So you have a cold. Now what? Suffer? Blow your nose every five seconds and complain about the current administration? I got a better idea – use Zicam, blow your nose a lot less, and get rid of your cold twice as quick. Just don’t use this version of Zicam – it tastes really terrible. I give this product three stars – 5 stars for working, but minus two for being about the most disgusting thing you can put in your mouth.
To begin with, Zicam makes good products – just not this one. The active ingredient in this product is the same as the others – zincum gluconium, whatever that is. Apparently it interferes with the life cycle of the rhinovirus such that the rhinovirus is unable to multiply. This zincum gluconium stuff works, and with the oral mist you get it in another form as well – zincum aceticum. The problem is not that the zincum gluconium doesn’t work, it’s that it irritates your mouth if you use this application device.
If you buy this product, what you get is a bottle with a mister on it – a little bit like one of those things to make your breath smell better, only this one squirts about twice as much liquid as the normal. So now you squirt this in your mouth, and your tongue instantly tastes the cool refreshing taste of mint. What is this review about anyway? I thought this was supposed to taste awful? Well, the label says to squirt this stuff into your mouth four times, so off you go to get four mint-flavored squirts in your mouth.
Wait awhile. Notice a problem? First the product has an aftertaste of chalk. I can’t say I’ve ever eaten chalk, but I think that if I did, it would taste like this. And it’s not one of those aftertastes that goes away after a few seconds either, it lasts a while – like ten minutes.
Now this product you are supposed to squirt into your mouth every three hours. OK, so the first experience wasn’t so bad – minty flavor with an aftertaste of chalk. I can deal with that to get rid of my cold. But now do this every three hours and it is not long before that aftertaste does not go away. Your mouth will taste like chalk 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And not only does your mouth taste like chalk, but so will your chicken noodle soup, your peanut butter sandwich, and even that Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream – now you have chalk-flavored Haagen Dazs. Ewww.
On top of that, the product begins to get a little bit irritating after about a day of use. Not so much an irritating flavor as an irritating burn. As you squirt this into your mouth, your tongue will start to burn. Now, I don’t know about you, but a burning tongue that tastes like chalk is not high on my list of things I hope to experience.
Zicam makes a much better device that gets the product where it needs to go without killing your taste buds. Disgusting as it sounds, the other device squirts the product up your nose. However, you have a cold anyway and can’t smell anything to begin with – at least your taste buds aren’t destroyed. Believe me – the nose applicator is far better then this alternative, and it works, too.
In the end I can highly recommend Zicam’s
nasal injector, and their zincum gluconium chemical that helps eliminate the common cold. However I cannot recommend this particular way of using it. It is irritating and tastes like chalk. I give this product three stars – five stars for being effective against the common cold, but minus two for being irritating and tasting like chalk.
Active ingredients:
Zincum Aceticum
Zincum Gluconium
Warnings:
Pregnant of breastfeeding women should not use this product
Children under the age of three should consult a doctor before use
LuckyVitamin. com
