Does anyone know if Zicam works?

Question

I have had a cold for 3 days now. I started taking Zicam for it after the first 24 hours. If anyone has taken it, I would like to know if it lessens the severity and duration of a cold as it claims.

Answer 1

Yes I use it each time I get a cold and it works to make it last a lot less longer than usual. You shouldn't eat Vitamin C 1/2 hour before or after. I also take Airborne (but it has vitamin C so space them out). The combination works wonders! Hope this helps.

Answer 2

The main ingredient of Zicam is zinc which will shorten the duration of a cold. You can continue using the Zicam and afterwards you might want to start taking a zinc supplement of 25mg per day through the cold season to help prevent colds. My whole family takes it daily. Zinc supports your immune functions and a zinc supplement is much cheaper than Zycam. Hope you feel better soon.

Answer 3

Here is the scoop: 1) If you feel a cold coming on and you start taking Zicam early enough (and continue taking it until all symptoms are gone), then you are likely to avoid getting the cold in the first place. Zinc Acetate (the active ingredient in Zicam) has been proven to kill the cold virus (more accurately keep it from replicating) in clinical trials. These same trials have shown that it is more effective than Zinc Gluconate (the active ingredient in Cold Ezee). 2) If you get a cold (once the cold virus has established itself) there are literally millions of viruses and infected cells. In this case, you're only course is to wait the 7 to 10 days for your immune system to recognize and mass produce millions of specific antibodies that are needed to destroy the cold virus. However, it has been found that taking ZiCam while you have a cold may reduce it by about 3 days. So, instead of being sick for 10 days, you are sick for 7 days. The reason for this is that the ZiCam will help keep the cold virus in check, requiring your body to produce fewer antibodies before the virus is cleared. My System: As soon as I feel a cold coming on it means the virus is few in numbers and still on surface cells, so the following immediate action can eliminate it all together. 1) Take two ZiCams a day (the bottle says you can take one every three hours, but Zinc has been shown to numb the taste buds, so I wouldn't take more than 2 or 3 a day). 2) I take an eyedropper full of 3% peroxide and drop it in each ear for about a minute. You can use drug store peroxide, but I use food grade. If you decide to use food grade, then be sure it is only 3% (food grade peroxide is often packaged at 40% or greater, which is strong enough to melt skin). 3) I flush my sinuses with a neti pot consisting of an isotonic solution of saline with two to three drops of 3% peroxide per pot. If this doesn't work and the cold is established, then I continue the peroxide and neti on a daily basis along with taking two ZiCams a day until the cold is eliminated (this will take at least 7 days).

Answer 4

I use the swabs whenever I start to feel myself congested. I recover a few days faster now. They work by coating the inside of your sinuses with zinc, which slows down the reproduction of the cold bugs, giving your immune system a chance to catch up. The earlier you catch it, the less of a foothold the cold can achieve.

Answer 5

due to Zicam nasal spray alot of people including myself feel a burning sensation in their nose and then permanently lose their taste. SAVE YOURSELF

Answer 6

I'm a nurse. It has worked fine for many patients. However not all medication is good for certain people. See the doctor if it just isn't working for you.

Answer 7

i haven't used it myself, but both a friend of mine and my father in law always tell me to take it when i get sick, because it worked for them. they say it doesn't do anything for the symptoms, you just get over it a lot faster.