11:30 AM Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday, May 4, 2004

By Beverly Kidd and Brady Aguilar / NewsChannel 3

Every year, 62 million American catch colds, and many of them rely on nasal sprays to treat one of the most common symptoms -- a runny nose. Chances are you've used one of these sprays, but did you ever consider that you could be risking your sense of smell?

One Valley woman said she didn't bargain for that particular side effect when she used an over-the-counter nasal spray to treat her cold-induced runny nose.

"I didn't think anything of it until I made my husband a sandwich," explained Ruth Robinson. "He said, 'I'm not eating that,' and I said 'Why?' He said, "Smell it ... it's bad.' ... I called my doctor."

Robinson said she can't smell anything, and blames the use of Zicam® Cold Remedy Nasal Gel. It's an over-the-counter homeopathic cold remedy Robinson used to treat symptoms she was suffering back in December.

"It takes a lot of the joy out of [life]," Robinson said. "I live on two acres, but can't smell the flowers. Food doesn't taste appealing because I can't smell it."

Valley lawyer Dan Radacosky has filed a lawsuit on behalf of three people against Phoenix-based Matrixx Initiatives, the makers of Zicam®.

"We want the makers and the developers of Zicam® to accept responsibility for a dangerous product," he said. "We believe that they are avoiding the issue of the damage that has been done to these people."

Matrixx Initiatives said the allegations about its products first surfaced in September after a Colorado doctor tried to link an active ingredient in Zicam® to anosmia, the clinical term of loss of smell.

"We've asked him to share his information with us. He has not," said Carl Johnson, president of Matrixx Initiatives. "We are saying that we are unaware of anything in the medical literature that supports his allegations. Our own clinical studies do not support the allegations. [T]he consensus they [the advisory board] arrived at was that they did not see any substance to this."

Valley doctor Susan Wilder of Lifescape Medical Associates recommends Zicam® to her patients, but cautions as with any drug, you need to be informed.

"I think there is some valid reason to be cautious about it," she said. "Anything we put into our bodies has the propensity to do harm or to have beneficial effects. I think we need to be informed about what we're using and accept the risks as long as were well informed about them."

Dr. Alan Hirsch, the director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, said, he's had at least 50 patients since 1999 -- all complaining of smell loss after using Zicam® Cold Remedy Nasal Gel.

"Why some individuals develop a problem and some don't, it's not clear," he said. "Maybe their nasal anatomy is different, but the bottom line is that enough people are having a problem with it. I think at least they should be warned this is a potential problem and use at their own risk."

"I just want this not to happen to anybody else," Robinson said.

For more information about Zicam® and its products, visit www.Zicam.com.