Homeopathic products are often pointed to as scams for being a complete waste of money or damaging to health by displacing real medicine, but generally they are harmless because the active ingredients are so dilute that there’s less than a 50% chance that even a single molecule is present in the final product.
So how can this be?
Via WebMD:
Study Links Zinc Nose Sprays, Loss of Smell
Zicam Zinc Nasal Products Removed From Shelves Last Year
July 19, 2010 — Just over a year ago, the FDA warned that zinc-containing intranasal cold remedies might cause loss of sense of smell.
Now a researcher who has long argued that the sprays were harmful says he has scientific evidence to back up the claim.
Last summer, the FDA warned consumers to stop using three zinc-containing Zicam products: Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs for kids. The federal regulators cited 130 reports of loss of sense of smell among users of the products.
Zicam manufacturer Matrixx Initiatives pulled the three products from the shelves, but the company maintains that there is no link between their use and loss of smell.
In the newly reported analysis, researchers applied a statistical method used to establish a cause-and-effect link between an environmental exposure and development of a disease in an effort to confirm that zinc-containing nasal products can cause loss of sense of smell, known medically as anosmia.
University of California, San Diego professor Terence M. Davidson, MD, says the analysis supports the hypothesis.
He adds that the effectiveness of zinc-containing products for preventing or shortening the duration of colds has never been proven.
“Given that they do absolutely no good for colds and given that there is potential for harm, I see no point in putting any zinc gluconate products in the nose,” Davidson tells WebMD.
But… Zicam is homeopathic, right? Well, no, not really. In this case, the product is being sold as “homeopathic” and in doing so managed to avoid all the scrutiny, testing and regulation that over-the-counter drugs normally would receive. However, the dilution of the zinc in Zicam is only x2, meaning about one part per 100 parts of solvent. This is generally not what you find in homeopathic remedies, which are diluted to 30x or more (one part per 10^30.)
So what happened here? Simply put, the makers claimed that since the active ingredient was dilute it qualified as being homeopathic and simply by calling it homeopathic they avoided all regulation. They just fudged the definition of how much “dilution” the zinc compound, zinc gluconate, need to be homeopathic, and since homeopathic groups are pretty dishonest to begin with, nobody raised any objection.
As it turns out, the concentration of zinc gluconate in the remedy – which may or may not have any effect on the cold virus – can most definitely have an effect on the scent receptors in the nose. Worst still, the damage may be permanent, making it impossible for a person to enjoy the smells of fresh cut grass, apple pie or perfume and also preventing them from being able to detect odors like the smell of smoke or leaking gas. And since taste relies heavily on smell, those with damaged senses of smell lose all but the most basic ability to taste food, being able to tell if the food is salty or sweet, but not being able to discern more complex flavors.
There is one bit of good news here, though. It seems that the company that makes Zicam is large enough and has enough asserts to make it worth going after in civil court. They’ve already settled quite a few lawsuits, but more are on the way. I hope they get taken to the cleaners, because it’s about time some of these fraud operations were made into examples. Perhaps if enough attention is given it could actually lead to regulatory changes, which are so sorely needed!
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