Everyone should know that this month, Zicam was taken off the market for having caused some people to lose their sense of smell.
Apparently the company who makes the drug -- Matrixx Initiatives Inc -- didn't share with the FDA the fact that they had 800 complaints about this very thing.
FDA's warning applies to Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs Kids Size, but does not affect Zicam oral zinc tablets or lozenges. The agency said the drug must be tested for safety and benefit, like a conventional drug, before it is again marketed.
The recall does not mention anything about headaches, but it's important for people to know that these Zicam products need to be thrown away or returned to the store where they were purchased.
And the recall has brought up questions about the safety in marketing of other homeopathic remedies. As always, when you are taking a supplement, a remedy, a nutritional drink or anything that promises medicinal benefits, read the labels and if you don't recognize the ingredients on them, do a quick Google search to see if there are cautions for those ingredients. And it's always a good idea to call your doctor, or at least your doctor's nurse or nurse practitioner, to determine whether a homeopathic remedy might interact with anything else you're taking.
Comment Reply
Everyone should know that this month, Zicam was taken off the market for having caused some people to lose their sense of smell.
Apparently the company who makes the drug -- Matrixx Initiatives Inc -- didn't share with the FDA the fact that they had 800 complaints about this very thing.
FDA's warning applies to Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs Kids Size, but does not affect Zicam oral zinc tablets or lozenges. The agency said the drug must be tested for safety and benefit, like a conventional drug, before it is again marketed.
The recall does not mention anything about headaches, but it's important for people to know that these Zicam products need to be thrown away or returned to the store where they were purchased.
And the recall has brought up questions about the safety in marketing of other homeopathic remedies. As always, when you are taking a supplement, a remedy, a nutritional drink or anything that promises medicinal benefits, read the labels and if you don't recognize the ingredients on them, do a quick Google search to see if there are cautions for those ingredients. And it's always a good idea to call your doctor, or at least your doctor's nurse or nurse practitioner, to determine whether a homeopathic remedy might interact with anything else you're taking.
June 22, 2009 - 9:37amThis Comment
Reply