Wednesday, February 16, 2011
ZINC AND THE COMMON COLD
I read this morning that research "proves" that zinc, long a pop-pharmaceutical for colds, actually works.
Somehow. They aren't sure.
And it is not clear about the best delivery system. Some counter the effects. More research is needed.
I have tried zinc lozenges for sore throats and echinacea capsules for colds.
I don't think either of them does much.
If I take them, I get over the cold in seven days. If I do not use them, it takes a week. (An old joke from Dr. Furlong our first family physician when I was a kid).
I will say that the zinc is pretty bad medicine whether it works or not. The lozenges are vile and they try to cover it with nasty cherry sweet flavor.
I gave up.
I still keep the echinacea around. I look at the bottle and treat it as a totem. Sit with it. Shake the bottle, listen to the caps rattle. Then I decide not to take it.
You know, most of these remedies have never been tested. Now, apparently zinc has been studied. But no one has checked out the side effects. Zinc poisoning. Zinc dementia. Zinc impotence.
Kevin Drum has a similar reaction.
I like the "suitable for vegetarians" on the bottle. I guess somewhere there is a meat flavored zinc. And no salt or starch. Wow.
Labels: medicine
