Vicks First Defence Nasal Spray, Microgel Formula to Help Stop a Cold in its Tracks, 2 x 15 ml (Twin Pack)

I ordered this double set to ward off a cold at the 'tickly throat' stage and I was not disappointed.I discovered Vicks First Defence about three years ago, when I was working daily in a busy courtroom and constantly exposed to bugs. I didn't get a cold at all in 2020 working from home, but now I'm out and about a bit, I noticed the first warning stage of sore throat and fatigue.On the positive side, Vicks First Defence is easy to use but you really do have to follow the instructions. Three gentle squirts maximum up each nostril as soon as you feel a cold coming on. Personally I wouldn't automatically repeat the dose unless the symptoms seemed to be getting worse. I leave it until the next morning and if I still have symptoms, use another dose. If I'm still feeling prone to attack by the third day I'd try one more dose - but that rarely happens.The bottle is easy to transport in a backpack pocket or makeup bag, being about as big as a lipstick.On the negative side, never ever be tempted to give a great big squirt - it's excruciatingly painful. I personally wouldn't use it to prevent a cold unless I had a symptom - as a healthy person I like to give my immune system some practice and credit.Easy for a visually disabled person like myself to use, and for what it does, I am content with the price.

Great standby for inevitable

I caught the local cold bug just before Christmas 2009 so tested my standby bottle of First Defence for the first time.Following the first shivers and tell-tale nose-twinges of an impending cold, I began dosing myself and found it very easy to use. Within a few seconds of squirting it into my nostrils, my nose began to tingle and run which lasted about 20 minutes and I had a mild eucalyptus taste in my throat - but nothing more. I braced myself for a miserable Christmas of feeling rough but, to my surprise, the cold didn't develop and all I had were 2 days of relatively mild sniffles. Of course, I'll never know whether I was lucky enough to catch just a mild dose of the virus or whether the First Defence prevented it developing fully but, having seen how the virus has affected others - giving them a heavy, streaming cold for a week then followed by a chesty cough for a further 10 days, I was glad I didn't get it.Since then, I've been in contact with people with colds who've delightfully sneezed, coughed and spluttered all over me and have discreetly squirted First Defence up my nose immediately afterwards and escaped catching their colds. With just one exception, and this was a mild cold, I have also avoided all the colds my husband's suffered from and brought into the house.It seems to work, or could just be a series of very lucky coincidences, so I will continue to use First Defence for all future colds rather than taking my chances.A bottle should provide ample doses to help prevent a further 5-6 colds developing and, as far as I'm concerned, it's a good investment and money very well spent. (I just wish there were something similar for Flu and Norovirus too!)

I always use this as soon as I get a sore throat or runny nose. About 3 sprays per nostril (aim towards the top of your ears) about 4 times a day, and after 2 or 3 days I'm usually back to normal and the cold doesn't get any worse.Does make your nose runny so have some tissues ready when using this.Fortunately I haven't had any nose bleeds or anything like that from using this. It does feel a bit uncomfortable for a bit after using it but nothing extreme.Highly recommended.

I never thought much of this product prior to using, I mostly thought it was just a gimmic claiming to help reduce the symptoms of a cold. However when my husband started with a very nasty cough and sore throat (not covid) I panicked as I was due to have surgery in a week and couldn’t risk it being cancelled.I used this nose spray everyday between one and three times along with a salt spray. I happily managed not to catch the cold and did manage to have my surgery. I would definitely recommend this and always have one in the house to help with symptoms.

At last I can travel on an aeroplane without knowing that I'll spend the next 3 weeks coughing my guts up and feeling like crap.I saw this in the chemist's shop at Luton airport when I was about to return from a short visit back to the UK (I live abroad now). I was on day 3 of a cold - the sneezing fits were over and I could feel more sinister symptoms setting in (starting to cough up gunk). Normally this would mean almost a month of suffering, some of it potentially quite scary as I have asthma.I bought the First Defence out of curiosity, not really expecting much, but was delighted to find that the symptoms never developed into anything worse. I'm used to all infections rapidly becoming nasty -- hurting my back with the effort of coughing for days on end, usually resolving only with antibiotics. But with this, I'd just cough up a tiny amount in the morning and for the rest of the day could pretty much forget I had a cold until it stopped altogether after a few days.Having read other comments on the smell and taste, personally I quite like the eucalyptus smell in my nose (refreshing!) and it doesn't really taste of much. I don't notice any sting, either.Whoever thought up this formulation deserves a medal. For me it's like having a GET OUT OF JAIL FREE card up my sleeve!

Whilst this product tastes foul, I can live with this as I absolutely swear by it for stopping colds in their track. I’m usually hugely cynical about the claims made on products like this, but for me, they work. When I get that horrid cold “tingle” I hit it hard with this stuff, (probably more than I should to be sure!), but it works, last time I had a cold was on holiday when I didn’t have access to this stuff…not had a cold when in the UK since I started using this product.