Review: Shopko Brand Junior Strength Pain Killer Rapid Tabs

My oldest daughter has been fighting a cold for about a week. For the most part, she just has a stuffy nose and cough and has yet to run a fever. But, she does occasionally complain about having a headache (likely from her head getting stuffed up).

Since the best thing for her is rest and I know she won't get that with a pounding head, I ran to our local Shopko store the other day in search of some sort of pain reliever for her. As it turns out, there must be something going around because most of the child-strength products were sold out so I ended up buying something I hadn't tried before; Shopko Junior Strength Pain Killer Rapid Tabs.

I've purchased melt-away tablets for my daughter in the past and they are definitely my favorite form of medicine because it doesn't require me to measure out some liquid. But, at the same time, I have purchased other store brands in the past that didn't seem to work as well as the better known brands (like Tylenol) and, as a result of that, I was a bit concerned about what I was spending nearly $5 on.

However, after trying these for the last couple of days, I do have to admit they impressed me.

First of all, the medicine works. I don't give it to her all the time but have given it to her before bed a couple of times and, so far, I have had no problems with it not doing what it was supposed to. It helps her pounding head and she was able to sleep comfortably. More importantly, the medicine works quickly. She takes the tabs and is experiencing relief in about 20-30 minutes. I've have purchased other products that took twice as long as that.

If I have any complaints about this product, it would be the taste. I haven't personally tried these (they are grape flavored) but my daughter doesn't care for the flavor and, as a result of that, I do have to fight with her a bit to take the medicine; something I don't have to do when she takes Tylenol. However, this is actually not a huge deal since she does still take the medicine and, as I said before, it does work.

If you are a parent looking for a pain killer/fever reducer for your child, this is something that is worth looking for.