Zinc can ease common cold symptoms
Experts believe taking zinc syrup, tablets or lozenges can lessen the severity and duration of the common cold, Kazakhstan Today reports.
Almaty. February 17. Kazakhstan Today - Experts believe taking zinc syrup, tablets or lozenges can lessen the severity and duration of the common cold, Kazakhstan Today reports.
A review of the available scientific evidence suggests taking zinc within a day of the onset of cold symptoms speeds recovery, BBC News reported.
It may also help ward off colds, say the authors of the Cochrane Systematic Review that included data from 15 trials involving 1,360 people.
There is little a person can do to avoid these infections because the viruses responsible are so commonplace. Cold viruses can be passed from person to person not only by coughs and sneezes but also by touching contaminated surfaces such as door handles.
There is no proven treatment for the common cold, but experts believe zinc medications may help prevent and lessen infections by coating the common cold viruses and stopping them from entering the body through the thin lining of the nose.
There is also the suggestion that zinc aids the immune system and may dampen down some of the unpleasant reactions the body has to an invading virus.
According to trial results, zinc syrup, lozenges or tablets taken within a day of the onset of cold symptoms reduce the severity and length of illness.
At seven days, more of the patients who took zinc remedies every couple of hours during the daytime had cleared their symptoms compared to those who took placebos.
And children who took 15mg of zinc syrup or zinc lozenges daily for five months or longer caught fewer colds and took less time off school.
And the people who used zinc also reported more side effects, such as an unpleasant aftertaste or nausea, than the placebo group.
"I think one can give it a try," said Dr. Meenu Singh, a pediatrician at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India, who led the new work, Reuters reported.
"But giving zinc over a long period of time for prevention should be done very carefully," she told Reuters Health.
"Zinc may interfere with other metals in the body, and that may have unpredictable consequences over the long haul," Singh said.
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