Zicam isn't Homeopathy!

There have been several articles and stories in all news sources over the last few weeks about the product Zicam which calls into question its safety and the safety of all homeopathic remedies. At the bottom of this article is one of the Zicam articles which was written by an AP writer and appeared in the Star Tribune.

There are so many flaws in the AP article and subsequent discussions, that I feel compelled to comment.

For multiple reasons, Zicam is NOT homeopathy. First, Homeopathy is a system and a process, it is not a product. It is about matching the symptoms of the remedy to the symptoms the person is currently experiencing. As I look in my homeopathic repertory for several common cold symptoms, Zinc does show up, but so do 140 or more other remedies. In all likelihood, Zinc is NOT the remedy an individual needs. It is an oxymoron to say that one homeopathic remedy is good for all, or even most, occurrences of the common cold. Homeopathy simply doesn’t work that way. Second, Zicam isn’t prepared as a homeopathic remedy, which is a process called potentization. To call it homeopathic is misleading. It is merely a 10% solution of Zinc gluconate, which uses the homeopathic nomenclature in an attempt to avoid the FDA. It has been known since the 1930’s that intranasal zinc can cause loss of smell. Perhaps the makers of Zicam knew that as well?

However, the AP article and follow-up stories are perfect examples of articles that were written by someone who clearly is uneducated in homeopathy. For example, the article says that the active ingredient in Zicam is 2 parts per 100. A person who knows homeopathy would never make a statement in that way or even the general statement of how dilute most homeopathic remedies are. In fact, if Zicam is a 1x potentization of Zinc gluconate as a recent label claims, that does not translate into 2 parts per 100.

It is probably just as well that the National Institutes of Health discontinued funding studies of homeopathy (and most other natural forms of healing). I have see some of the studies and they were an attempt to force homeopathy to be something it isn’t—that is, a one size fits all form of healing. I could have saved them those millions of dollars. If you look at studies from other countries, such as Germany and India, where the researchers know how to use homeopathy, you see different results. For example, The University of Vienna Hospital conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to assess the influence of homeopathic Kali Bichromicum 30C on the amount of tenacious, stringy secretions from the throat in critically ill patients who had a history of tobacco use and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). The results: The amount of secretions from the throat, the length of stay in the intensive care unit and the length of stay in the hospital was significantly reduced or very significantly reduced over those who were given placebo. The results of this study can be found in the March 2005 medical journal Chest.

There are many studies supporting the efficacy of homeopathy. Just because people say there aren’t doesn’t make that the truth.

Regarding the “sneaky” way that homeopathic remedies were granted legal status, it is interesting to note that nothing really changes over the years. I believe that is the same way much legislation gets passed. Several years ago the Minnesota Department of Health used that very tactic to give them selves the power to declare a new vaccine on the schedule for kids without having to go through the Minnesota Legislature each time.

It is unfortunate for Mr. Richardson (the fellow named in the AP story) that he didn’t do his due diligence and research Zicam before taking it. Had he looked online, he would have found several homeopaths in North Carolina to contact and ask questions. However, he ought not be relying on the FDA to protect him because, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, over 100,000 deaths occur each year by prescription drugs. That number this year likely includes Michael Jackson.


Whiff of homeopathic gel Zicam
forever changes patient's trust in
alternative treatments
By JEFF DONN , Associated Press
Last update: June 17, 2009 - 4:27 PM
He was like millions of other consumers who
sometimes take vitamins or echinacea, hoping to
build up his immunity or ward off a cold. He
figured alternative remedies were as safe as a
spoonful of honey. But that notion washed away
with one squirt of a homeopathic cold gel.
David Richardson, of Greensboro, N.C., is one of
hundreds of patients across the country who
have lodged complaints about Zicam Cold
Remedy, saying it destroyed their sense of smell.
"It's like watching a sunset in black and white. The
things that you take for granted, not only smelling
fresh-cut grass or bread in the oven ... you miss
those parts of your life," he says. "There's not a
day that goes by that you're not reminded of it."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that
people who can't smell may also miss danger
signs in their daily lives like smoke or gas. It
moved to force three Zicam products — Zicam
Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Nasal Swabs and
discontinued Swabs in Kids' Size — off the market
Tuesday and told consumers not to take them
anymore.
Zicam belongs to an under-the-radar but legal
sector of the drug industry called homeopathic
remedies. They hold a unique legal status: They
are mainly sold without prescription as legal
drugs claiming to treat specific ailments, yet they
are not routinely reviewed for safety or benefit by
the FDA. The agency rarely acts unless safety
questions arise after marketing.
Most scientists say homeopathic remedies
contain active ingredients in such low
concentrations — often 1 part per million or less
— that they are usually safe.
But FDA spokesman Sandy Walsh says that
"consumers purchasing homeopathic products
should be aware that they have not been reviewed
by the FDA."
Zicam's maker, Matrixx Initiatives, of Scottsdale,
Ariz., contends Zicam is safe. It blames the
apparent side effects on the colds and infections
that people were treating, not on the treatment.
However, the company agreed to suspend
shipments and reimburse customers who want
refunds.
It already agreed to settle about 340 Zicam claims
for $12 million in 2006. It was still dealing with 17
lawsuits earlier this year, as well as more than
500 more patients who may sue in the future,
according to its filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission.

Richardson, 46, says he used Zicam just once. His
mother, a retired nurse, offered him some for his
stuffy nose. He had just started a new job as a
salesman and wanted to work at his best.
So he held the nasal gel to his nose, pumped and
inhaled. He immediately felt a burning sensation
but acknowledges that his sense of smell was
already diminished by the cold. It was only when
health returned — but not sense of smell — that
he began to worry.
He went to the doctor and had an MRI, but
nobody could figure out what was wrong. It was
only when he did an Internet search for Zicam
and saw all the lawsuits that he began to feel
suspicious. One doctor has now tested his sense
of smell and tentatively linked the problem to
Zicam.
With months of medical care, Richardson says he
has regained about 20 percent of his sense of
smell.
He has complained to the FDA and engaged a
personal injury lawyer but hasn't yet sued. "It
finally feels good to feel like we're being heard,"
he said of the FDA's action.