Zinc cold remedy
can cause loss of smell: study
Tue, Jul 20, 2010
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES - A popular zinc-based homeopathic
remedy for the common cold that is sold over the counter is not
only ineffective but can cause users to lose their sense of smell,
a study published Monday warned.
Clinic trials found that zinc nasal gels and sprays were
ineffective in preventing or reducing the duration of the common
cold, as well as links to a loss of smell, the study in Archives of
Otolaryngology said.
The authors of the study sounded the warning about zinc nasal
cold remedies after evaluating 25 patients and analyzing reports of
clinical, biological and experimental data.
Only one of the studies analyzed showed that zinc therapies
reduce the severity of a cold - but it was funded by the makers of
the medicine used in the study.
"In addition to concerns regarding the efficacy of intranasal
zinc therapy, increasing evidence indicates that this medication
may be linked to severe, potentially permanent hyposmia (reduced
sense of smell) and anosmia (loss of smell)," the study says.
In the light of their findings, the authors urged the US Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) to more strictly regulate zinc cold
therapies and other homeopathic remedies.
"Only homeopathic drugs offered for treatment of 'serious
disease conditions' must be dispensed by a licensed practitioner,"
the study said.
Homeopathic products that treat less serious illness, such as
the common cold, can be sold over the counter and are exempt from
"the rigorous premarket approval process that allopathic
medications must go through before entering the market," the
authors of the study said.