Zinc Lozenges Help You Get Over Colds Faster
Zinc Acetate Lozenges May Improve the Recovery Rate of Common Cold Patients: An Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Taking zinc lozenges when you start feeling sick can make you get better much quicker.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 567 / 100
Evidence Score
The highest quality evidence. These studies systematically search, appraise, and synthesize results from multiple individual studies, providing the most reliable summary of current knowledge.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Taking zinc lozenges when you start feeling sick can make you get better much quicker.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 567 / 100
Evidence Score
The highest quality evidence. These studies systematically search, appraise, and synthesize results from multiple individual studies, providing the most reliable summary of current knowledge.
Publication
Authors
Hemilä H, Fitzgerald JT, Petrus EJ, Prasad A
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Claims (7)
Taking zinc acetate lozenges for colds, at doses up to about 90 mg per day, didn't cause any major side effects in studies with nearly 200 people.
Taking zinc acetate lozenges soon after cold symptoms start can help otherwise healthy adults recover from a cold about three times faster than if they didn't take them.
Zinc acetate lozenges work just as well for treating colds in people of different ages, genders, races, allergies, smoking habits, or how bad their cold is when they start.
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.
Taking zinc lozenges helped more people get better from colds faster. For every 2 to 3 people who take them, one extra person recovers by day 5 compared to those not taking them.