice strawberry flavor, was easy to chew...and then...
 
Oh my God, it began t taste like barf, armpit and everything else disgusting. I tried my hardest to continue to chew, but the softer it got the more radioactive it began to taste.

I quickly tried to swallow it, but there was no way it would go down because while attempting to swallow, I was dry heaving.

I had to remove the leftover chewable from my mouth and throw it out.

3 hours later though I went about the routine differently. I didn't chew it this time, instead I let it melt slowly in my mouth by leaving it on the side of my cheek. It took around an hour for it to fully dissolve, but at least the flavor of armpit was not as harsh and hard hitting when I allowed it to melt that way.

If you are like me, and have a weak stomach, I recommend you melt them in your mouth, and don't attempt to chew them.

Results:
 
I am not overly impressed! I seriously thought I would be, especially after all of the recommendations I was given by friends and family.

I began taking Zicam Cold Remedy Chewables, Strawberry, 25 chewable squares yesterday, and have been following the dose recommendation. The chewables seem to only help out on the throat department. They definitely ease my soar throat while chewing/sucking on the chewables, but the moment the chewable is gone, your throat begins to feel scratchy and sore again.

As far as helping heal this sickness faster, I'm still on the fence?

The severity of my cold is definitely not any worse though, which is a major plus. Usually when I get sick, I get even sicker; as far as saying Zicam is the reason for this, I'm not sure.

For me, it's not that great a product though, because I get similar results from a cheap ol' bag of cough drops, and with cough drops I don't gag.
 
For the $13.99 I spent on Zicam Cold Remedy Chewables, Strawberry, 25 chewable squares, I'm not overly thrilled with the results.