Applying zinc oxide paste also seems to help. Giving zinc gluconate by mouth to infants seems to help heal diaper rash. Taking zinc by mouth might help to improve blood sugar control by a small amount in people with diabetes. It might also help in people who don't respond to treatment with antidepressants alone. Taking zinc by mouth along with antidepressants seems to improve depression. But it's not clear if zinc helps to prevent colds. Sucking on lozenges containing zinc gluconate or zinc acetate helps shorten the length of a cold in adults. It also might allow for the use of a lower dose of ADHD medication. Taking zinc by mouth along with medicine for ADHD might help reduce certain ADHD symptoms in children. Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Taking zinc by mouth, especially with antioxidant vitamins, might help slow vision loss and prevent age-related vision loss from becoming advanced in people at high risk. Taking zinc by mouth seems to help improve symptoms of this condition. Applying zinc to the skin alone in an ointment doesn't seem to help. But it's unclear how zinc compares to acne medications such as tetracycline or minocycline. Taking zinc by mouth seems to help treat acne.
