Should You Use Zicam?

I’m an allergy patient. When I get a cold, it’s like adding an insult to injury. The congestion is awful.  If I don’t take care of it quickly, it quite often goes into a secondary infection.  It’s best to avoid getting colds altogehter, and for the most part I seldom get them.

As a wellness person, I know that much of the cold remedies are questionable, and most never really worked for me.  I kept seeing Zicam, and was very intrigued because it contained zinc and seemed like a good natural alternative.  The price tag (over $10) kept me from buying it.  Right now I’m using a neti-pot, or nasal irrigation when I get a cold or am exposed to alot of dust.  It works quite well. In addition I take quite a lot of garlic, Vita-C (TM), Nutriferon (TM), Formula I (TM) and Alfalfa (TM).

Guest Blogger today is Dr. Richard Brouse.  Dr. Brouse is a chiropractic physician, biochemist, certified clinical nutritionist, teacher, author and lecturer on health preservation and disease prevention. you can find his site at: http://www.healthedcorp.com/

Zicam manufactures a form of zinc gluconate + gylcerine lozenge supposedly said to treat colds.  An other product with the same ingredients include Cold Ez. Zicam has had a number of lawsuits due to alleged damage to olfactory sensory nerves.

In September 2003, Zicam faced lawsuits from users who claimed that the product negatively affected their sense of smell, and sometimes taste. However, Zicam advocates assert that instructions on the container clearly indicate proper use, which will allow users to avoid these problems. In January 2006, 340 lawsuits were settled for $12 million.^[9] In early 2004, at the height of the controversy, Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., the maker of Zicam, claimed that only a small number of people had experienced problems and that anosmia (loss of smell) can, amongst others, also be caused by the common cold itself. Matrixx also claimed that zinc gluconate dissolves into zinc ions and gluconate, and that both are naturally occurring compounds which are found in all human tissues. They also claim that Zicam is a buffered gel which is formulated to have a neutral pH. The plaintiffs countered Matrixx, claiming that many of the patients had experienced a strong and very painful burning sensation when they used the product, indicating damage to the nasal tissue. No part of the settlement targeted the product’s removal from sale, and the nasal gel continues to be available at drug stores throughout the USA. The two creators of Zicam have come under scrutiny. Robert Steven Davidson received his PhD from an unaccredited university which has since closed while Charles B. Hensley has been cited by the US Food and Drug Administration for selling unapproved drugs over the Internet.^[10]

· 9 zicam.vanosteen.com

· 10 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/30/AR2006013001255.html Retrieved on 2008-02-27

My advice over a product like zinc gluconate is to take Vivix, Nutriferon, avoid sweets, evaluate your zinc status by laboratory testing and get enough rest.  This works for my patients.

Dr. Richard Brouse Health Education Corporation

Tags: Allergies, colds, natural remedies, Product Safety

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