Customer Reviews

Simply Gargle Salt Water Rinse, 0.4-Ounce Ampules in 12-Count Boxes pack of 3

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Length:: 0:35 Mins

"Simply Gargle" is a simple solution for raw, scratchy throats. It's all natural with witch hazel, rose hips, sage, rosemary and Vitamin C. Guaranteed to make your throat feel better.

Pros
- Frequent use of salt water gargles is immensely beneficial to health. It's not some new-age, holistic mumbo jumbo, but a well established scientific fact. For example, salt water rinse promotes the healing of gum tissues following dental/oral procedures, and salt water gargle reduces common bacteria in one's oral cavity. So in this regard, this product delivers exactly what it promised to do.

- Convenient for travelers. Let's say you are going on a business trip and for whatever reason you would like to have access to salt water gargles. You have two options: you can either mix your own salt solution, or pack a few of these plastic tubes. Not sure about you, I certainly don't want to deal with the inconvenience of having to conduct my own science experiment in a hotel room.


Cons
- The tubes are NOT easy to open. The plastic tubes have arrow-shaped tips, and by all indications, these tubes are supposed to be opened by simply twisting and tearing off the tips. However, I just can't manage to tear open these rather tough and somewhat elastic plastic tips. I have to find a pair of scissors and cut open the tube every single time. Not an awfully inconvenient thing to do, but if I'm paying good-earned money for some salt water, I expect utmost convenience.

- Speaking of paying good-earned money for some salt water, I think this product is somewhat overpriced. Sure, as I have indicated earlier, there are situations where these little plastic tubes can come in handy, but at the end of day, we are talking about SALT and WATER here. Two of the most cheaply available and naturally occurred chemicals. I'm not sure if the little convenience this product brings justifies its price - 17 dollars for 15 ounces of salt and water. Then again, there are folks who gladly fork out hundreds of dollars every year on oxygen at oxygen bar. So the pricing is not necessarily a con for everyone.

- Perhaps the manufacturer was concerned with charging people so much money for some salt and water as well, they decided to add some "values" to their product, which beget salt water with Vitamin C, witch hazel, grape seed, rose hips, rosemary and sage. The reason why these Scarborough Fair ingredients were added to a perfectly working product is beyond me. There are scientific study after scientific study, suggesting that even the INGESTING these herbal ingredients have minimal or no effects on immune system response to cold and ailments, I'm very skeptical what the trace amount of these herbal ingredients would do to you when you're simply rinsing your mouth with it. Probably nothing, other than the psychological comfort of knowing that you're not paying for only salt and water.

Conclusion

Useful and but not necessary. Convenient in very limited settings and situations. If you're cheap like me, better off making your own slat and warm water rinse.

In general, I strongly advocate warm salt water for oral hygene. So, I sampled this product. I am not pleased with the additional (unnecessary) ingredients added to simple salt water, as they created an unwanted flavor and taste. I really do not know if they have any value add in terms of health and hygene. The sachet is not easy to open. I feel sad that so much of plastic waste is generated for such a simple purpose. I wish the company used bio-degradable packaging. I am not ready to pay a lot of money for such a simple solution and little convenience. I would personally use simple, warm salt water.

Yes, the little packets are a bit hard to open (but better that they don't leak). But I find them most convenient; I also find them effective for making the throat feel much better when a cold's coming on. The mixture tastes herbally medicinal but is not offensive. I found that I had to learn how to gargle properly, but that comes with a few times' practice.

I find that my singing voice in church on Sunday morning is much stronger if I gargle one of these beforehand. Overall, I recommend these and intend to get more for myself.

The product arrived at the perfect time; it was waiting for me at my office after a Thanksgiving week spent struggling with laminate flooring ("easy to install" my a**!), stirring up decades worth of allergens while removing the old carpeting, exchanging airborne pathogens with already sick family members, and gently advising my little ones to "STAY AWAY FROM THE SAW!" My throat was terribly sore, and though somewhat dubious about the product's claims, I was out of sick days and ready to try ANYTHING.

And it WORKED!

I found the product easy to use and astonishingly soothing, frankly more soothing than the salt water gargles I mix myself. I've gone from regarding this as a frivolous product for the Rich and Lazy to a Necessity that I'll keep stockpiled at my office and haul with me on all future trips. (The fully labeled 0.4 oz. ampules should pose no difficulty in air travel.) Other formulations are available: Simply Gargle Salt Water Rinse, Allergy and Hayfever, 12 Single Use Doses (Pack of 3), Simply Gargle Salt Water Rinse, Cold and Flu, 12 Single Use Doses (Pack of 3), and Simply Gargle Salt Water Rinse, Night-Time Formula, 0.4-Ounce Ampules in 12-Count Boxes (Pack of 3), differing only in the herbal ingredients, but that may be more specialization than most people need.

Note: A number of reviewers have reported trouble opening the ampules; based on my experience this might be due to skimming the instructions. The ampules ARE easy to open but not very intuitive. Unless you habitually rip phonebooks in half, you can forget about "tearing off" the tips; you must instead, as instructed, "twist off" the tips by turning the arrow tip in half turns clockwise or counterclockwise until the plastic tears back from the slits, and it comes off in your hand. (For some reason if you are experiencing difficulty with a given ampule it may work better to reverse your usual direction and twist it off in the opposite direction.) If you have the hand strength to twist it half a turn and hold the tip until you reposition your fingers for the next half turn, you can open this product.

Note: Some reviewers have mentioned how they prefer their salt water gargles heated. Well, if you have access to a heating element and a safe cup for same, you can have your gargle heated as desired, too. Simply squirt your opened ampule into the cup and heat it to preference. Just be sure NOT to heat the ampule!

Note: Some reviewers have complained about the taste. They might want to try the other formulations to see if they can find one more to their liking.

With the recent removal of some over the counter medications for children's cold symptoms, I was looking for alternative cold and allergy treatments for me and my family. I found Simply Gargle to be an effective early treatment for sore throats and coughs. In two instances where I felt a cold coming on, I used this product and the sickness never took hold. The product was also effective for my children's allergies. At first, I was a little put off by the unexpected orange color of the product, but the taste is pleasant and it is easy to use the single serving plastic packets. This is a good natural alternative treatment...well worth the price.

This is basically a salt / bicarbonate gargle, and so far as that goes, it seems just fine to me. I haven't used them all, but the product seems to be a good one. Very convenient, too.

UPDATE: Now I've had the chance to use the product with the flu, which both my wife and I have recently suffered. The gargle really is helpful with sore throat. It's definitely good to have on hand.

The question most people have is: What does it really do and will it work? Well, everyone has gargled with salt water before at the hiint of a sore throat, and this has that and added things. As a friend of mine who tried a packet put it, "It is the gnarliest thing she ever put in her mouth". As in...she thought it tasted horrible. Another person I let try it said it helped his sore throat. I personally think it works ok...it does taste...different, but if I have a sore throat and want some relief if I'm at work, this fits the bill. I like the packets, which allow you to have sore throat relief in your desk or car. I'd like to see how they fare when you have a nasty sore throat. So far, not bad at all, if you don't mind a funky gargle in a packet.

I am convinced that using this product as recommended saved me from a more prolonged and painful throat and sinus infection. The small (barely 3" long x .5" thick), easy-to-use, and single-use packets allow dosing wherever and whenever you need it. The plastic-tab top simply twists off to allow a strong stream of solution to be squirted directly into the back of your throat. I stored mine in the fridge so that I could get the added benefit of cold relief, but room temp is the normal delivery.

Besides soothing my raw, ailing throat, I felt this salt solution also mitigated the sour, bad breath that usually accompanies sore throats and nasty, draining sinuses.

Simply Gargle is a simply practical and effective product.

Salt water rinses clear up phlegm and soothe irritated throats naturally.No need for mentholated products which are harsh on the throat.

It's wonderful to have a salt water rinse which is easy to take to work , travel with.

I am happy with this product and recommend this product.