Patients Concerned About Zicam Side Effects

San Antonio, TXPatients who experienced Zicam side effects including Zicam smell loss, have been left wondering if they will ever regain their sense of smell. Some say that they experienced the Zicam loss of smell a few years ago, but their doctors were unable to diagnose what caused this damage. Unfortunately, although it appears that they now have some idea what has gone wrong, it is possible that many of the patients will never regain their sense of smell.

One patient, Sarah P. (name withheld) writes that her doctor tried numerous remedies to fix the problem with her loss of smell.

"I was given Zicam by a friend for the first time in January 2005 because she claimed that it was homeopathic," Sarah writes. "I used it and it seemed to work, but after about 5 months, I noticed that I was having problems with my sense of smell. I sought medical care, and my doctor suggested that I might be severely congested, so she suggested Actifed of Pseudoephedrine [used as a decongestant]. I tried them both, but they did not seem to work for my 'loss of smell.' In late August, early September 2005, she ran a series of tests on me using a nasal endoscope and determined that my loss of smell was permanent. I have been going through a series of different processes to try to get some of it back, but to this date my sense of smell is gone."

Meanwhile, Craig N. (name withheld) writes that lost both his sense of smell and most of his sense of taste, noting that he puts a lot of seasoning on all his food. "I've been to the doctor and had an MRI done to see what could have caused this," Craig writes. "He suggested that maybe I just had a bad virus at some point, but I'm thinking the Zicam had something to do with it."

Zicam is a cold remedy product. On June 16, 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning that certain Zicam cold products are linked to the loss of the sense of smell. The FDA made its warning after receiving more than 130 complaints about a loss of smell in Zicam users. Since that time, lawsuits have been filed alleging that the makers of Zicam, Matrixx Initiatives Inc. and Zicam Inc., failed to conduct adequate testing regarding the product.

According to an article in the Southeast Texas Record, lawsuits were filed on behalf of multiple patients who say they suffered anosmia, a loss of the sense of smell, after using Zicam products.