A host of over-the-counter treatments for the common cold are on the market today including products containing echinacea, vitamin C and zinc. Until recently, information was conflicting about zinc as an effective treatment for the common cold. However, the Cochrane Review has just released results on February 16, 2011 that indicate this mineral supplement is indeed effective in reducing cold symptoms.
Early Studies Showed Zinc Might be Effective in Treating Colds
According to researchers, some of the earliest studies on the use of zinc as a treatment for colds were done in 1984. However over the last thirty years, studies on the use of zinc for the common cold have not shown consistent results.
Zinc is Effective in Reducing Severity and Length of Common Colds
The original review on zinc was conducted in 1999 which looked at 15 trials and over 1,300 participants. The results showed that taking zinc was effective in treating colds if taken early on. According to the updated review, when zinc syrup, lozenges or supplements were taken within one day of the onset of cold symptoms, it reduced not only the severity of the cold but also the length.
When study participants were evaluated at 7 days, those who had taken zinc were much more likely to have their symptoms clear up, versus those who had taken a placebo. Studies even showed that children who were taking zinc for five months caught fewer colds, took less antibiotics and missed fewer days of school as a result of illness.
Guidelines on Zinc Dosages Not Available Yet
Lead researcher Meenu Singh from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India believes that the revised review adds a level of confidence in the original results that zinc are effective.
“This review strengthens the evidence for zinc as a treatment for the common cold,” Singh states. However he also believes that it is too soon to provide guidelines since "we do not know very much about the optimum dose, formulation or length of treatment.”
More Research on Zinc as a Cold Treatment is Needed
The Cochrane review suggests that future research should focus on the benefits of zinc in specific groups of people. “Our review only looked at zinc supplementation in healthy people,” adds Singh. “But it would be interesting to find out whether zinc supplementation could help asthmatics, whose asthma symptoms tend to get worse when they catch a cold.”
More research also needs to be done in low-income areas, where it zinc deficiencies are more common, say experts from the Cochrane Review.
Brenda Lane - Brenda Lane is a published author, Lamaze certified childbirth educator, DONA certified birth doula and approved birth doula trainer.
Join the Conversation