Zicam
| Website | http://www.zicam.com/ |
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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.
Zicam was invented and developed by Charles B. Hensley and Robert Steven Davidson in the mid 1990s and is produced, marketed and sold by Zicam, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., an American company. In 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada advised consumers to avoid intranasal versions of Zicam Cold Remedy because of a risk of damage to the sense of smell, leading the manufacturer to withdraw these versions from the U.S. market. However, in recent years, they have returned to market with both a form of the original nasal swabs and also dissolving/chewable tablets and nasal spray forms.
Because this product is not a drug, nor is it a food and therefore cannot be regulated, all claims by its manufacturer must accompany the disclaimer "this product has not been evaluated by the food and drug administration." All information marked as "ingredients" are claimed only; there is no way to discern what is actually in the product. The only biologically active ingredients present in Zicam Cold Remedy are zinc acetate (2X = 1/100 dilution) and zinc gluconate (1X = 1/10 dilution). Other sources list the ionic zinc content as "33 mmol/L of zincum gluconium".
Zicam is marketed as a homeopathic product which the maker claims can shorten the duration of a cold and may reduce the severity of common cold symptoms. It is marketed in accordance with the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, a private organization not linked to nor regulated by any part of any government, and its cold reduction claims are claimed to be supported by various non-scientific private studies done by and for the homeopathic industry: Center of Integrative Medicine, Department of Infections Diseases, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland OH. Some of the homeopathic ingredients used in the preparation of Zicam are galphimia glauca histamine dihydrochloride (homeopathic name, histaminum hydrochloricum),luffa operculata, and sulfur.
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