Zinc-containing cold remedies?

Reb

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I've always been sceptical of the claims made by companies such as Zicam about the efficacy of zinc-containing products (gels, lozenges) in reducing the length and severity of common cold symptoms. The other day however, I was told by someone I respect that there were studies supporting these claims. Hah! I cried, and off to quackwatch I went. However, a search of the site did not reveal much beyond the 1999 news item about Quigley being forced by the FTC to renounce its claims about its zinc product. A broader web search revealed some more recent studies, particularly the one reported here: Zinc study .

I'm not sure what to think now. I would appreciate some input.

Reb
 
I'm not a doctor or scientist, or a laywer or a tax collector.... but...

1.) they're using a nasal gel, not an ingested tablet
2.) they said to use it 4 times a day
3.) the trial period was 10 days
4.) small group trial
5.) anything else in the gel besides zinc?

-It takes about 2 weeks to get over a common cold. You start to feel better after about 10 days.
-the severity of colds is usually less as an adult, mainly because you caught the sniffles from your friends and classmates at a younger age


Conclusion: do more tests. 80 people only of which 18 tested positive for rhinovirus needs more testing.
 
Mixed reviews as far as i can see:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11073753

"Evaluation of blinding, taste, and adverse events revealed no significant differences among the 4 treatment arms. Zinc compounds appear to have little utility for common-cold treatment."


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11692298&dopt=Abstract

"Zinc treatment had no effect on total symptom score, rhinorrhea, nasal obstruction, or the proportion of infected volunteers who developed clinical colds. These data do not support a role for intranasal zinc gluconate for prevention or treatment of the common cold."





http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12975716&dopt=Abstract

"The zinc gluconate glycine lozenges are well tolerated and are an easy-to-administer therapy that has the potential to substantially reduce cold-related school absences and antibiotic use and misuse as well as to provide a cost saving."



Personally i wouldn't bother, but then most colds don't affect me that much.

(Rolfe, why don't the homeopaths answer questions when they get pointed!)
 
There are some studies showing these are effective. As someone who used to suffer from ~ 2 colds per season, I have used zinc lozenges for several years and find they do reduce the severity and duration of colds (n=1, anecdotal, yes, I know!) for me. Have to start taking them just when the first symptoms appear, however. Note these are "homeopathic" by name only (and to avoid regulatory scrutiny) - they typically contain ~1% zinc gluconate.
 
From the messageboard that Rolfe linked to:
the stiffness around my cervical region
Click to expand...
:eek: I think this person has something other than a cold!

BTox, I've also read some positive studies on zinc gluconate. It seems that the idea is sound and the mechanism is basically understood, and they probably do work in many cases, such as yours. But I can't help wondering if the effect is often too minimal to be of use (I tried them and coudn't really tell if they worked or not). I suppose it's a personal choice as to whether one has experienced enough of a positive effect to justify the cost (those things aren't cheap).

One interesting point I read in one study was that it was revealed that sweeteners tend to neutralize the effect of the zinc gluconate and therefore the unsweetened ones are the most likely to work to some degree (although they would also certainly be the most foul tasting). This might explain why there are conflicting test results.
 
your first mistake was going to quackwatch.

--and yes zinc can make a difference. not sure how but i know it is vital to the immune system.
 
Could you provide evidence for either of thoes statments
 
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