So I was in a well-known Canadian drug store a week or two ago, and I decided to take a skeptical wander down some of their aisles.  Alongside copious cosmetic products (which require a post on their own), I came across what I suppose was the “seasonal remedies” section.  This aisle contained remedies for ‘flu and hayfever.  What interested me was the juxtaposition of the different treatments and the lack of information provided on the display about the nature of each of the products.  Here is what I saw with a few examples highlighted:

I thought it might be informative to do a bit of research into the relative evidence for efficacy of these various treatments.  I know that some of them are “alternative” and others are “conventional”, but a member of the general public staring at that shelf might be under the impression that it is all “medicine”.  I’ll take the different medicines one blog post at a time, as it is worth doing a thorough review for each (especially as there isn’t much information available for some of them):

Post 1: Introduction

Post 2: Stodal, by Boiron

Post 3: Oscillococcinum and Homeocoksinum