injuries to throat and mouth caused by zicam

I am having problems too. Sour taste in my mouth. Orange tongue and nothing tastes right. I took them for about 4 days this week. Hope my tastebuds come back too. Does anyone else have a really orange tongue?

no orange tongue, but tongue looks irritated and slightly red, rather than pink. Bitter taste in mouth is beginning to improve, and water now tastes ok. I am optimistic that all of this will eventually go away, since there are slight improvements. However, it has been about 3-4 weeks since I last used the Zicam, so it does take time. Good luck and hang in.

I'm in the same boat, and very surprised!

I took the zicam oral mist for two days, and now i have a sore tongue, and some drinks taste funny, and i'm the taste of food is a little dull.  and the sore tongue is preventing me from eating crunchy things.

this is not fun.  I'm hoping it clears up.  i'm definitely telling everyone I know!

Sorry to hear that you are having problems too. There seems to be many many people (too many) who are having similar issues after using any of the zicam products! They need to get these products off the market. I am still experiencing bad taste in mouth w/ certain foods and my tongue is still slightly sensitive and irritated, however it is much better than it was. I certainly hope that the problem goes away completely. I do not want to have these problems forever! Good luck to you, and hope that things improve soon. Let me know.

I have not been able to taste my food for about 3 days now. 3 days after I stopped using Zicam. I thought I was going crazy! I have been in a complete state of panic. Then tonight I decided to do a little research and came across this thread. Although I am still in a complete state of panic; I am a little relieved to know that I'm NOT crazy. I hope this goes away! I do not wish this feeling on my worst enemy. I think a call to my lawyer is in order.

Yes!! i have a sore right in the center of the roof of my mouth and i only took zicam for about 2 days.. hurts a lot !!

Anyone have severe throat pain from zicam?? I had been using the mist spray. I figured it was from the cold however I've never had a sore throat last this long and be this horribly painful. Swallowing alone is very difficult but when I try to eat it stings and burns. At first it would subside when drinking water immediately after a bite. Then I realized I needed to start eating only very bland foods / no spices, citric, etc. Now I find that even drinking water by itself causes a severe burn when I swallow, to the point that my hands reactively shake as I try to do it. It's been about 3 days now and it doesn't seem to be letting up- only getting worse. (I stopped using zicam about 3 days ago. I can't imagine the pain if I tried to at this point.) No shortness of breath or anything like that. Other cold symptoms are pretty much gone with the exception of a little bit of a lingering runny nose.

I developed sores in my mouth several days after taking Zicam melt aways. I used them for more than 2 days.  First my tongue got a fuzzy feeling...then I had mouth sores on the under side of my lips.  It is powerful stuff...I think I should use it sparingly.

jan, I just saw your post. I had the same problem about 8 months ago. It was awful, and problem lasted for quite a long time. I highly recommend that you stop using the zicam and just tough out your cold ...I am happy to say that I am no longer experiencing any adverse reactions and I am fine. WILL NEVER USE ANY FORM OF ZICAM AGAIN! Hope you feel better soon!

So, here we are 9 years after the original post and people are still having problems with Zicam.  Why isn't this off the market by now?

I have had great success with the Zicam melt tablets. I've used them for probably no more than 2 days in a row at any one time, and felt that they dramatically shortened the duration and severity of my colds on perhaps 5 occasions.

Today, my positive experience with it changed, however.  I tried the oral spray for the first time today and after my first use I noticed a strong bitter flavor in my mouth.  The top of my tongue also went numb.  Most disconcerting, however, is the loss in my ability to taste.  I can perceive flavors only if I force air from my mouth to my nose while food is in my mouth, but other than that, my ability to taste is similar to what one might experience with total and complete nasal congestion.

As I type this, the numbness on my tongue has subsided somewhat, only to be replaced with a rough, sore feeling similar to what one would feel after seriously burning one's tongue.  I still can't taste properly.  Overally, it feels as if my tongue was burned badly.

If you are trying to decide whether to take Zicam, I would recommend against it, even despite my success with the tablets.  The possibility of losing one's sense of taste is too great a risk to take for the benefit of shortening a cold.  Additionally, I feel that any company that continues to sell a product knowing that it can inflict such damage must be morally bankrupt, and I will not support such disregard for others by purchasing their products.

I still don't know whether my taste buds and tongue will recover.  If they don't, I will have experienced losing one of the greatest pleasures in life.   I will update again if things change. *praying*   *fingers crossed*

Wow.  Americans LOVE get rich quick schemes.  Whether it's hot coffe at McDonalds or a potential Zicam windfall.  Got ME 340K !!

Zicam has a little bit of colloidal zinc in it.  THAT'S IT.  The reason they are still in business is because any lawyer with common sense knows that zinc is not a dangerous substance.

The FDA "advised" that zicam not be used in a nasal spray or gel and that is why Zicam stopped selling it.

I have used Zicam for about 8 years now and I still SPRAY it in my nasal passages.  I can still smell just as good as day one and it has spared me the misery of countless colds and painful sore throats over that time.   I wish Zicam would contact me to testify against all these gold diggers looking to get rich quick and making it ever harder for me to get things for myself that really work!

If you're afraid of Zicam here's my advice....DON'T USE IT

Leave it for me and those who benefit from it.

Yes, I took the melts and now I have severe throat pain (burning, raw feeling). I can hardly talk. Thank you so much for sharing your ordeal. I now realize it is not my cold getting worse, but the side effects of Zicam.

I have been using Zicam for years and swear by it. I used to use the cotton swabs then when they were no longer available switched to the rapid melts and drops. I've never had an issue with loss of taste, sores in my mouth, irritation in my mouth or any of the sorts in this thread. I started to get a really bad cold the night of my birthday- doubled up on these and poof gone before morning. My boyfriend currently has had a really bad cold for a week and I've been taking these each day as I'm exposed to him and every now and then I'll feel my glands start to hurt, again I take a few of these and nothing hits! Knock on wood but I think Zicam is the best, swear by it and feel either it works with your body or it doesn't but not everyone has the same effect so I wouldn't rule it out due to fear of the unknown!

I have been using Zicam for years and swear by it. I used to use the cotton swabs then when they were no longer available switched to the rapid melts and drops. I've never had an issue with loss of taste, sores in my mouth, irritation in my mouth or any of the sorts in this thread. I started to get a really bad cold the night of my birthday- doubled up on these and poof gone before morning. My boyfriend currently has had a really bad cold for a week and I've been taking these each day as I'm exposed to him and every now and then I'll feel my glands start to hurt, again I take a few of these and nothing hits! Knock on wood but I think Zicam is the best, swear by it and feel either it works with your body or it doesn't but not everyone has the same effect so I wouldn't rule it out due to fear of the unknown!

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Dont woory you  have to know that you are not alone with this problem.