Use the Right Kind of Zinc Lozenge

Research shows that zinc lozenges can cut the duration of cold symptoms in half, if administered within the first 24 hours of cold symptoms. Using the proper form of zinc is extremely important. The common cold: it happens a total of 1 billion times a year; causes 22 million lost days of school and work and 300 million restricted activity days. Your doctor will tell you that without treatment, a cold will last seven days. However, if you stay in bed and take medicine, you'll be rid of it in a week.

There is another way. The latest clinical research has discovered how to cut the length of time a person suffers with a cold in half by using zinc gluconate or zinc acetate lozenges. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo study, lozenges containing 12.8 mg of zinc were compared to a placebo. The zinc group had a shorter average duration of cold symptoms. Average for the zinc group was 4.5 days - the placebo group's colds lasted 8.1 days on average. In addition, duration of coughs was reduced from 6.3 days to 3.1 days, the duration of nasal discharge was reduced from 5.8 days to 4.1 days, and the severity of all symptoms was reduced.

The study, published in the August 15, 2000 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine concluded that there is a "cure for the common cold" -- zinc lozenges."Administration of zinc lozenges was associated with reduced duration and severity of cold symptoms, especially coughs," state the authors of the study headed by A.S. Prasad of Wayne State University. In a review of all the studies on zinc lozenges published in the Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, the authors came to this conclusion: "Clinical trial data support the value of zinc in reducing the duration and severity of symptoms of the common cold when administered within 24 hours of the onset of common cold symptoms.

Choosing the right zinc lozenge: Studies have been done on two forms of zinc; zinc gluconate and zinc acetate. According to George Eby, the lozenge's originator, other forms don't work as well and may even make a cold worse. Eby says zinc citrate is particularly bad and may increase the duration of a cold. Zinc lozenges are available from a variety of companies. One of the leading companies, Quantum Health of Eugene, OR was the very first to make and distribute the lozenges."We created the first commercial zinc lozenge in 1984, shortly after the original research was published," said Quantum CEO David Shaw. "Our brand, Thera-Zinc, which includes zinc gluconate along with several immune boosting herbs, is considered one of the most effective. Some companies put zinc citrate in their lozenges because it's a cheaper ingredient, and that gives zinc lozenges a bad reputation," he added.