2 More Claim Zicam Robbed Sense Of Smell
Popular Cold Remedy Blamed
POSTED: 5:39 am HST November 24, 2009
UPDATED: 6:17 am HST November 24, 2009
HAWAII KAI, HAWAII -- Two more Hawaii residents filed lawsuits this past week claiming they have lost their sense of smell after using Zicam, the popular over-the-counter cold remedy. One Hawaii resident filed a suit against the company in July.
In June, the Food and Drug Administration said consumers should stop using Zicam nasal gel and nasal swabs because hundreds of people across the country reported losing the ability to smell and taste food.
Marvin Yamasaki, 59, of Hawaii Kai, is one of those suing. He cliams he can’t smell a thing. He said he took Zicam two years ago before a trip to Las Vegas to ward off a cold, and within a few weeks lost his sense of smell.
“My wife is a great cook,” Yamasaki said. “But all that enjoyment is gone now.”
“I relied on Marv to tell me whether it needed more salt, or needed more flavoring,” Yamasaki’s wife, Joy, said. “Now I’m on my own.”
Yamasaki went to an ear-nose and throat doctor who said his sinuses could be blocked, so he had surgery, but that didn't fix the problem.
He spends more time outside, watering the plants and doing chores now, because when his wife cooks oily foods, he feels uncomfortable, claustrophobic and even nauseated. Simple flavors he used to enjoy are gone.
“Celery has a very bad taste,” he said. “Strawberries have a weird, overly ripe, kind of bad, rotten.”
Zicam's manufacturer has successfully defended the product in 10 other lawsuits since 2004. But now hundreds more people are filing suit, upset that the company never told the Food and Drug Administration that 800 people had reported losing their sense of smell after using the products.
“You need to do some research,” said Ilana Waxman, Yamasaki’s attorney. “You need to test it and you need to make sure it’s safe before you put it out on the market. The people who manufacture Zicam didn’t do that.”
The FDA says Zicam products contain zinc that could damage nerves in the nose. But in court, no one has proved that Zicam is dangerous when it's used properly. |
