Flu season brings new remedies and reminders of Zicam side effects

Seattle, WAWith the highly contagious H1N1flu spreading early and the world heading into the flu season proper, many consumers are switching to homeopathic medications - a fact that has the FDA up in arms over possible side effects, like Zicam smell loss.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">Homeopathic medications remain largely untested and apocryphal, which has set of red flags with many medical professionals and the FDA who - in response - have mounted an aggressive advertising campaign denouncing products making unproven boasts of their curative properties.

With Mercury News reporting that sales of homeopathic medications annually average $200 million, it would seem that consumers are willing to take this chance on unproven medications to avoid high costs, at the risk of unseen side effects.

The FDA has issued warnings about many holistic cold and flu remedies in the past, particularly Zicam, a nasal cold medication that has been linked to anosmia, or the loss of smell.

Last Week, the 9th U.S. Circuit court of appeals reinstated a 2004 class action suit against Matrixx, the Arizona-based pharmaceutical company that allegedly failed to divulge the depth of Zicam side effects when marketing the cold remedy.