Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 21, 1993 TAG: 9304210093
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Sandra Brown Kelly
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Roanoke's pollen count measured 753 Thursday, up from 113 pollen grains per cubic meter of air during the previous 24 hours.
That was heavy, said Gary Kirby, director of respiratory care services at Roanoke Memorial Hospital and the Roanoke Valley's only pollen counter.
And when this happens, eyes itch, throats scratch and thoughts turn to relief remedies.
Almost as bad as the discomfort from a spring cold, flu or allergies is the decision about what to take for allergies. Opting for over-the-counter products means your eyes may tire before you decide.
Drug companies spend lots of money on advertising to make consumers familiar with brand names, but reading the fine print on a package of medication often reveals a retailer's private label is the same, except it costs less.
For example: Tavist-1, by Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, and Revco's DayHist-1 list the same ingredients and dosage. They even were priced the same at the store surveyed, except that Revco was offering a $1 refund on its version.
The competition between store brands and name brands is rarely more blatant than in over-the-counter medications. Sometimes the comparison statement is right up front and posted on the shelf. Kroger's brand of diphedryl tablets, selling 24 for $2.49, states on its box: "Compare to Benadryl." Benadryl cost $3.69 at the store surveyed.
In addition to deciding what to take that doesn't require a prescription, it might be wise to ask if you need it at all.
There is an amazing lineup of "lemon" drink products being marketed for relief of cough and cold symptoms. Yet an aspirin or Tylenol and a cup of tea with lemon might have about as much effect. Or try an old home remedy of a tablespoon of honey mixed with a cup of vinegar, taken two or three spoonsful at a time.
Each month, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services does a survey of 40 food items in four metropolitan areas of the state. Roanoke generally has the lowest food costs. In April, the survey items cost $73.55 in the valley, $77.64 in Norfolk, $78.10 in Richmond and $82.59 in Northern Virginia.
That means there's about a 12 percent difference in food prices between Roanoke and Northern Virginia and 6 percent between Roanoke and the other two markets.
But the average weekly salary for a production worker in December was $540 in Northern Virginia, $593 in Richmond and $508 in Roanoke. Or 7 percent more for Northern Virginia than Roanoke and 17 percent more in Richmond than here. Production income wages weren't available for the Norfolk area.
The conclusion: Food prices take less of a chunk out of a production worker's income in Richmond than in Roanoke.
by CNB