Many peeps I know, at the first sign of a cold, smear the inside of their nose with Zicam Gel swabs, in the belief that it will prevent the cold from taking hold, or lessen its severity. While this may or may not be true, the FDA has issued a warning stating that the use of Zicam nasal swabs may be associated with a loss of sense of smell, which could be of long-lasting or permanent. The FDA Notice is here.

This could be a bummer, given that most of our sense of taste relies on olfaction. In addition, as the FDA notes, the loss of sense of smell could prevent one from detecting the smell of gas, smoke or other dangerous stuff.

The flip side is that this could be a good thing if you find yourself surrounded by people with world class B.O., or you are in regular close contact with a person who has dramatic bowel windage issues.

PRS reports, you decide.