Boots Strawberry Pain Relief Paracetamol (3 months +)

Ask any mum what the most frequently used product in their medicine cabinet is and, depending on the age of their kids, I can almost guarantee they'll either say plasters or Calpol ! For anyone (presumably childless!) who doesn't know, Calpol is a strawberry-tasting liquid paracetamol suspension for babies (3 months +) and children and it works really for soothing all manner of childhood ills, including teething pain, headaches, post baby jab-fever, colds or flu.

I've always used Calpol because I know it works but when given the chance, I was keen to try out the Boots own-brand version to see how it fared alongside its more expensive rival. Having long been convinced by the efficiency of generic medicine, which usually contains exactly the same molecules of medicine but at a fraction of the price of the big brands, I went off to investigate.

I have to snigger a little bit at the sheer cheekiness of the Boots marketing team who have totally imitated the packaging of their closest rival, in terms of colour, image and description ! The Boots version is also strawberry flavoured and contains the same basic ingredients - which means that those mummy bloggers getting on their high horses recently about the artificial additives in Calpol will have the same criticisms of the Boots product. I have to admit that personally I'm not overly concerned . Although I would prefer the product to be free from non-essential additives, it's a medicine that is used every now and then, not a regularly consumed product, and I feel that the positives far outweigh the negatives. Obviously, if your child has allergies, you may want to have a close look at the ingredients list.

Juliette was feeling poorly so she became chief tester. She said it didn't taste quite as nice as the usual Calpol but was still yummy - which is good enough for me as it's not supposed to be a sweet treat anyway ! Efficiency wise, I could see absolutely no difference between the Boots version and the big brands. Her fever dropped, she felt better and fell asleep peacefully. Pricewise, there certainly is a difference though, so I know which of the two products I'll be buying from now on !

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £1.78 for 10 sachets, £4.09 for 200ml

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