Everyone has similar memories of being grisly as a shaver . Whether you were cough , sneezing , or suffer from a fever , the solution was ordinarily the same : artificially flavored medicine .
Even if your parent reassured you that the cough sirup or antibiotic would try “ just like candy , ” you knew then , just as you recognise now , that ’s not the case . Cherry — which tastes nothing like the sweet , delicious fruit — is usually a drug’smasking flavorof selection . There are a few explanations for why the feeling has historically dominated drugstore shelf .
One reason so many medicament are cherry - flavored is just because of the power of association . Before the innovation of synthetical drug , medical professional turned to bold look like cherry to mask the taste of virulent herbal medication . Products likeDr . Swayne ’s Compound Syrup of Wild Cherry(circa 1838 ) used the stone fruit to help make the concoction more palatable .
Though quite some clip has passed since those old - timey herbal product were on the market , the practice of using cerise to flavor medical specialty has remained . It may not be the most appetizing selection , but havingsomethingto make cough sirup a bit easy to get down is necessary .
According toPfizer , up to 50 percent of people struggle to swallow medication — and an unappetizing flavor is a contributing factor . It ’s a particularly large problem for kid , who may refuse to take even life - saving medication if it means care with something unpleasant . In 2009 , one Swiss pharmaceutical caller introduced acherry - flavor malaria drugthat was more kid - friendly ; before it was usable , parents had resorted to crushing the spirit - saving medicine and combining it with dinero to get kids to choke it down .
Cherry for sure is n’t the only smell drug companies turn to . Grapeis another popular option , and you ’ll likely see orange and other citrus flavors on storehouse shelves as well .
