Zinc Away Your Cold, and Avoid Antibiotics, Says Meta-Study

Cropped CDC Weekly Flu Map showing flu “regional” throughout Washington

Researchers have performed a systematic review, “Zinc for the common cold,” published in The Cochrane Library, and the news is more conclusive on zinc benefits:

We found that zinc (lozenges or syrup) is beneficial in reducing the duration and severity of the common cold in healthy people, when taken within 24 hours of onset of symptoms. People taking zinc are also less likely to have persistence of their cold symptoms beyond seven days of treatment. Zinc supplementation for at least five months reduces incidence, school absenteeism and prescription of antibiotics for children with the common cold.

While previous studies have shown decidedly mixed results, this review took data from 15 different trials, involving 1,360 people.

One of its most important findings for parents is that “Zinc also reduced antibiotic use in children, which is important because overuse has implications for antibiotic resistance.” Not to mention that a lot of good gut bacteria are put to the antibiotic sword as well, and can take years to recover.

That said, while the specific results here were striking (the rate of antibiotic intervention was reduced by over half between the control group and zinc-taking groups), they are based on only two studies of zinc supplementation. After taking zinc supplements regularly for at least five months, the children studied showed fewer incidences of the common cold, fewer school absences, and decreased antibiotic use. 

---

That’s different than using zinc as a cold treatment, which shows more significant promise. The guidelines the study offers are to take zinc within 24 hours of the first cold symptoms, every 1.5 to 2 hours. That early window is critical, as there seems to be some falling off of effectiveness in the 24-to-48-hour window and beyond.

---

It still hasn’t been determined what exactly zinc does to fight colds, but whatever it is, it seems to have something to do with the cold virus getting a good foothold, and being able to propagate well. Severity of a cold is reduced, and after five to seven days, a zinc sucker’s cold has usually run its course. Cough, nasal congestion and drainage, and sore throat were all of shorter duration. 

The data doesn’t support, yet, choosing between your zinc options: gluconate, acetate, or sulfate; or a specific dosage (doses ranged from 30 to 160 mg/day). Sucking on zinc lozenges for days on end can leave you with a bad taste in your mouth and feeling nauseous, so you may be glad to hear that syrup or tablet form appears to work as well. 

This review of the data was an update of the an earlier meta-study done in 1999. The updated findings are summarized as:

1. Intake of zinc is associated with a significant reduction in the duration and severity of common cold symptoms.
2. Duration of individual cold symptoms was also significantly reduced in the zinc group.
3. The syrup and tablet preparation of zinc is better tolerated than lozenges.
4. Zinc supplementation reduces incidence, school absenteeism and prescription of antibiotics in children with the common cold.

The other thing you can do about getting sick, of course, is get a flu shot. As the CDC’s weekly flu map illustrates, the flu is in full swing throughout Washington. Seattle Children’s Mama Doc warns that February and March are peak flu season in the U.S., and that it typically displays as a very bad cold, with an associated fever, aches and pains, and feeling run over by a truck.