# Does Zinc Cure Colds **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 10, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-zinc-cure-colds/520792 "2009-12-10T23:41:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jcmjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e7dd6/32.png) [@jcmjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jcmjim)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-zinc-cure-colds/520792/1 "2009-12-10T23:41:43Z")
I read Cecil’s straight dope on Zinc being a cure for colds. I can say this on the subject…I seem to have a pretty weak immunity to the common cold. I used to catch a couple of colds every year, and they’d last for over a week. Then came the nagging cough which lasted another couple of weeks. That is gone now. At the first sign of a cold (that is the absolute key to the cure), i.e. burning eyes, worn down feeling, hot feeling breath, slight burn in throat, etc, I pop 200mg of zinc (with food…gotta be with food). then 4 hours later, another 200mg. Cold gone. I have not had a cold in about 8 years, except for one… My wife called me a hypochondriac…she said there was no way I could tell that I was catching a cold. So I showed her…I didn’t take the zinc when I developed the early symptoms. I caught a cold and it was a doozy. I kept her awake every night for a week with the sneezing, coughing, etc. She doesn’t talk about it anymore. Bottom line…I really do not care about what the ‘research’ states. Actually I don’t think that the researchers are giving the zinc doses early enough to kill the cold…you REALLY got to know your body, and know when something is trying to sneak in. In my case, zinc is truly the miracle drug. Colds are a thing of the past for me. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-zinc-cure-colds/520792/2 "2009-12-11T00:16:31Z")
Hi **jcmjim**. Is [this](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1258/can-zinc-lozenges-cure-the-common-cold)the column you are commenting on? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-zinc-cure-colds/520792/3 "2009-12-11T06:10:29Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Hi **jcmjim**. Is [this](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1258/can-zinc-lozenges-cure-the-common-cold)the column you are commenting on? He never mentions the role of the ICAM-1 receptor in that response though. Zinc supposedly works because it binds to the ICAM-1 receptor, which is the receptor the cold virus binds to, and blocks replication of the cold virus early in an infection. To me, the fact that there was no real talk of the potential mechanism of Zinc in cold replication (just a reference to how bad zinc tastes) bothers me, because it feels like the research into the subject didn’t delve deeply enough. ---
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-zinc-cure-colds/520792/4 "2009-12-12T00:07:45Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > To me, the fact that there was no real talk of the potential mechanism of Zinc in cold replication (just a reference to how bad zinc tastes) bothers me, because it feels like the research into the subject didn’t delve deeply enough. I found this reasonably new article on PubMed - > **[Treatment of naturally acquired common colds with zinc: a structured review -...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17682990/)** > > This structured review suggests that the therapeutic effectiveness of zinc lozenges has yet to be established. One well-designed study did report a positive effect of zinc nasal gel. [QUOTE=PubMed] RESULTS: Four studies met all 11 criteria. Three of these studies reported no therapeutic effect from zinc lozenge or nasal spray. One study reported positive results from zinc nasal gel. [/QUOTE]