Throw Out Your Zicam, and Rethink Other Alternative Cold Remedies

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I have been using this product zicam for about a year and haven't had a problem. Maybe it works maybe it doesn't but i do as the directions say,when you feel a cold coming on use it. It is not like afrin,don't spray it in and sniff it up. Maybe people are allergic to a ingredient or just don't follow directions. I haven't been sick like i used to get during cold season.Do what you want but i am still going to continue using it and stay healthy(if that is what is keeping me from getting a cold I don't know,but i take it and cold doesn't last the way it used to). No I don't work for the company or have any affiliations with them.

Carl of NY 1:44AM January 16, 2010

People need to read inserts and use ALL products EXACTLY as instructed. Zicam says insert nozzle 1/4" into nose - NOT fully into the canal. Also, only one spritz per nostril. Who knows what the person writing the current e-mail warning did?
Also, anyone can be allergic to anything - even natural herbs, etc. Thing is, seldom does anyone actually die of allergies (note I say seldom - it does happen).

JE of CA 4:51PM January 14, 2010

Concerned I am , you need to just chill out and let it go. You are preobably fine and are just causing yourself headaches from worrrying. Stress can kill you, even if it is self induced stress.
If you can still smell after this long, the danger has passed. (Or your fixing to die one or the other, quit worrying!)
Zicam has been on the market as a nose spray for over a decade. ANd I never heard of anyone being harmed by it. Maybe they changed their recipe and accidentally caused it to induce loss of smell.
The only real ingredient in it that helps you is zinc, which makes it difficult for bad things such as viruses and so forth to get anchored into your nasal pasages, I've used the zinc lozengers and they really help if you start to use them at the beginning of a cold.
I never yused the zinc spray but once when it first came out, and I just didn't like it, and swithced over to the lozengesr.

Clem Parkhill of OK 8:36PM January 09, 2010

I think that all the above are right when they claim we got 'taken'. The nasal gel with the zincum gluconicum worked to good - and caused some disturbance in the scheme of corruption (industry/gov agencies) and robbery on the consumer.
...nothing new, has happened - will happen again.

Doomed :-( of FL 10:41AM January 06, 2010

It should be of no surprise to anyone why the FDA fights against companies of natural remedies/products. Look at the people in countries who have used and still do use natural remedies as apposed to synthetic drugs. Look at the facts on their overall heath and longevity. And look at the ingredients in your shampoo, body lotions, tooth past... that you use every day. We don't hear about all the toxins we take in daily. And we wonder why cancer is as common as a cold? Come on people, don't think that the FDA is looking out for your best interest. It is all politics and greed.

CF of WA 9:46PM January 05, 2010

I recently took some of the zicam no drip liquid nasal gel that contained the zincum gluconicum x2. I'd gotten sick on dec 29th of 09. New years eve I was at a friends and he'd recommended it to me. He and his roomate had both been sick within the last couple weeks and had sworn by it's effectiveness. I needless to say was like sure. My friends have taken it, let's see how it measures up to my standard dayquill/nyquill, sudafed. I took it once at 12:00am and another time at 4:00am. Fortunetly I have not been victim to anosmia. The next morning I woke up to take another dose, and it was then that my natural what is this crap instinct kicked in. I went and grabbed the box to investigate. I get on my phone and was terryfied to see what I'd been reading. My concern was can I smell still. I was sick still so I could barely smell as is. I immediatly took some of my dayquill to clear up my nose to await my result. I later confirmed I was well, however could not let the thought go of what other side effects could this product produce. I've literally been on my phone or my computer researching all I could about this since the time I woke up new years day. I've been experiencing what I hope to be pressure headaches since 1/1/10. I'm pretty sure it's do to my inability to take my focus off this ordeal within the last 5 days, however can help but think it may be a side affect of this product. The tension headaches seem to come and go. Everytime I think about this it amplifies. I got drunk last night and it was cool while I was intoxicated. I'm hoping someone will have some well informed answers for me. I can't let it go from my thought. Oh yeah, the product itself was expired in June of 2007. I asked my friend when and where he got it from. He claims to hbe gotten it a few months ago from a local rite aid. I'm obviously very much still wrapped around my well being.
Any help from anyone is very much appreciated.
Thank you to any who've taken the time to read this.
Concerned I am.

Concerned I am. of CA 8:59PM January 05, 2010

Way to try and jump on the lawsuit Jerry. I have a better idea, if you have a job, try overtime, if you don't have a job, then find one instead of trying to take advantage of a company that did nothing wrong.
Is it possible some of the big names like Johnson & Johnson set this thing up? I wonder! This was the ONLY product that worked on the common cold. (Duration way faster than anything on the market)
Zicam was gaining market share with minimal advertizing. Had it not been for this, they could have had a majority share of a multi billinon dollar industry. Sad that the FDA may have been bought by the big guns. I guess they'll be making it in China and shipping here soon. LOL

Tom Keith of IL 1:16AM December 29, 2009

I'm still trying to figure out why Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is still on the market. A relatively slight overdose will cause liver failure. There is no real evidence that it provides a benefit that cannot be achieved using aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen. When is the FDA going to take action on this life-threatening chemical? Oh, because Johnson and Johnson has millions of dollars to throw at politicians to prevent this from happening. Pardon me, my mistake.

Jim of AL 12:56PM December 18, 2009

As we've seen time and time again, an "FDA Approved" drug or procedure is not necessarily "safe" (arthritis drugs) or effective (some heart and back surgery). Hundreds of thousands of people are killed or injured each year from "approved" OTC and prescription drugs. Older, safer and more effective drugs are sometimes pushed aside for promotions of newer, more profitable drugs without the safety record. The relative risks and injuries from "alternative health" is minuscule in comparison, but always blown out of proportion in the media.
The HUGE-profit drug industry, entrenched government regulations, and patent laws have created a peculiar situation in this country.
- Any new "drug," in this country, by definition, has to be approved as "safe and effective" by the FDA.
- This approval process can take years and cost the drug companies hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Obviously, the drug companies will not spend this money on a drug that can't be protected and patented in order to secure a profit.
- A drug can't be patented unless it is a "novel" discovery (ie synthetic, non-traditional, unnatural). The very unnaturalness of these novel chemicals are where the risks and side-effects are produced. They were never part of the food and evolutionary chain to begin with. (Read the intro to Sears' "Zone Diet" for an example)
- Hence, few safe, "natural" or alternative therapies have any chance of going through this process, simply because the money and profits aren't there. (the "Breathe-Right" strips are a notable exception)
Many of the European countries have gotten around this. They regulate effective herbs (like ginkgo biloba, milk thistle, etc.) as standardized, prescription drugs. In fact, these are often the most popularly prescribed remedies - with the least cost and side-effects.
For all the talk about lowering Health Care costs, we are overlooking one of the biggest expenses.

LS of MD 10:27AM December 07, 2009

I used Zicam Oral Mist for one one week, i did not like the after effects due to the loss of taste and quite using. After 3 days of not using i have not regained all may taste back. I'm hoping that i will regain all my taste. To do over I would not use Zicam.

Jerry McQuay of SD 6:35PM December 03, 2009