Earth Clinic Mobile: Home Remedies for People and Pets

Zinc for Smell Loss

5 star (3)		60%
4 star (1)		20%
(1)		20%

Jen (Australia) on 01/30/2021:
5 out of 5 stars

I lost my sense of smell due to zinc deficiency. Covid also burns through zinc, and bioavailable copper. But taking a zinc supplement like Zn picolinate alone is short term ok, but bad for copper long term. Best to eat something like oysters (high in both zinc and copper). Zinc ionophores might also be relevant eg quercetin. Make sure iron levels are not high, as iron feeds infections eg ferritin under 40, saturation under 35%. Iron chelation is being used in covid treatment. Natural iron chelators include cabbage, Bragg Apply Cider V, green tea, quercetin, lactoferrin, IP6. Cheers.

Ed (Fla.) on 01/28/2021:
5 out of 5 stars

For over 60 plus year I have been told that the loss of taste or smell is as a result of zinc deficiency. I know we are told not to take large amounts of zinc, but for many years I took 100mg or more every day. Everyone must make their own decisions on what and how much to take. Pray on it.

Be Well,

Ginger G (Ohio) on 10/08/2018:
4 out of 5 stars

I have had bouts with loss of smell and taste for a few years now...Prednisone used to bring it back but that no longer works. Last night I chewed a garlic clove and I almost tasted it a little. took a zinc pill and today I tasted a little, haven't tasted for about a month now. I swabbed out my nose with caster oil without hexane and tonight I will try the drops. I'll let you know as we go along...

Lydia (Bergenfield, Nj) on 03/28/2016:
0 out of 5 stars

Hello, I am not sure what made me start looking again for any updates on ideas to get my senses of taste and smell back. Four years ago, a restaurant customer suggested I take zicam zinc swabs for my cold. I figured, sure, it's natural, right? It was a month after using these swabs that I found I couldn't taste or smell anything.

I am a chef. My life was over.

I hired cooks and continued in my restaurant as if nothing happened, but in fact, my world as I knew it ended.

With no insurance, I started looking and found the Taste and Smell Clinic in Washington DC. I visited and was put on theophylline...and encouraged to go back every few months. With no job, and no insurance, this was impossible. And it has continued in this fashion for all of these years.

Upon discovery that I have Hashimoto's Disease for the past 10 years or so -- it took many endocrinologists to figure this out -- I wondered now that I am on meds that are supposed to help me with my horrible thyroid situation that maybe it has helped me to get some of my smell/taste back. Not much, but I have noticed a bit of a difference.

Have you heard of Hashimoto patients and anosmia? I am going to try the castor oil -- and let you know how it goes.

Thank you,

Lydia

Dallas (Amesbury, Ma) on 03/14/2014:
5 out of 5 stars

Hi. I do not have this problem but I have heard that taking zinc, after a while, will help with the inability to smell. This can be a serious problem as, if you have no sense of smell, you cannot tell when food is bad, which happened to my mom last week, and she got VERY sick. She would never try zinc before; maybe now she will. Check online for dosages. I think 50 mg./day is tops. You CAN overdose on zinc so be careful. It may take a few weeks to improve.

Return to Smell Loss