"I called Zicam, and they told me it happens all the time and the only active ingredients were salt and Zinc. They
assured me that in every case taste and smell retuned. When I asked
how long, the customer service representative said it was different
for every person. I asked why the packaging of Zicam was the way it
was and the rep. explained they did not know, that they have been
reporting the constant confusion to upper management."
groups.google.com
From: David Lynch (davidlynch@ojai.net)
Subject: Zicam Took Away My Sense of Taste And Smell
This is the only article in this thread
View: Original Format
Newsgroups: sci.med
Date: 2003-01-27 14:57:19 PST
On December 21, 2002 I had gone to bed about 12:AM. After spending the
day working in my garden, I woke about 1:00AM with a little stuffy
noise. This was not uncommon for me after a day in the garden, so I
got up and went to my bathroom medicine cabinet to reach for the
bottle of NasalCrom which I had used before. Unfortunately I did not
turn on the lights and did not know that a bottle of Zicam Spray gel
was standing right next to the NasalCrom (they look almost the
identical).
My Husband had acquired the Zicam after a colleague at work
recommended it for a cold he had in early November. I had never used
Zicam and knew nothing about how to use it. I reached up in the dark,
thinking I was gabbing the NasalCrom, when I was actually gabbing
Zicam. I proceeded to pump two big squirts up each nostril inhaling
as far as I could in to my sinuses (as should be done with NasalCrom).
Instantly, I felt a burning in my sinuses that I had never felt
before. I turned on the light and looked at the bottle and realized I
had just ingested Zicam. Because the bottle looked like a nasal spray;
I figured it was OK and I would see if Zicam worked as well NasalCrom.
I assumed the burning was normal and would subside.
I went back to bed, but the burning did not subside (as a man who
posted a similar message mentioned, it became the “9/11”
of my nose). Within 15 minutes, my sinuses had completely closed off,
allowing me to only breath through my mouth. The pain was excruciating
all over my head. The dripping down the back of my throat made me
nauseous, and my equilibrium was off. I realized something was going
terribly wrong.
I woke my husband and in tears told him I had taken Zicam and was
having some kind of bad reaction to it. He asked, “You
didn’t put that stuff up your nose did you”? This is how
I found out that it was a cold remedy and should have only been
applied to the inner tips of my nose and I should have had a cold.
(Why is it in a nasal spray bottle?) By 4:00AM, I couldn’t take
it anymore and was about to go to the emergency room when I put a cold
glass of ice water against my head (and sinuses) and all of sudden the
pain got much better. We put a cold compress on my sinuses and within
an hour the pain had subsided and my sinuses had reopened allowing me
to breathe.
The next day I had lost all taste and smell, with an occasional taste
and smell that I can only describe as “metallic.” By the
third week the metallic sensation had gone and I was starting to get a
slight bit of taste on the edges of my tongue and some smell if I got
up close to the subject. I called Zicam, and they told me it happens
all the time and the only active ingredients were salt and Zinc. They
assured me that in every case taste and smell retuned. When I asked
how long, the customer service representative said it was different
for every person. I asked why the packaging of Zicam was the way it
was and the rep. explained they did not know, that they have been
reporting the constant confusion to upper management. I wasn’t
worried because it seemed I was slowly regaining both senses back, but
on January 23, 2003 the metallic taste and smell has come back.
After searching the Internet and USENET groups I found this forum and
have decided to post. For those of you who claim a cold virus maybe
the cause, I want to point out that I have had no cold (nor have I had
one). We live in isolation quarantine all winter long due my infant
daughter’s medical problems. She cannot be exposed to cold, flu
or R.S.V. viruses, so there are no viruses here.
It has now been over a month things seem to be getting worse (not
better) can anyone direct me to a doctor or other resource (other than
those already posted)?
Sincerely,
Heather McDougle
hmcdougle@ojai.net
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