Zinc acetate lozenges can reduce cold symptoms

There is still no cure for the common cold, but some medical researchers in Michigan have carried out a study that demonstrated one way to reduce the severity of a cold. I'll cut right to the chase: Zinc acetate lozenges taken within 24 hours of developing symptoms of the common cold reduce the duration and severity of symptoms.

Now for the details. Researchers at Wayne State University of Medicine in Detroit carried out a clinical trial with volunteers who had cold symptoms for 24 hours or less at the outset of the study. They gave half the volunteers cherry-flavored lozenges that contained 13.3 mg of zinc acetate. The other half of the volunteers were given a placebo in the form of cherry-flavored lozenges that were identical except for the presence of zinc acetate. The participants in the study were asked to dissolve one lozenge in their mouth every 2-3 hrs while awake, for as long as they had cold symptoms.

The participants in the study kept track of the severity of their symptoms, and the number of lozenges they took, in a log. The participants also answered a questionnaire about any side effects they noticed while taking the lozenges.

The results of the study, reported in a recent issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, showed that "the durations of cough, nasal discharge, and muscle ache were significantly shorter in the zinc group than in the placebo group." The average duration of symptoms for the group who took the zinc lozenges was four days, while the the group that took the placebo lozenges had symptoms lasting for an average of seven days. For more than half of the participants who took the zinc, the cold was completely resolved on day 4, but no one who took the placebo lozenge was free of cold symptoms on day 4. Volunteers who took the zinc also rated their symptoms as less severe than those who took the placebo lozenges.

Side effects were generally mild, consisting of things like bitter aftertaste, dry mouth or other mouth irritations, and were essentially same for both the zinc group and the placebo group. No one complained of side effects such as abdominal pain or vomiting.

So, still no cure for the common cold, but if you feel a cold coming on, it might be a good idea to try zinc lozenges to lessen the severity and duration of your symptoms. There are plenty of brands of zinc lozenge on the market, and they are available without prescription. Remember that the zinc formulation used in this study was zinc acetate. Some lozenges contain a different form of zinc, such as zinc gluconate. While other forms of zinc also may work, it might be worth your while to read the package, and look for a lozenge that has zinc acetate, in an amount similar to that used in the study.

To help you out, I did a quick search and found several brands of zinc acetate lozenges similar to those used in the study:

• Eby’s ColdCure™ Zinc Acetate Lozenges (Eby Pharma)
• Fast Dry™ Zinc Lozenges (F&F Foods)
• ZinxLozenges® (Auriga Laboratories)

While all of these fill the bill, there may be others, including so-called store brands, so read the ingredients on the package.

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Source: Prasad, A., Beck, F., Bao, B., et al. (2008). Duration and Severity of Symptoms and Levels of Plasma Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist, Soluble Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor, and Adhesion Molecules in Patients with Common Cold Treated with Zinc Acetate. Journal of Infectious Diseases, Vol. 197, pp. 795–802, doi:10.1086/528803