“Zinc nasal sprays shorten colds.”
Zinc sprays and gels for the nose have not been shown to shorten colds, and they have been linked to losing your sense of smell.
Zinc sprays and gels for the nose are not a proven way to get over a cold faster, and they carry a real risk of losing your sense of smell. They are best skipped.
Before buying a nose spray or gel for a cold, check the ingredient list and put it back if zinc is listed.
Safety note: Do not put zinc in your nose. The FDA warned that nose products containing zinc were linked to loss of smell, sometimes after the first dose, and that the loss may be permanent. The FDA has special concern for children, who may be less likely to tell anyone they cannot smell.
Talk to a healthcare professional if: you lose your sense of smell, or notice other problems, after using any zinc product in your nose.
A few small trials of zinc nose gels reported shorter colds, but another trial found no difference, and when a review pooled the trials the benefit was not clear. Confidence is Limited because only a handful of small, older trials exist, and they used different products and doses.
Zinc sprays and gels for the nose have not been shown to shorten colds, and they have been linked to losing your sense of smell. In a 2000 trial of 213 adults, a zinc nose gel was reported to cut cold symptoms to about 2 days, compared with 9 days on a placebo. But in a 2001 trial of 160 adults using a zinc nose spray, colds lasted a median of 7 days in both groups. When a 2009 review pooled three trials, the benefit was too uncertain to count.
In 2009, the FDA told people to stop using and throw away three Zicam nose products that contained zinc. The agency had received more than 130 reports of people losing their sense of smell after using them. Many said it happened with the first dose, and the FDA was concerned the loss could be permanent. Doctors at one clinic described 17 patients who lost some or all of their sense of smell after using a zinc nose gel; all of them said they sniffed it in deeply and felt burning right away. Reports and case descriptions like these cannot show how often the problem happens, but the FDA judged the risk real enough to act. The FDA warning did not cover zinc tablets or lozenges taken by mouth, which is a separate question with its own card.
- US Food and Drug Administration. Warnings on Three Zicam Intranasal Zinc Products. Consumer Update, June 16, 2009
- D'Cruze H, Arroll B, Kenealy T. Is intranasal zinc effective and safe for the common cold? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Primary Health Care. 2009;1(2):134-139. DOI: 10.1071/hc09134. PMID: 20690364
- Hirt M, Nobel S, Barron E. Zinc nasal gel for the treatment of common cold symptoms: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Ear, Nose & Throat Journal. 2000;79(10):778-780, 782. DOI: 10.1177/014556130007901008. PMID: 11055098
- Belongia EA, Berg R, Liu K. A randomized trial of zinc nasal spray for the treatment of upper respiratory illness in adults. American Journal of Medicine. 2001;111(2):103-108. DOI: 10.1016/s0002-9343(01)00765-3. PMID: 11498062
- Alexander TH, Davidson TM. Intranasal zinc and anosmia: the zinc-induced anosmia syndrome. Laryngoscope. 2006;116(2):217-220. DOI: 10.1097/01.mlg.0000191549.17796.13. PMID: 16467707