Treatment for the common cold

[pufferfish]

I just tried that new cold remedy called Zicam which is a zinc nasal gel and this stuff really does work. Zicam should be in every diver's trip kit as you might abort a cold that starts as you leave and save the trip.

I even gave a bottle to a couple who were both starting colds and the one with Zicam was sick for 48 hours and the other about six days. Truly amazing.

One just squirts the stuff in the nose every two hours for the first day and then drops down to four hours as the cold improves. I didn't experience any adverse effects. Cost about $10 US for a bottle which will treat two or three colds.

Anybody else tried this stuff?

Study results

 

[scuberd]

I usually use the mind over matter approach,
I don't mind, it don't matter

I haven't had a real cold in years (unless you are asking why I wasn't at class )

 

[kelpmermaid]

I have tried it and have had some success, too. The trick is to start using it early. I waited too long this last time and am suffering the consequences (sniff, sniff) now.

 

[pufferfish]

Yes you have to start it within 24 hours or earlier after the onset of symptoms like sore throat or sniffles and use it every 2 hours for the first day while awake and then I drop to 3 hours in the second day. With this regimen a cold is gone by late the second day and diving would likely be possible on the third.

 

[O-ring]

...swears by echinacea...she carries it around in a spray thing I think..

 

[pufferfish]

This herbal although probably one of the most widely used for treatment of the common cold has just not panned out. Three well controlled studies have proven this point. Initially there was some question to the purity of the product but these studies have used standardized high purity Echinacea. If someone feels it works it likely does because of the placebo effect. Some people feel it might work for prevention of colds but here one is likely better off exercising, eating well, and washing their hands frequently with an alcohol based hand santizer before rubbing their eyes or sticking their hands in their mouths.

Better off with the zinc gel nasal spray which has a study to back it up. It really does work if used as directed.

Latest echinacea study

 

[frogxman]

Where did you get this stuff?

 

[pufferfish]

Unfortunately Zicam is not available here in Canada yet and I do not know why. I had several pharmacy friends look into getting it and the wholesalers don't even have it.

If you live in Toronto you can buy it in any pharmacy over the border. I picked up three bottles in Buffalo at $10 US a piece but had to go to three shops as they were all sold out. The pharmacists said the stuff is very popular.

If not traveling to the States try this link. They talk about shipping to Canada. Hope that helps.

Zicam

 

[John Reinertson]

For those who can't find Zicam, the original study was done with zinc lozenges, which work but taste terrible.

There is a legend that oral zinc tablets don't work, but there has never been a study, and I and many patients have had success for years with zinc tablets 50mg three or four times a day for three days.

Bottom line.. zinc works, symptoms are less and you feel better. No one knows why and there are no good studies comparing lozenge vs tablet vs nose gel.

Hoping to find you sniffle-free,
John

 

[pufferfish]

John I have been following this zinc story for five years now trying to sort out the 'wheat from the chaff' both with personal experience and reading the scientific studies. I see you are a 'lumper' and I am a 'splitter'.

Here is what I have come up with.

Zinc gluconate glycine lozenge is the only oral formulation which I have found to have some benefit albeit slight. I have used the 'Cold-Eeze' product numerous times with some benefit but not enough to have the 'wow' effect on me. The lozenges are palatable, but one probably does not get much of the zinc solution into the nasal cavity where it is likely most needed. Some people have complained of nausea from the oral ingestion of zinc.

Zinc acetate does not appear to work.

zinc acetate

Zinc sulfate in a saline nasal spray does not work.

I can honestly say both from personal experience and from friends who have concurred that the Zicam product is the way to go. You have the study above in the first post that shows a very large reduction in the duration of the common cold. My experience twice now is the cold is gone by 48 to 60 hours if the product is started within 24 hours of symptoms. The main advantage of this product I think is that it is a thick gel which coats the nasal mucosa with ionic zinc and that is the trick to why it works so well. With the gel the ionic zinc remains stuck to the nasal passages much longer than any of the other products. No zinc gets in the stomach and so there is no nausea. There are no side effects.

I think what is needed is a study comparing zinc gluconate lozenges (Cold-Eeze product) not tablets directly to the Zicam nasal gel. I will place my money clearly on the Zicam not only because it works better, but it is just easier to use. Squirt the stuff in each nostril and that is that, no mess no fuss. And it doesn't rot your teeth either.

Give it a try!