Are zinc lozenges safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about zinc lozenges during pregnancy?

1. The daily zinc ceiling in pregnancy is 40 mg for ages 19 and older and 34 mg for ages 14 to 18, against a recommended intake of 11 to 12 mg, and staying between those two numbers is unlikely to increase the chance for birth defects. 1
2. Zinc lozenges or syrup speed recovery from the common cold when started at the very beginning of symptoms, but they do not appear to change how severe the cold feels. 2
3. The trials behind the headline benefit used zinc acetate lozenges delivering about 80 to 92 mg of zinc per day and found colds about 42 percent shorter, a daily amount roughly double the pregnancy upper limit. 3
4. Zinc products used inside the nose may cause loss of the sense of smell, which can be long-lasting or permanent, so nasal gels and swabs are a different risk category from lozenges entirely. 4
5. Oral zinc commonly causes nausea and other digestive symptoms, and sustained high-dose use carries a risk of copper deficiency, which is why studied courses start within 24 hours of symptoms and run less than two weeks. 5

Is zinc lozenges safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Your prenatal vitamin almost certainly already contains zinc, so any lozenge stacks on top of that. Add up both before you decide anything. Zinc on an empty stomach is also a reliable way to make first-trimester nausea worse.
• Second trimester. If you and your clinician decide a short course makes sense, the research design was specific: start within the first day of symptoms and stop well before two weeks. Nobody has studied open-ended daily use in pregnancy.
• Third trimester. Nothing about zinc changes late in pregnancy, but the arithmetic matters more as you accumulate supplements. Bring every bottle and lozenge tin to your next visit so someone can total the daily zinc for you.