Because we're heading into the holiday season, thought it might be worth mentioning a few things to have on hand in case of colds.
First and foremost, one of the biggest aids to avoiding catching a cold is washing one's hands regularly and vigorously with soap and water - there's more research that shows spays are less effective than even water alone especially when used repeatedly. Good ol' soap and water (not anti-bacterial either) still rules.
Second of course is staying well rested and well hydrated. But if a germ does get you (why i hate plane travel will be an upcoming post, no doubt), one way to get on top of its effects may well be zinc lozenges, nasal gel, and maybe chelated zinc tablets.
There have been a number of studies over the past decade looking at the effects of zinc on colds. While some studies have shown zero impact compared with placebo, others have shown considerable reduction in the length and effect of cold symptoms, generally cutting symptoms duration in half [Healthlink]. The important component in zinc use is to get the zinc to the membranes within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms [Medscape], and keep taking it throughout the cold, every 2-3 hours while awake.
How best to take the zinc is an interesting point: studies have looked at types of oral application of the zinc. It seems the point is to get the zinc to the mucous membranes involved. The most common way to do this is zinc lozenges with 13.3 mg of elemental zinc [MedicineNet] per lozenge. Ironically, some zinc lozenges are sold with C in them. C (or citric fruit or juices) actually nullifies the effect of the zinc. Har! so be sure to get stuff that is ONLY zinc, and avoid eating citrus fruits in particular about an hour or so before sucking up some zinc lozenges. This doesn't mean don't take vitamin C; it does mean don't take it mixed with a zinc lozenge.
Some studies have shown that zinc nasal gels may have a better effect than zinc lozenges (closer to the source of the virus, maybe). Back in 2000 one study by Hirt, Nobel and Barron looked at Zicam, a zinc nasal gel spray, and found it cut symptoms from 9 days to 2.3 days [PubMed]. Another study in 2003 [cited in Baystr Center for Natural Heath] found similar results. Freakily, though, in 2006, according to the Washington Post, Zicam manufactures Matrixx settled 340 lawsuits claiming that these folks had lost their sense of smell after using Zicam (apparently one's sense of smell is worth $21,100USD). According to the story, because Zinc is not a drug, the FDA can't really do anything about forcing the version of the product around which the suits were brought off the shelves. But also, experts in the story are reported as (naturally) divided as to whether these sprays could cause anosmia.
In the meantime, i'll keep using zinc. My favorite variant of these zinc things is in dissolvable tablet form. As far as i know, only cold-eeze makes this version, and now markets them as "diabetic-safe" - in other words instead of being sugar based suckies, they're rather bland little tablets that dissolve under the tongue. The problem is, the dose is a third of the suckies, so you have to take more (hourly rather than every three hours) to get the same dose. Mixing them up can be an option.
According to one site geared at diabetics, they recommend just using chelated [definition] zinc tablets. I haven't been able to find studies that support this kind of ingestion rather than oral application (neither does the article), but the post claims it's easy to tell if the zinc taken like this will work:
Have 25 mg. zinc tablets available, and at the earliest sign of cold symptoms, take two tablets. If the zinc is going to work on this viral strain, your symptoms will largely disappear within 30 to 60 minutes. If a marked improvement is not seen following the first dose, zinc is unlikely to work for that strain or for whatever else might be causing your symptoms.
On the plus side, it seems this kind of 25mg chelated zinc gluconate is easier to get in the UK than zinc lozenges. Also, if it works, it means fewer doses of stuff. Please post a comment if you find good sources, or if you've had good experiences with zinc in fighting cold symptoms.
A note of caution: taking the amount of zinc needed to kill the cold is about 5 times the daily dose of zinc needed in one's diet. So this dosage is only a short term thing. A good thing, but a short term thing to do.
Why Zinc works on colds is still an open question [WebMD] - some thoughts are that it inhibits protein formation that the cold virus needs to reproduce itself (yay! go zinc). Just remember to take it (whether orally or, er, with nasal gel, all caveats above being considered or by ingestible tablet), and to take the stuff AS SOON AS you feel cold symptoms even have a whiff of your attention.
Happy holidays.
