Zinc for colds?

[catgirl67]

Has anyone had luck with taking zinc to shorten the duration of a cold? I am using something called Cold Reduce right now. It has zinc and some homeopathic ingredients. I got a cold on Christmas Eve. Gee! That is exactly what I wanted for Christmas!! :lol:

Has anyone actually had zinc and homeopathic stuff work??

Thanks!!

[rabid_child]

Never oral zinc, but I've had success with Zicam intranasal zinc.

[jenna]

I've taken zinc and vitamin c and they've both helped.

[Brandon]

I've had better results with orally-administered zinc as a preventative to colds than I have as using it to get rid of one.

[catgirl67]

This, is the first time, I have used any type of homeopathic medicine, at the first sign of a cold. It seems to be making the symptoms less horrible. It tastes terrible though!!

Thanks for the responses! :)

[Eclipse]

Lemon juice is supposed to be good for for those things (sore throat, cold virus etc)

[LucidAnne]

ive had very minor colds (nursing a wee sniffle now, lol) since i use zinc lozenges when i feel them coming on...usually its the scratchy throat that is the first sign.
i am still technically LO veg, though barely so, and i noticed a huge diff. when i cut out the dairy for the most part...im wayy less mucous-y.

the best thing though for me, is the neti pot (nasal lavage)...it not only makes you feel better, but also is said to remove the germies from your sinuses, thus reducing your chances of getting sick. its been a god send!!

[Silver]

Whenever I feel a cold coming on, I take several grams of vitamin C crystals throughout the day. I also take Elderberry extract with it. It always knocks the cold back before it gets bad. I cannot say enough about the powers of elderberry for colds and flu.

[Lothar M Kirsch]

Zinc is supposed to be prophylactic against virus infections as common cold. So you would need to take it in advance.