Zinc and the common cold

<p>Zinc supplements (frequently <a href="/facts/Zinc_acetate/x8rGpQk1">zinc acetate</a> or <a href="/facts/Zinc_gluconate/P7xmUG4I">zinc gluconate</a> <a href="/facts/Throat_lozenge/3fR7y45u">lozenges</a>) are a group of <a href="/facts/Dietary_supplements/SHXNNxaS">dietary supplements</a> that are commonly used in an attempt to treat the <a href="/facts/Common_cold/fP9A03U9">common cold</a>. Evidence suggests that zinc does not prevent colds but may reduce their duration, with minimal or no impact on symptom severity. Adverse effects with zinc supplements <a href="/facts/Oral_administration/vNQcvLVx">by mouth</a> include bad taste and <a href="/facts/Nausea/dyhkcbeD">nausea</a>. The <a href="/facts/Nasal_administration/W0hvb0gd">intranasal use</a> of zinc-containing <a href="/facts/Nasal_spray/zLm4BmWx">nasal sprays</a> has been associated with the <a href="/facts/Anosmia/1XxX2R0h">loss of the sense of smell</a>; consequently, in June 2009, the <a href="/facts/United_States_Food_and_Drug_Administration/rCEnh9WB">United States Food and Drug Administration</a> (USFDA) warned consumers to stop using intranasal zinc.
</p><p>The <a href="/facts/Human_rhinovirus/2jDL2oWU">human rhinovirus</a> – the most common <a href="/facts/Viral_disease/F1Tth6qP">viral pathogen</a> in humans – is the predominant cause of the common cold. The hypothesized <a href="/facts/Mechanism_of_action/Sjk8vfV4">mechanism of action</a> by which zinc reduces the severity and/or duration of cold symptoms is the suppression of nasal <a href="/facts/Inflammation/Ura86MIy">inflammation</a> and the direct inhibition of <a href="/facts/Rhinovirus/2jDL2oWU">rhinoviral receptor binding</a> and rhinoviral <a href="/facts/Viral_replication/btE3fu1w">replication</a> in the <a href="/facts/Nasal_mucosa/ndEF4os6">nasal mucosa</a>.
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Zinc and the common cold open-in-new

Zinc and the common cold