Sorry to hear your taste buds took a turn for the worst. On the case of a cover up I would have to decline, I couldn't imagine how I would feel if something even worse than your case happened and I helped push rankings down for valuable info. On your second instance of reputation management I quite agree. If a business resolved an issue but still ranks for the original mister meaner then assistance should be provided. I expect a lot of businesses don't realise the power of the web/WOM in these cases. Get well soon Tamar.
May Ling Su
· 1 year ago
I'm extremely biased against Big Pharma, so I'll say public safety is more important than top dollar. As for ethical reputation management, especially if a company is trying to address bad press that affects their consumers, identifying (owning up to) the problem is as important as letting their consumers know what they are doing to solve this problem. I don't think it should be about erasing the problem from public knowledge. Isn't reputation management about promoting transparency to build trust in their brand?
On another note, Airborne looks like a healthier product. Were you unsatisfied with it? I personally use the herbal remedy Echinacea at first sign of illness. Works for me every time.
Take care, Tamar!
Michael D
· 1 year ago
Tamar, that live twittering of commercials must have been too much for your immune system.
Public safety comes first but reputation management is something the company may want to engage in. What if a new formula is developed that does not have the same side effects? If the issue is resolved they should move forward to clean things up. If it's not, they deserve whatever bad rep they are getting.
Gavin Mitchell
· 1 year ago
Hope you get well soon Tamar. The website in question is a few years old now so a little clarification either way on the current situation would be nice - I guess if there was an FDA investigation there might even be a verdict by now.
You never know, your post might revive wider interest in the topic and in a few weeks we could be seeing mysterious new pages promoting "Zicam's zincy goodness" appearing in the SERPs ;)
Tamar Weinberg
· 1 year ago
Is that what it is? Zinc? I've had Zinc before and it hasn't killed my taste. :P
Todd Mintz
· 1 year ago
It's a personal choice. Think of all the attorneys that do insurance defense work...no friggin' way could I do that and sleep at night.
A reputation management consultant who doesn't know somebody with your affliction might not see this a public safety issue...it's certainly less clear than the stuff going on with Celebrex.
Hope you get better.
Tom
· 1 year ago
You're spot on Tamar that as an (ethical) reputation management company you should always check out the negative results first to see how genuine they are. It's often very difficult to get right 100% of the time but in a case where we feel the negative reputation is deserved we most certainly wouldn't work with a client to clean their online reputation.
SEO is all about manipulating the search results for profit (however much you hide that fact, it's true) and you should always bear in mind what the consequences of your actions will be.
PS - hope you're feeling better now!
Gab "SEO ROI" Goldenberg
· 1 year ago
Be proactive about it, like Dreamhost. They misbilled people for $10M and quickly sent out an email apology for the error. I just got the email newsletter and it's kidding (in a self-mocking way) about it and really boosts their brand, imho.
Zicam? They should pull it until they figure out how to fix their product. And stop naming products with these ridiculously ugly names like Zicam. It sounds like some Greek mythic monster with 8 legs 7 eyes and too many warts to count. "Beware the Zicam beast!"
Robin Jacob Abraham
· 1 year ago
No,No and yet another no...that would be my response.Reputation matters when you have one.As with any other Social media campaign,if the content or the product's not strong theres no pint in taking up the campaign
Daniele Rossi
· 1 year ago
I use ester-c when I feel a cold coming on. I pop in a good 1200mg every 2 hours and by the next day, cold is gone. I haven't been sick once this winter!
Greg Schnese
· 1 year ago
Tamar,
I wouldn't work with someone if their interests conflicted with mine. I wouldn't help this company lower their rankings for the loss of taste issue.
I think it has a lot to do with confidence. If you're confident that you can find work, which doesn't conflict your interests, then you will turn down this job becuase you know you'll get something else. If you aren't confident, you might accept the job becuase you don't' know where the next one will come from.
Greg
Scott Woodard
· 1 year ago
Sorry to hear you've been sick, I also picked up a bug at this year's Super Bowl party and have been fighting it all week.
I think Tom's dead on here. You have to pick the clients you feel right about or soon you'll just end up dreading the work. Enjoying your job is far more important than short term revenue.
On a side note I've been using Zicam all week. While it does screw with my taste buds, any effects go away for me in a day or so.
Miguel Salcido
· 1 year ago
Wow! I have been using Zicam for years with excellent success. I have used many of the different delivery methods including the spray, soft chews, and the nose swabs. I hated the taste of the spray and chews so I have settled on the nose swabs as that is where "rhino" viruses start to multiply and that is the best place to attack. The taste seemed to stick to my tongue for a while and had a weird after taste kinda like I licked a rubber tire.
This is really too bad because to this day I swear by the stuff and actually just fought off a cold with it successfully again last week. While my family and everyone in my office has missed many days of work and doctor's visits, I was able to fend it off.
Tamar Weinberg
· 1 year ago
Miguel, yeah, that's the big issue. To those who recommend it, it's excellent. To those who don't, it's because it kills your tastebuds (or smell!) I wish I'd have been able to swear by it, but alas, it's not for me. :(
SMeli
· 1 year ago
i <3 airborne and tamar :-)
an anonymous lizard
· 1 year ago
i am hesitant to talk about this in public -- google being what it is -- but i have a client that wants me to do this, and it is definitely an ethical challenge. he's not promoting anything that's going to destroy people's taste buds, but he is making some fairly outrageous claims about some really basic (but highly overpriced) supplements. quackwatch and another similar site both have whole pages devoted to him, very well-ranked. they have mercilessly dissected his whole professional life and been very harsh, in my opinion. however they do have some valid points.
it's a dilemma. here is a client that pays his invoices promptly and is a really super nice guy, except he may be a little delusional about the benefits of his product line. i try to edit him and restrain him from making any egregious overstatements about his supplements, and yes i am helping him rebuild his digital brand. i am trying to toe the ethical line best i can, but i still feel a little icky doing it.
hope you get your taste buds back!
Drew Stauffer
· 1 year ago
Oh no!! I just took a bunch of Zycam the other day. Technically I still have all my senses, I think. I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed.
Thanks for posting about this Tamar.
Tamar Weinberg
· 1 year ago
Drew, just don't overdo it :) Quite frankly, I think I'd do fine if I took the Zicam syrup, but I don't even want to take chances anymore. It's only the oral and nasal mist that I think they name in the suit.
Linda
· 1 year ago
I posted this on Digg. It's well worth the read. I do hope all goes well with you. I'm a big advocate on holistic remedies, but I don't like the effects of Zinc ( a chief ingredient in Zicam). I don't like the taste of Zinc... or actually, the aftereffects of Zinc. I hate the metallic taste of it, and how everything I eat tastes metallic after I ingest it. There's alot to be said for alternative remedies, but then again, let the buyer beware. Excellent read.
Tamar Weinberg
· 1 year ago
Yeah, I don't like the taste of zinc either. Thanks Linda. :)
Steph
· 1 year ago
Wow. I've used Zicam tons and it's like a "miracle drug" for me. Never had this problem!
geld lenen
· 1 year ago
A lot of negative reactions against pharma's... Face it, they also have shareholders BUT also ofter do a lot around diseases that don't bring the best ROI for the less educated parts of the world. Also DAC is often done, and that is useful despite the governments should take the lead in this.
Abhilash
· 1 year ago
Hey Tamar, hope you're feeling better now.
I had a doctor once ask me to fix his "reputation" issues in the serps. I drop it in quotes because his problem wasn't his reputation, but rather his questionable behavior in a number of situations that led to his crappy reputation on the serps.
Get this: the article that was bashing him actually WON the Pulitzer Prize and was located on pulitzer.org/article-title.html.
He tried to tell me the article was wrong. I told him it was doable but was going to be really damn expensive. I guess that means I'm a whore, but whatever. :)
jWells-AdvancedLifeSkills
· 1 year ago
Hi Tamar, great post.
We all want others to consider our safety so how could we ever justify a lack of consideration for theirs?
Our personal values play a huge role in your ability to reach our goals and achieve success in life. If we do not take the time to figure out what our standards and values are we can easily undermine your own success without even realizing it.
I am not just talking about success in business. I'm talking about success in life. I am talking about your personal sense of self-worth, your relationships, your level of joy and satisfaction.
If you want to have a truly worthwhile and abundant life, you must be clear on what it is right and what is wrong according to your personal code of ethics.
When we want something in life, there is a tendency to justify our actions and excuse behavior that is out of harmony with our deep down sense of right and wrong. We may not even know we are doing it on a conscious level or we may minimize the situation telling ourselves it's no big deal.
The problem is, a on a deeper level we have created a conflict, an internal battleground. If we allow ourselves to continue without correcting the problem, sooner or later that internal conflict will undermine our efforts and we will be forced to compensate.
Moral of the story: We need to be true to what we know to be right. If we sell out we might make money but the cost is way to high.
Webmaster Tips
· 1 year ago
What would you do if you have a client who wants you to change their rankings but their mission conflicts with your interests?
Reputation management is generally a dirty line of work. I've been asked to do it a few times, and in every case the negative coverage was well deserved. Honor is worth more than money...
Melanie Phung
· 1 year ago
Very interesting discussion going on in the comments. You've clearly hit a nerve since so many people are talking about Zicam along with the rep management issue you highlight.
It's a dilemma that hits close to home right now. If I feel the search results over-represent an incident that's long in the past, then I'm generally okay with trying to push that stuff down. That does not mean, however, that I'm going to be making up fake positive buzz to push to the top.
Some clients who need reputation management do so because they had incompetent PR firms that allowed something to grow out of control, beyond reasonable proportion. Others are still digging that hole while they ask for help. The latter group is pretty hard to help and I'm not inclined to try.
Gabe H.
· 1 year ago
Tamar, I wish you the best of luck at getting your senses back working properly. It happened to me a long time ago and they're still messed up. Don't expect anything sudden to happen. It will take a long time if it happens at all. I have been bitter about this issue because the company refuses to admit anything is wrong with Zicam. It's a very long story I won't bore you with but something can potentially happen when zinc gluconate comes in contact with sensitive human olfactory cells. The problem is finding a human Guinea Pig to verify it.
petnos
· 1 year ago
This is a good example for people will face the situation you were in. They will act on a good way i think.
ZICAM Petition
· 1 year ago
I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:
I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. Please encourage others to sign the petition as well. It's free and takes less than a minute of your time.
Thanks!
curtis
· 1 year ago
i took zicam 3 days ago and i love granny apples and now when i eat em they taste bitter and hot wings taste burnt even a margrita tasted nasty and it was even straberry i thought it was cause i was sick but im better now and everything i eat taste nothing like it did i wish i read this before useing it is there anything i can do this is bull *&^%
ZICAM Petition
· 1 year ago
We've tried everything; doctors testing and medicnes to eastern remedies and acupuncture to repair the Zicam caused anosmia. We've contacted the FDA, and lawyers and the media. Best we can do now is to try to get the word out. Tell your family and friends and get them all to sign the petition at ipetitions.com Seach for Zicam. Maybe we can stop the next user from becoming a victim.
Nothing without God
· 1 year ago
I've taken Cold-Eez and Airbourn numerous times and though I can't say they really work (the last time I took them I ended up in the hospital with a super severe cold). As I type right now I have Zicam in both nostriles and I've been taking it for 3 days. My wife has taken Zicam as well. No issues with taste or smell. My guess is that some people have a reaction to zinc.
Tamar Weinberg
· 1 year ago
I'm not sure if it's specific to zinc. I've taken Airborne many times and I have also taken Cold-Eeze before (I *hate* the taste of zinc). I'm not sure what it was, but I don't think it was zinc related because I never encountered this problem until I actually tried Zicam.
Annice Brown
· 1 year ago
As flu season approaches, I use a wildcrafted remedy called Immune Blend from Red Moon Herbs in North Carolina. It's a small local company using the highet quality of ingredients. It's a tincture, take it for 6 weeks - stop for 6 weeks and then the flu season is over. Great stuff and totally affordable.
bev codner
· 1 year ago
guess it would make a good diet product too lol
bev codner
· 1 year ago
but i do have to say when one hears somebody complain about a product they say oh i think i had that too. just too much time on their hands, its a great product.
bev codner
· 1 year ago
one other thing how can you prove you lost your taste buds or sense of smell ? is it like you cant prove your back doesnt hurt? i think its hogwash.
ZiICAM Petition
· 1 year ago
It may be a great product for you. But there are hundreds of people effected the same way by the use of Zicam. The loss of smell and taste is devastating. And until you walk in their shoes you really don't have the knowledge or understanding of the situation to respond with a comment that infers that they are making it up. Why would they? There are plenty of medical problems and/or effects of drugs that cannot be seen, but that does not negate their existence. Why not have a little compassion for those who have suffered at the hands of a company who does not care enough to at least warn their paying customers of the potential harm?
KJR
· 1 year ago
I used the Zicam nasal gel (original spray bottle) once a little over four months ago, and have been in smell/taste hell ever since. The immediate reaction was crazy burning, then I realized I had absolutely no smell or taste at all. Within 24 hours I was at the ENT, and was put on prednisone to reduce inflammation. The two ENTs I have been to are both surprised that this product is still on the market. They have seen too many patients come to their offices with the same injury. Any recovery to date has been minimal, and what I do taste or smell now, tastes/smells terrible. I hope that this will change over time, but I still can't smell my delicious children or my lovely husband. I try to look on the brightside - no smell at all when my two and a half year threw up all over my car last week! - but it's hard to be chipper when I can't even enjoy a glass of wine with friends. I have started a group on Facebook called Warning! Don's Use Zicam. I urge you to join. Tamar - I wish you well and hope things start to improve. Stay positive!
KJR
· 1 year ago
Sorry that Facebook Group should be:
Warning! Don't Use Zicam!
Thanks.
KMJ
· 1 year ago
KJR this really alarms me. I used Zicam on Dec 18 and had severe burning in my nose for about 3 hours after that no sense of taste or smell. 3 days later and I occasionally get a very brief whiff or taste of something. Since Dec 20 the doctor has me on prednisone for 6 days. I am so hopeful it comes back but I hear stories like yours and I dont hear stories that anyone experienced the burning and has recovered. Have you heard of anyone regaining their sense of smell? I love to cook and smell candles and the scents of nature...I worried
EDPD
· 11 months ago
i just got some zicam today and took it for the first time. hope i dont get any of these symptoms. I got the RapidMelt kind and it tastes awful
MBW
· 11 months ago
I use Zicam all the time and have never had a problem...I love it and view it as a miracle drug, at least for me. For those of you who HAVE had a problem, I have a suggestion...
There is a drug called *Periactin*, which is an antihistamine...my son had chemotherapy which effected his taste buds...nothing tasted good, things tasted very metallic. After speaking with other parents, several suggested trying Periactin. It worked great...it normalized his taste buds within just a few days and got him eating again. (He is doing great now, over two years out from diagnosis)
Periactin is available in generic form and is very inexpensive. I am not sure if it will work, but is worth a try.
Like other anti histamines, it can make you a little tired, so it is best to take before bedtime.
give me a break
· 11 months ago
sounds like hooey to me. even if you temporarily lost your sense of taste or smell, i'm sure that is counterweighted by the loss of cough or other cold symptom.
Tamar Weinberg
· 11 months ago
"Give me a break," anyone in their right mind isn't going to use Zicam for more than one or two doses, thus not getting to the point where Zicam actually combats a cold or effectively addresses the cold symptom.
Ironically the "hooey" you speak of has affected hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals.
KJR
· 11 months ago
@ Give me a Break: It's five months since I used Zicam one time and burned my olfactory nerve. Whatever I can smell or taste is distorted, and in many cases nauseating. Quite frankly I would rather be in bed with a cold for a few short days than suffer the aggravation and stress that this one time use has caused me for five long months. Please try to have a little compassion.
Mike
· 9 months ago
OK, I've used Zicam dozens of times, and it's my miracle cold cure! The bottle has directions on it, and if you follow the directions, it works marvellously. If you try to snort the Zicam like you do a nasal spray, it will burn like fire. Don't snort it. Just get the drop (gel) into the nose, and pinch your nose shut for 30 seconds. Don't tilt your head back either. I think that's the problem with most people who've tried it is that they try to snort it up into their sinuses like sinus spray. Bad move. If they don't follow the manufacturer's directons for use, then they deserve to lose their sense of smell and taste for using a product in a manner inconsistent with it's labelling. That's just someone's stupidity being hung around the neck of a very well meaning company that makes a great product. Just like that stupid lady who put the hot McDonald's coffee between her legs and tried to drive her car. What a Dumb Sh1t. People are stupid and interpret things incorrectly because they lack common sense. If all else fails, READ THE DIRECTIONS.
Tamar Weinberg
· 9 months ago
Mike, it's hard to screw up the proper dosage of the oral mist which is the actual medicine that made me lose my taste temporarily. You're talking about nasal spray; I specifically mentioned that the oral mist was the product that caused the problem. ( If you overdosed, that's your only mistake, but all (?) of us didn't.)
While I understand you have good intentions, you're telling us to read the directions. I'm telling you to READ THIS POST because I never talked about the nasal spray. Don't assume that thousands of individuals lost their senses of smell and taste because they can't read. Maybe it actually is a chemical issue with the medication after all.
I know it works for some people, but clearly, it doesn't work for others. That's the bottom line. You're lucky it helped you. Not all of us are that fortunate.
WOOOWW
· 6 months ago
omg guys i have a cold and i cant taste anything?!? im gonna blame the medicine for taking away my taste. Our sense of smell in responsible for about 80% of what we taste. Without our sense of smell, our sense of taste is limited to only five distinct sensations: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and the newly discovered “umami” or savory sensation. All other flavors that we experience come from smell. This is why, when our nose is blocked, as by a cold, most foods seem bland or tasteless. research before you complain, kthnx.
Tamar Weinberg
· 6 months ago
WOOOWWW, so what do you say to those who can smell just fine and can't taste a thing?
Thanks Tamar for your posts! You have been out there "preaching" Zicam was causing loss of smell and taste and now the FDA is too. Good job for putting up with the dumb ass people who rant rather than study the facts. I threw my Zicam away. I saw a news program ask, "What is the best thing to do instead of taking Zicam?" The answer was, "Eat chicken soup!" Grandma was right! She said to eat chicken soup and she can still smell! I also know taking Vitamin C helps me, but make sure you can take Vitamin C. Anway Tamar, thanks again for standing up and warning all of us!
Tom
· 6 months ago
Let’s review:
There have been around ONE BILLION doses of Zicam sold in the past 10 years and around 130 people claim to have lost their sense of smell. Do the math. There is a greater chance that a human will be struck by lightning than lose their sense of smell using Zicam.
Wise up! This is about the AMA and the huge pharmaceutical companies not liking the fact that more and more people were using Zicam and finding out how well it works.
Tamar Weinberg
· 6 months ago
Tom, you really think only 130 people claimed to have lost their sense of smell? I think the FDA only caught wind of 130 offical complaints, but I'm sure there are thousands. I didn't realize I could contact the FDA, for example -- all I used was Google, only to lead me to that page on the 1+ year old class action lawsuit.
One billion is a high number -- care to cite your source on that?
If there's a higher chance that a human will be struck by lightning, then I wonder what the chances are that both father (mine, who also lost his taste from Zicam) and daughter would be struck by lightning!
Please stop defending them. Their product may be effective for some, but for others, all I have to say is that Zicam sucks.
All Comments
On another note, Airborne looks like a healthier product. Were you unsatisfied with it? I personally use the herbal remedy Echinacea at first sign of illness. Works for me every time.
Take care, Tamar!
Public safety comes first but reputation management is something the company may want to engage in. What if a new formula is developed that does not have the same side effects? If the issue is resolved they should move forward to clean things up. If it's not, they deserve whatever bad rep they are getting.
You never know, your post might revive wider interest in the topic and in a few weeks we could be seeing mysterious new pages promoting "Zicam's zincy goodness" appearing in the SERPs ;)
A reputation management consultant who doesn't know somebody with your affliction might not see this a public safety issue...it's certainly less clear than the stuff going on with Celebrex.
Hope you get better.
SEO is all about manipulating the search results for profit (however much you hide that fact, it's true) and you should always bear in mind what the consequences of your actions will be.
PS - hope you're feeling better now!
Zicam? They should pull it until they figure out how to fix their product. And stop naming products with these ridiculously ugly names like Zicam. It sounds like some Greek mythic monster with 8 legs 7 eyes and too many warts to count. "Beware the Zicam beast!"
I wouldn't work with someone if their interests conflicted with mine. I wouldn't help this company lower their rankings for the loss of taste issue.
I think it has a lot to do with confidence. If you're confident that you can find work, which doesn't conflict your interests, then you will turn down this job becuase you know you'll get something else. If you aren't confident, you might accept the job becuase you don't' know where the next one will come from.
Greg
I think Tom's dead on here. You have to pick the clients you feel right about or soon you'll just end up dreading the work. Enjoying your job is far more important than short term revenue.
On a side note I've been using Zicam all week. While it does screw with my taste buds, any effects go away for me in a day or so.
This is really too bad because to this day I swear by the stuff and actually just fought off a cold with it successfully again last week. While my family and everyone in my office has missed many days of work and doctor's visits, I was able to fend it off.
it's a dilemma. here is a client that pays his invoices promptly and is a really super nice guy, except he may be a little delusional about the benefits of his product line. i try to edit him and restrain him from making any egregious overstatements about his supplements, and yes i am helping him rebuild his digital brand. i am trying to toe the ethical line best i can, but i still feel a little icky doing it.
hope you get your taste buds back!
Thanks for posting about this Tamar.
I had a doctor once ask me to fix his "reputation" issues in the serps. I drop it in quotes because his problem wasn't his reputation, but rather his questionable behavior in a number of situations that led to his crappy reputation on the serps.
Get this: the article that was bashing him actually WON the Pulitzer Prize and was located on pulitzer.org/article-title.html.
He tried to tell me the article was wrong. I told him it was doable but was going to be really damn expensive. I guess that means I'm a whore, but whatever. :)
We all want others to consider our safety so how could we ever justify a lack of consideration for theirs?
Our personal values play a huge role in your ability to reach our goals and achieve success in life. If we do not take the time to figure out what our standards and values are we can easily undermine your own success without even realizing it.
I am not just talking about success in business. I'm talking about success in life. I am talking about your personal sense of self-worth, your relationships, your level of joy and satisfaction.
If you want to have a truly worthwhile and abundant life, you must be clear on what it is right and what is wrong according to your personal code of ethics.
When we want something in life, there is a tendency to justify our actions and excuse behavior that is out of harmony with our deep down sense of right and wrong. We may not even know we are doing it on a conscious level or we may minimize the situation telling ourselves it's no big deal.
The problem is, a on a deeper level we have created a conflict, an internal battleground. If we allow ourselves to continue without correcting the problem, sooner or later that internal conflict will undermine our efforts and we will be forced to compensate.
Moral of the story: We need to be true to what we know to be right. If we sell out we might make money but the cost is way to high.
Reputation management is generally a dirty line of work. I've been asked to do it a few times, and in every case the negative coverage was well deserved. Honor is worth more than money...
It's a dilemma that hits close to home right now. If I feel the search results over-represent an incident that's long in the past, then I'm generally okay with trying to push that stuff down. That does not mean, however, that I'm going to be making up fake positive buzz to push to the top.
Some clients who need reputation management do so because they had incompetent PR firms that allowed something to grow out of control, beyond reasonable proportion. Others are still digging that hole while they ask for help. The latter group is pretty hard to help and I'm not inclined to try.
signed:
"ZICAM REMOVAL FROM SHELVES"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/zicam?e
I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add
your signature, too. Please encourage others
to sign the petition as well. It's free and takes less than a minute of your
time.
Thanks!
As I type right now I have Zicam in both nostriles and I've been taking it for 3 days. My wife has taken Zicam as well. No issues with taste or smell. My guess is that some people have a reaction to zinc.
Any recovery to date has been minimal, and what I do taste or smell now, tastes/smells terrible. I hope that this will change over time, but I still can't smell my delicious children or my lovely husband. I try to look on the brightside - no smell at all when my two and a half year threw up all over my car last week! - but it's hard to be chipper when I can't even enjoy a glass of wine with friends.
I have started a group on Facebook called Warning! Don's Use Zicam. I urge you to join.
Tamar - I wish you well and hope things start to improve. Stay positive!
Warning! Don't Use Zicam!
Thanks.
There is a drug called *Periactin*, which is an antihistamine...my son had chemotherapy which effected his taste buds...nothing tasted good, things tasted very metallic. After speaking with other parents, several suggested trying Periactin. It worked great...it normalized his taste buds within just a few days and got him eating again. (He is doing great now, over two years out from diagnosis)
Periactin is available in generic form and is very inexpensive. I am not sure if it will work, but is worth a try.
Like other anti histamines, it can make you a little tired, so it is best to take before bedtime.
Ironically the "hooey" you speak of has affected hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals.
It's five months since I used Zicam one time and burned my olfactory nerve. Whatever I can smell or taste is distorted, and in many cases nauseating. Quite frankly I would rather be in bed with a cold for a few short days than suffer the aggravation and stress that this one time use has caused me for five long months.
Please try to have a little compassion.
While I understand you have good intentions, you're telling us to read the directions. I'm telling you to READ THIS POST because I never talked about the nasal spray. Don't assume that thousands of individuals lost their senses of smell and taste because they can't read. Maybe it actually is a chemical issue with the medication after all.
I know it works for some people, but clearly, it doesn't work for others. That's the bottom line. You're lucky it helped you. Not all of us are that fortunate.
Our sense of smell in responsible for about 80% of what we taste.
Without our sense of smell, our sense of taste is limited to only five distinct sensations: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and the newly discovered “umami” or savory sensation. All other flavors that we experience come from smell.
This is why, when our nose is blocked, as by a cold, most foods seem bland or tasteless.
research before you complain, kthnx.
And further, what do you say about today's FDA announcement?
There have been around ONE BILLION doses of Zicam sold in the past 10 years and around 130 people claim to have lost their sense of smell. Do the math. There is a greater chance that a human will be struck by lightning than lose their sense of smell using Zicam.
Wise up! This is about the AMA and the huge pharmaceutical companies not liking the fact that more and more people were using Zicam and finding out how well it works.
One billion is a high number -- care to cite your source on that?
If there's a higher chance that a human will be struck by lightning, then I wonder what the chances are that both father (mine, who also lost his taste from Zicam) and daughter would be struck by lightning!
Please stop defending them. Their product may be effective for some, but for others, all I have to say is that Zicam sucks.