"Smell Ya Later" Does Not Apply to Zicam Smell Loss Plaintiffs

Boston, MAThe incidence of Zicam smell loss may have been a surprise to users not expecting such Zicam side effects. However, Zicam loss of smell is not news to manufacturer Matrixx, which has received adverse reaction reports with regard to Zicam smell issues since 1999.

A number of lawsuits have been filed. One such lawsuit, states the August 10th issue of Massachusetts Lawyer's Weekly, was initiated by Robin Alt. Described as a regular customer of Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Alt claims that she permanently lost her sense of smell in 2003—a condition that baffled her doctors until June of this year when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a health alert over Zicam.

That's when Alt and her doctors finally realized what was causing her problem.

Zicam lawsuits are not new, according to Lawyer's Weekly. Matrixx was saddled with 400 lawsuits between 2003 and 2006 and reportedly reached a $12 million settlement with 340 plaintiffs.

A story published June 17 in the New York Times summarized the issue and invited readers to comment on Zicam. The newspaper received hundreds of responses. While some respondents were happy with the Zicam product the majority had similar complaints.

The comments of Judy Gross are representative of many a Zicam user. She wrote on June 29th that she used Zicam gel swabs on three occasions in February of this year "and have completely lost my sense of smell AND taste…

"It's awful not being able to smell or taste…or cook," Gross continues. "I actually find myself slipping into depression at times, especially when we go out to eat or get invited over to a friend's and everyone else is enjoying their food. I might as well be eating a plate of sawdust…"

New York Times reader George Murphy is one for whom Zicam works. He started using Zicam ten years ago and his sense of smell is fine. Others have used Zicam sparingly and after losing their sense of smell, regained it after stopping the product.

But most are like Stephen King, who first used Zicam in 2007 and writes that after using it a couple of times he felt a burning sensation in his nose. He began noticing that he couldn't smell smoke or rain—and then one day his wife discovered a dead cat in the family's barn. Dead five days, the carcass gave off a stench that was unbelievable and King's wife could not get close to it.

King couldn't smell it at all…