Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for January 09, 2013

Would Mrs. Otterloop still go “ick” if the medicine were the traditional/stereotypical cherry?

I would. However, the wintergreen, like Nyquil, is the worst.

I’d say ‘ICK’ to cotton candy flavor, too.

Ick is the brand name, the flavor doesn’t matter.

Mrs. Otterloop should know by now. Once you take a wrong turn, a child may not let you take a detour.

I love the expression of false enthusiasm on Mrs Otterloop’s face!

Another mistake on the part of Mrs Otterloop; a mistake born of the corporate model:As I understand it, unless a fever is dangerously high, it should be allowed to take its course. A fever’s function is to overheat and kill the invading bacteria . . . bad for the Big Pharma bottom line.

Sorry — sometimes my political side gets the best of me.I’ll try to control it for another year or two, OK?

Madeline, you said “ick”! I heard it, too, Alice! She said “ick”! I don’t care if it is bright pink. We both heard her say “ick”! ICK!

When I was a kid I snuck sips of Cheracol from our medicine cabinet. It was (and still is) pretty tasty stuff. Back then it had codeine in it. I was pretty happy growing up.

The worst tasting medicine I ever had was bright-pink colored.   It was for bowel infections and it was so bitter that the accompanying literature recommended giving a candy to the (child) patient afterwards to take away the aftertaste. (BTW, it didn’t work. I mean the aftertaste thing, the medicine I don’t know.)

My philosophy is if you’re miserable, regardless of the temp, take something. Sleep does more good than medicine, but if you can’t sleep you can’t get better. So, miserable and over 99.9-fever reducer and rest. Happy and over 100 – fever reducer at bed time. That’s what I grew up with and how I raised my kids. Neither one requires an OTC unless they really feel bad or can’t sleep due to fever and general (non-flu) achiness.

In a sense, I was lucky: Some 95% of the medicine I took as a kid didn’t taste bad to me.

pink, schmink, it all tastes bad.

Medicine should not taste like candy. It should be barely palatable. Mint-flavored acetaminophen was pulled after fears that children would overdose. It doesn’t take more than a handful to cause liver damage.

Some flavored medicine doesn’t taste too bad.

tastes like a Bensen & Hedges Menthol 100

I like the taste of Alka-Seltzer, but I haven’t had it in ages. Regular use of it is not really good for people with ulcers.

One day in resident rounds we taste-tested various children’s liquid meds, since it affects compliance. I forget which pink liquid had an awful metallic taste.

Whenever I have Christmas Eve dinner with my mother-in-law, I have to leave nutmeg out of the rice pudding because once, as a sick little girl, she could only eat bread soaked in milk with nutmeg.

As to Nyquil, we just skip straight to Anisette.