FDA Bans Nasal Route Zicam

I have used Zicam for years... I here in NC with all of the climate flux and pollen humidity and so on, it has really become a staple for survival!

I am pretty sure this is only refrencing the nasal routed Zicam products... but of course they are the ones that seem to have the fastest reaction! Snippet Below.

SourceTUESDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials on Tuesday warned consumers to stop using Zicam nasal cold remedy products because they can cause the loss of a sense of smell.

The specific products contained in the warning include Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs, and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs Kids' Size.

"These products claim to reduce the duration of the common cold and severity of cold symptoms," Deborah M. Autor, director of the Office of Compliance at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said during a morning teleconference Tuesday. "Consumers should stop using these products immediately."


"The next step is for the company to come in and seek FDA approval if they want to continue marketing the products," Autor said.

"While the company has done trials involving small numbers of patients, we believe there have not been enough patients exposed in those trials to detect infrequent adverse events," she said.

According to Dr. Charles E. Lee, medical officer in the division of New Drugs and Labeling Compliance in CDER's Office of Compliance, the agency has received more than 130 reports from people using one of these zinc-containing products about the loss of a sense of smell, also known as anosmia

I was reading about this earlier. Its not a surprise, I must say.

Almost every chemical compound on the market today used in medical treatment are actually quite dangerous to your health.

And although I do not have a M.D. I research medical information very often and consider myself fairly knowledgeable on the subject.

My personal advice:

Stop taking any medication that you do not understand, unless you are certain that failing to take it can result in death or severe reactions.

Medications that are for simple comfort, should be discontinued for your own health.

Again - If discontinuing a medication can result in death - Please do not stop taking it.

I am only attacking non-vital medications here - They are pointless and dangerous to humans.

Perfect example of a drug that is not vital for your health.
Cialis.
en.wikipedia.org...
(However if you have pulmonary arterial hypertension, it "Might" help, but that is not fully known as of yet-it's approval is very new and I always question new FDA decisions)


[edit on 17-6-2009 by muzzleflash]

NOOOO! This stuff has kept me cold free for years!!! I live on it when anyone near me gets ill or I start to get ill with a cold. Knocks it out in 24 hours.

Has it already been banned? I need to stock up!

This stuff actually worked. No wonder they want to ban it.

Originally posted by amatrine


This stuff actually worked. No wonder they want to ban it.

Right it worked. And did a whole lot more than many people bargined for.

I believe it says that it has been shown to cause LOSS of SMELL in some cases.

There is no perfect drug, please be aware of the dangers and take at your own risk.

[edit on 17-6-2009 by muzzleflash]

My 'tin hat' side is tingling.... When the H1N1 virus surfaced and spread rather quickly... I thought damn..Must have been a 3-M conspiracy!. I wish I had bought 3-M stock about 6 months ago... they are the SOLE manufacture's of the N95 mask that Medical staff use when treating/exposing themselves to droplet precaution patients. Now... I have to say, If I were ill, I mean Really ill... I would want something that had a chance of cutting the duration in half.... Not that I am sayig Zicam is the cure for H1N1...Of course not.... But this opens the door for many other OTC and Rx drugs to be pulled... Treat your illness and run the risk of losing your sense of smell... or be able to smell your carcass decaying.... hmm... Risk to benefit ratio .

[edit on 17-6-2009 by Haiku]

I know of the risk, but have had no problems in all the years I have used it.

I do not spray it up my nose, but rather use a cutip and swab it.

Never had any issues. I have a strong sense of smell and smell things other people can not, so maybe that helps me , I don't know.

It is like ciggarettes, the label says it will cause cancer yet they are sold legally.

This may cause loss of smell. Put it on the label. Why is it being banned ?

I saw something about it on the news yesterday. They didn't say anything about it being banned. They just offered up the warning that it may cause loss of smell.
I've used Zicam for a few years now, only when I have a cold or when my allergies become particularly bad. It works. Within a half hour I'm all cleared up. The best part of it is that it clears you out without drying you out too much.
If they are going to ban it then I'm going to get a good stock pile of it. The directions on the box say to just barely insert the swab into the nostril. I read somewhere that it only causes damage if it's inserted higher up in the nose. I have never had a problem with my sense of smell while on this.
If they do ban it, at least there are other Zicam products that don't have the warning. There's still the oral cold remedies that Zicam makes. And I may have to look for the Seasonal Allergy nasal gel, since that wasn't on the warning list either.
Here's an FDA factsheet that came out yesterday. www.fda.gov...
And here's something from Snopes about Zicam. The original article was made in 2006, but was last updated today. www.snopes.com...