# In Your Opinion, what is the nastiest flavor of medicine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 4, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658 "2015-11-04T22:58:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Daniel\_Boone\_Fanatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Daniel\_Boone\_Fanatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel_Boone_Fanatic)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/1 "2015-11-04T22:58:43Z")
From my personal experience, Orange Citrus takes the cake as the worst flavor of medicine ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/2 "2015-11-04T23:08:50Z")
The OTC flavors that are supposed to taste ‘‘good’’ are rather bad. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/3 "2015-11-04T23:09:16Z")
Depends on the medicine. Alka-Seltzer Plus? Orange/citrus (i.e.: pink grapefruit) are fine, can’t stand lemon or original. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/4 "2015-11-04T23:17:44Z")
Mushroom flavor. :eek: (For certain definitions of medicine.) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/5 "2015-11-04T23:22:56Z")
Let a xanax tablet dissolve in your mouth sometime. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/6 "2015-11-05T00:22:27Z")
I had the flu really bad recently, had a lot of gunk rattling in my lungs. After a nasty coughing jag (in which nothing was coming up) on a Sunday morning I saw a commercial on TV for Mucinex. Went right out and got a bottle but didn’t try it until Monday morning at work. It was truly one of the worst things I ever tasted and the aftertaste lingered for hours. I describe it like a mix of peppermint schnapps and some ultra cheap high alcohol wine like MD 20/20. I would rather drown in my own phlegm than take another dose of that. And it didn’t do anything. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/7 "2015-11-05T00:31:09Z")
Cherry! My god cherry! Idc what medicine it is, anything cherry flavored tastes like metallic ass. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/8 "2015-11-05T00:58:04Z")
The worst thing I have tasted is [Buckley’s Cough Syrup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckley's). If there’s ever a reason to nuke Canada, here it is. > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Let a xanax tablet dissolve in your mouth sometime. I will next time, but Klonopin basically tastes like chalk. Not bad at all. Whatever brand of pseudoephedrine I had (pre being ruined by meth) I had tasted almost good!.. unless the coating dissolved, then it stayed on your tongue for 15 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/9 "2015-11-05T01:02:20Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Cherry! My god cherry! Idc what medicine it is, anything cherry flavored tastes like metallic ass. When I was a lid my dad swore by Brondecon as a sure-fire remedy for a cough. We had a huge bottle of "Wild Cherry’ flavoured hell on top of the fridge. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/10 "2015-11-05T01:34:49Z")
Among stuff that you’re supposed to be able to taste… [Buckley’s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckley's). Just…Buckley’s. On preview - oh, hey, I’m not the first to mention Buckley’s. But, yeah, seriously, that stuff is NASTY. A friend, after her first encounter with it, said your body drives out the sick, because it refuses to get another dose of that. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/11 "2015-11-05T02:29:15Z")
Robitussin and Nyquil are disgusting in any variety. I really feel for the addict who resorts to robotripping. My thyroid medicine is very bitter. I recently learned that a friend’s cat takes the same medication, only she gets hers chicken-flavored. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/12 "2015-11-05T02:38:50Z")
I must be in the minority, because the taste elements that seem to bother many people here don’t bug me at all. Lemon or original Alka-Seltzer, cherry cough medicine, whatever–those don’t bother me at all, taste-wise. Maybe it’s because I like bitter flavors in moderation, and have actually considered looking for a twelve-pack of Fresca in the stores. What I really hate is liquid OTC medicines that taste syrupy sweet, usually because they contain saccharine, or because they don’t use alcohol as the solvent. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/13 "2015-11-05T02:50:54Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Mushroom flavor. :eek: (For certain definitions of medicine.) That’s funny. That’s the only mushroom flavor I LIKE! ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/14 "2015-11-05T02:55:35Z")
I one mistakenly chewed an erythromycin tablet. I nearly vomited. Wow, did that taste bad. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/15 "2015-11-05T02:55:35Z")
for the most part, it’s not the flavoring which tastes like ass. it’s what the flavoring is trying to cover up that tastes like ass. a lot of drugs are alkaloids, which are extremely bitter. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/16 "2015-11-05T03:13:33Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Among stuff that you’re supposed to be able to taste… > > [Buckley’s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckley's). Just…Buckley’s. > > On preview - oh, hey, I’m not the first to mention Buckley’s. But, yeah, seriously, that stuff is NASTY. A friend, after her first encounter with it, said your body drives out the sick, because it refuses to get another dose of that. And just to clarify for the rest of you: it does not taste medicinal like Robotussin does. It tastes like bitter sadness. It makes Campari taste sweet. Otherwise, I remember it being pretty good for its intended purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/17 "2015-11-05T03:16:03Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Cherry! My god cherry! Idc what medicine it is, anything cherry flavored tastes like metallic ass. It’s ruined some candy and alcoholic beverages for me. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/18 "2015-11-05T03:34:59Z")
When I was a kid, I got prescribed some sort of clear green liquid antibiotic. I swear it tasted like a combination of peppermint and licorice. Fifty years later my gag reflex still kicks in. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/19 "2015-11-05T03:42:22Z")
The _best_ tasting medicine, by far, is grape flavored Dimetapp. Mmm. I’d drink that stuff instead of Gatorade. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658/20 "2015-11-05T03:59:49Z")
Try full-strength quinine sometime. (Imagine pure essence of tonic water…) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-what-is-the-nastiest-flavor-of-medicine/736658.md?page=2)