"compare", they say.

i was brought up with national brands. my mother's parents rarely, if ever, buy a brand-name anything, and i suspect there's a quiet reaction against that happening in my mother's subconscious. which, whatever -- there are some products, like tissues or (i've found) plastic wrap, where the dominant brand or brands got dominant because they're really better. so, fine. saran wrap it is. but you can't tell me the store brand butter is inferior to land-o-lakes. it was entertaining to go shopping with my mother once and gently explain to her that for my purposes, aluminum foil is aluminum foil is aluminum foil, so since i'm all budget-y and stuff, there was no need to shell out for the stuff with ritzier packaging.

this is particularly true of OTC medications. ibuprofen? is ibuprofen. same stuff, same milligrams -- only difference is that advil has a candy coating, which i think is cute. pseudophedrine is pseudophedrine, and the store brand can cost half as much as sudafed.

or so i thought.

i'm here to tell you that for some reason, which i haven't been able to figure out, robitussin "severe congestion for chest & head cold" capsules (containing guaifenesin and pseudophedrine hydrochloride) are way more effective than coricidin hbp (another national brand, actually) "chest congestion & cough" capsules (containing guaifenesin and dextromethorphan hydrobromide, a cough suppressant, which, whatever) plus generic sudafed. they brag because they're right.

this has been a public service announcement.