I've never experienced the effects. I used the throat lozenges - they behave similar to an tums - sort of dissolves in the mouth, but coats the throat with a zinc based coating.

I think some of the other Zicam products - throat spray in particular - has more complaints about the lose of smell.

As Marv says, the damage is probably done even before symptoms appear, so not much you can do. I used to never get sick, but all this traveling has me getting colds frequently now. 2 in the last 2 months. Year before last, I got the cold 9 times. Mrs. Motion picks up colds pretty easily as she's very fragile, so consequently we both are sick together all the time.

Oh yeah . I got a drawer full of those..we draw faces on them..

Yeah, I always move to the guest room when I catch a cold or something else.
I also try to "live" there for some days to keep my illness to myself.
But I am the only one in the house doing that.

Definitely no kissing. We are fortunate in that we don't seem to pick up each other's bugs.
Having no grandkids yet helps....:)

There used to be 2 kinds of Zicam. 1 was taken orally. No smell issues there. The other, which is NLA, was like a Q-tip soaked in liquid meds that you would swab up your nose. That's the one that was killing folks sense of smell. I'm pretty sure they don't make that one any more as you can imagine. It wasn't because of the meds, but because of the way that you applied it.

Trying Not to Get Sick? Science Says You're Probably Doing It Wrong | Science | Smithsonian

Synopsis
1. Talking, yelling and even breathing spread the flu.

2. Surgical masks won’t protect you. (but it may protect others from you)

3. Washing your hands is great for the cold, but doesn't do anything for the flu.

4. Viruses can live on inanimate objects for up to 72 hours. Moreover, cold and flu viruses last longer on hard surfaces (like stainless steel) than soft ones (like your couch).

5. Forget the extra vitamin C.

6. We're closer than ever to a universal flu vaccine.

Read more: Trying Not to Get Sick? Science Says You're Probably Doing It Wrong | Science | Smithsonian
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