# Anything I can do to shorten the duration of a cold? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-can-do-to-shorten-the-duration-of-a-cold/583839 "2011-05-31T13:03:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-can-do-to-shorten-the-duration-of-a-cold/583839/21 "2011-06-01T17:13:36Z")
> [@](#): > > It was amazing. Walgreens had a huge row of the homeopathic ‘zinc’ cold preparation for sale, and three bottles of actual zinc (which really works) tucked away in the vitamins section. I pointed it out to the pharmacist, who just groaned. I am reminded of the time when I went in search of an OTC yeast infection remedy. This was not too long after the effective remedies became legal to sell OTC, instead of being prescription only. What did I find? A big selection of various homeopathic preparations, every one of them proudly claiming to relieve yeast symptoms…and all of them listing c. albicans as the active ingredient. When I bitched about this, I was told that the allopathic cures were too expensive, and most women would shop by price. I quit going to that pharmacy. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-can-do-to-shorten-the-duration-of-a-cold/583839/22 "2011-06-01T17:22:05Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > I went looking at lunch an they all had Zinc gluconate, which is what was in the Zicam. Tons of info here including cites to studies. > **[Zicam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zicam)** > > Zicam is a branded series of products marketed for cold and allergy relief whose original formulations included the element zinc. The Zicam name is derived from a portmanteau of the words "zinc" and "ICAM-1" (the receptor to which a rhinovirus binds in order to infect cells). It is labelled as an "unapproved homeopathic" product and as such has no evidence of effectiveness. > Zicam was invented and developed by Charles B. Hensley and Robert Steven Davidson in the mid 1990s, working on the ICAM-1 s... ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-can-do-to-shorten-the-duration-of-a-cold/583839/23 "2011-06-01T19:26:13Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > It seems necessary to have very high concentrations of zinc in the retropharynx to achieve the effect of reducing severity/duration of the cold. Topical application (with lozenges) at present seems to be the only way to do this without ending up with excessive levels of zinc everywhere else in the body. I suspect zinc nasal spray or rinses might be effective, but this would probably taste at least as bad if not worse than the lozenges. When I last read about zinc studies, there was concern that one could not perform proper blind trials because of the distinct zinc taste. My recollection was that positive efficacy went away when the zinc was delivered via a taste-free method. How are these newer zinc studies addressing the taste issue, vis-à-vis performing blind trials and controlling for placebo effects? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-can-do-to-shorten-the-duration-of-a-cold/583839/24 "2011-06-01T19:49:00Z")
> [@Pasta](#): > > When I last read about zinc studies, there was concern that one could not perform proper blind trials because of the distinct zinc taste. My recollection was that positive efficacy went away when the zinc was delivered via a taste-free method. How are these newer zinc studies addressing the taste issue, vis-à-vis performing blind trials and controlling for placebo effects? [http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab001364.html](http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab001364.html) It’s a pretty good review of the data, which despite inability to properly double blind the studies, does indicate zinc does make a difference. Cochrane is evidence-based, and generally well regarded in the medical/scientific community. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-can-do-to-shorten-the-duration-of-a-cold/583839/25 "2011-06-01T19:57:30Z")
Qadgop, I seem to recall that the homeopathic Zicam, unlike most homeopathic preparations, was only a dilute 10% solution, and could actually do some damage. Such a high concentration (high in the true medical sense, not homeopathic sense) is not really homeopathic and perhaps shouldn’t be lumped with them. I’m not saying it works or doesn’t, but there is a big difference chemically between a 30C solution and a 1X. One has no active ingredients whatsoever, the other most surely does. It muddies the waters, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![HardlySanguine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HardlySanguine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HardlySanguine)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-can-do-to-shorten-the-duration-of-a-cold/583839/26 "2011-06-01T20:19:50Z")
Does extra sleep help? Make it worse? How about drinking extra fluids? ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-can-do-to-shorten-the-duration-of-a-cold/583839/27 "2011-06-01T22:14:33Z")
I’ll post some anecdotal evidence concerning me. Years ago I tried sublingual zinc because there was some evidence it would shorten the duration of the cold then. (It’s back in the news again as being efficacious.) It did not help me at all, as far as the colds were concerned, and I hated the after-taste of the zinc. I also have tried echinacea, with no good results. The only thing that has helped me has been vitamin C, but you have to take megadoses as Al Bundy said (but Linus Pauling said it before him). Vitamin C is not a cure, but it dampens the symptoms. When the symptoms begin to recur, you need another gram or two. Side effect is diarrhea, but the diarrhea ends when you stop the C. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-can-do-to-shorten-the-duration-of-a-cold/583839/28 "2011-06-01T23:06:53Z")
> [@HardlySanguine](#): > > Does extra sleep help? Make it worse? How about drinking extra fluids? [This](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7823599.stm) study apparently found that people who sleep less than 7 hours a night are three times as likely to catch a cold as people who sleep more than 8 hours. Purely as an anecdote, I always feel like my sleep levels correlate strongly with cold or flu recovery time. If I’m ill and I spend a couple of days sleeping as much as possible I feel a lot better, a lot quicker. **Qadgop** how much zinc do you need to take for it to be effective? That study said it was difficult to make an recommendations for dosage. You mentioned taking 25mg tablets, which is more than twice the RDA (11mg for adult men, 8mg for women). Does it have to be such a large dose? What if you just take the RDA? ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-can-do-to-shorten-the-duration-of-a-cold/583839/29 "2011-06-02T03:05:08Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > [http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab001364.html](http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab001364.html) Thanks for the link. Hmm… I’m still left a bit unsatisfied about the taste thing. “Bad taste” was pretty much the most significant difference between the groups, if I’m reading the string of acronyms and numbers right [what does “OR” mean?], and anything that tastes all medicine-y is sure to lead to placebo effects. (The abstract mentions “placebo-controlled” trials, but I can’t tell whether the placebo had any taste of its own, zinc-like or otherwise.) ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-can-do-to-shorten-the-duration-of-a-cold/583839/30 "2011-06-02T09:10:20Z")
That study mentions nauseau, too. I, too, became nauseated after using sublingual zinc, along with the bad taste. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-can-do-to-shorten-the-duration-of-a-cold/583839.md?page=1)