Jump to content

Zicam and my cold


petitepedal

Recommended Posts

1. Zicam contains zinc as its active ingredient. There has been some evidence to suggest that taking zinc right at the onset of a cold might shorten its duration a little bit, from 7 days to 6. But as Dr. Terence Davidson from UC San Diego explained, if you look at the more rigorous studies, the effect vanishes. Zinc turns out to have some worrisome side effects, too. Zicam's nasal spray and gel versions were linked to a serious loss of the sense of smell (anosmia), which led the FDA to issue a warning letter in 2009. Zicam responded by withdrawing the product for a time, but their website now says "A clinical link between the Zicam® products and anosmia was not established." Strictly speaking, this is correct, but there have been published reports suggesting a link, such as this one from 2009.*

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

 

Zicam’s website makes the misleading claim that “all of our Zicam® products are regulated by the FDA.” This is a common ploy of homeopathic drugmakers, claiming the FDA regulates them because the FDA could step in (as they've already done with Zicam) if consumers are being harmed. Unlike real drugs, though, Zicam has not been evaluated by the FDA for effectiveness or safety.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2014/11/17/the-top-five-cold-remedies-that-do-not-work/#13d6ab364701

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...