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Health

Unproven cold remedies can lurk alongside traditional treatments

CHICAGO - Standing inside a downtown Chicago chain drugstore, shopper Beth McClanahan considered the product Zicam.

"I wouldn't have known it was homeopathic," she said looking at the bright orange label. "The name Zicam sounds very scientific."

Stuffy noses and sore throats are driving many cold sufferers to herbal and homeopathic remedies.

But consumers may not realize they're buying alternative medicines when they choose popular products such as Airborne and Zicam - both shelved alongside traditional medicines in the cold and flu aisles of chain drugstores.

The makers of both medicines have paid for their own clinical studies to test their products. But Airborne and Zicam have not been reviewed for safety and effectiveness by the Food and Drug Administration, unlike prescription and new over-the-counter drugs. The law allows their sale unless the FDA proves them harmful.

"I think it's quite confusing for consumers to try to sort out which things have some data showing they actually work," said Dr. Ronald B. Turner of the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

For drugstore operators, it makes sense to place the remedies where consumers can find them quickly.

For the manufacturers, marketing to a wider audience means more sales.

For cold sufferers, the distinction between conventional and alternative may not be as important as what they believe works.

"There's a reason for the success of these products. Consumers want them and they're effective," said Rider McDowell, co-founder of the company that created Airborne, an herbal supplement.

Last month, the Institute of Medicine, citing the popularity of dietary supplements, called for tougher rules to make sure they're safe and effective.

The law lays out only a few quality controls and labeling rules for herbal products and homeopathic remedies.

The trend of integrating "natural" remedies with mainstream drugs on store shelves started in the early 1990s. A homeopathic brand called Hyland's, previously only sold in natural food stores, gets credit.

After homeopathic products led the way, the herbal supplement Airborne became the most recent cold remedy crossover success.

However, back in the Chicago drugstore, McClanahan wasn't ruling out Zicam after learning it was a homeopathic product.

"I would try it," she said.

But not on this day. She reached for Sudafed. "I need something to clear my head."

[Last modified March 4, 2005, 00:31:15]