Review and Giveaway of Boiron’s Cough, Cold and Flu Medicines

It was like the review blogger/PR/social media gods were smiling down on us.  On a day when I was hacking up a lung, First Born was in the middle of the cold I’d given her and the hub thought he was coming down with the flu, I opened the package from Boiron and in it I found a value pack of their most popular and effective homeopathic medicine—just when we needed it!  Between the three of us, we got down to business testing Oscillococcinum, Coldcalm and Chestal.

For the sake of this review, I’m going to list the product, its benefits and instructions, followed by our opinion of how it worked.  Ok? Ok.

Oscillococcinum for Flu-like Symptoms

• works best when taken at the first sign of fly-like symptoms such as feeling run down, headache, body aches, chills and fever
• no side effects such as drowsiness; no drug interactions
• shown in clinical studies to help reduce both the duration and the severity of flu-like symptoms
• safe for everyone 2 years of age and older
• directions: adults and children 2 years of age and older: dissolve entire contents of one tube in the mouth every 6 hours, up to 3 times a day.  Children younger than 2 years of age: ask a doctor before use.

The hub took Oscillococcinum on the required schedule and didn’t come down with the flu although flu-like symptoms manifested before he started taking the tubes.  He finished the pack of six doses and said the crystals in the tube tasted like sugar.  As far as we’re concerned, this product is a winner.  I just wish it was easier to say or spell.

Coldcalm for Cold Symptoms

• multi-ingredient formula naturally treats cold symptoms at each stage of the cold, including sneezing, runny nose, sinus and nasal congestion, and minor sore throat
• no side effects such as drowsiness; no drug interactions
• safe for everyone 3 years of age and older
• Directions: Adults and children 3 years of age and older: at the outset of symptoms, take 1 dose (2 tablets) every 15 minutes for 2 hours.  Then, take 1 dose every hour until symptoms are relieved.  Allow the tablets to dissolve in the mouth.

First Born took the Coldcalm and used up almost the entire package.  She said it worked well—the only drawback was sticking to the schedule both at the beginning and the every hour after that.

Chestal for Coughs

• combines safe, natural homeopathic medicines with a natural honey base
• relieves all types of common coughs
• helps loosen phlegm and thin bronchial secretions to make coughts more productive
• no side effects such as drowsiness; no drug interactions
• no artificial flavors or colors
• safe for everyone 2 years of age and older
• Directions: Adults and children 12 years of age and older: Take 2 teraspoons every 2 hours.  Children 2 to 12 years of age: Take 1 teaspoon every 2 hours.  Children under 2 years of age: Not recommended.

I took Chestal for my wild, crazy coughing that was the remnant of a cold I’d had.  I hate cough syrup and I won’t take it unless it’s in capsule form.  The big difference with Chestal is that I can seriously drink that stuff!  It tastes like diluted honey!  The complete opposite of any cough syrup I’ve ever had to take.  Seriously, homies, this stuff is good!  Probably the only issue I had with Chestal is that I had to take it every 2 hours for it to effectively work on the cough.

Conclusion: We all were impressed with how the Boiron homeopathic medicines worked.  The only drawback was the frequency of the doses BUT I think this is the trade-off for taking care of yourself with natural, safe remedies.  I also love that these products (particularly Oscillococcinum) are available at most drug stores.  We would use these again based on the effectiveness and taste of the remedies.

SHOP: You can buy Boiron homeopathic remedies at these online retailers.  Or you can use the store finder to find the nearest brick and mortar store that carries Boiron products.

WIN: Boiron is offering one lucky Moana Saves reader their own value pack which includes one box of Oscillococcinum 6 dose, one box of Coldcalm and one bottle of Chestal.  Everything you need to take care of the common cold and seasonal flu naturally!

To earn a mandatory entry, become a Google Friends Connect follower of Moana Saves (in the sidebar) and leave a comment saying you’ve done so.

To earn an additional entry, do one (or all) of the following and leave a separate comment for each thing you do:

1. Become a Networked Blogs follower of Moana Saves (in the sidebar).
2. Follow Moana Saves on Twitter.
3. Follow BoironUSA on Twitter.
4. Tweet about this giveaway (limit one tweet per day) using the following:
#Win a Boiron Homeopathic Remedies Value Pack from @BoironUSA and @moanasaves #giveaway ends 3/16 http://bit.ly/g9mrGO
5. Subscribe to the Moana Saves feed via RSS reader and/or email updates (in the sidebar).
6. Like the Moana Saves Facebook page.
7.  Like the Boiron USA Facebook page.

Only one person per email/household/IPaddress can enter this giveaway. He/she must be 18+ years old and reside in the U.S. This giveaway ends on Wednesday, 3/16/11 at 11:59 PM HST (Hawaii Standard Time). One winner will be chosen randomly via Random.org. I will notify the winner via email and he/she must respond to claim the prize within 48 hours or I will draw another winner.

I was not compensated for this post although I did receive product samples to facilitate my review.  Any and all opinions are my own.