Submitted by Eric Daniel
I like breathing. Call me a wimp, but the fact is, I'm not worth a flip during the day if I can't breathe. Well, one day, when I was feeling particularly sickly and stuffed up on a trip to The Netherlands I was introduced to Fisherman's Friend lozenges. The Dutch girl I was dating at the time said they were, "strong, drop strong." Now, for those of you uninitiated to the concept of "Drop", the uncrowned national candy of Holland, Drop are a cross between black licorice and Clorox, with an emphasis on the Clorox part. Never in my life have I experienced anything more foul and disgusting than drop, but if she said these FF things were strong, maybe they'd unplug my nose and let me breathe normally again.
The effect was instant and immediate. Sucking on one of those little brown Drano drops cleared my nose right up and got me breathing again.
That was 1989 and Fisherman's Friend drops are still a standard part of my field gear. I'm told they come in a variety of flavors, but the ones I keep using are the originals, which still do the trick. If you are looking to take them to the field, I'd suggest you hit up a drug store and get the tin and then buy packs in bulk and just refill the tin as you go. Be forewarned though, they are NOT yummie (unless you like Drop that is...)
