Taking zinc gluconate lozenges when you have a cold might help you get better about 7 days faster than if you didn't take them, according to a study.

46

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

46

Community contributions welcome

46

Reduction in duration of common colds by zinc gluconate lozenges in a double-blind study

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

1984 Jan

This study directly tested the same zinc lozenges mentioned in the claim and found they really do shorten colds by about 7 days compared to placebo.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Reduction in duration of common colds by zinc gluconate lozenges in a double-blind study

Score: 46

DOI: 10.1128/aac.25.1.20

Similar Assertions

Taking zinc lozenges every couple of hours when you have a cold might help you get better faster, cutting the time you feel sick from about a week to just over four days.

42

0

93%

Taking zinc lozenges soon after cold symptoms start can help adults get over their colds faster, cutting down how long you feel sick by about 1 to 4 days.

1

0

91%

Taking zinc acetate lozenges when you have a cold can help you get better faster, cutting down how long you're sick by about 2 to 3 days.

67

74

87%

Taking special high-strength zinc lozenges when you have a cold can help you get better about three days faster.

39

74

87%

Zinc lozenges might help you get over a cold faster, with zinc acetate ones possibly working a bit better than zinc gluconate ones, but the difference isn't clear enough to be sure.

33

0

86%