ZYRTEC Reviews (CETIRIZINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 2.0 (1816 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ZYRTEC with similar:
Type: Over-the-counter Drug
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Results are sorted by Age from youngest to oldest (reviews with no age reported listed first). Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 |
More on ZYRTEC: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ZYRTEC | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 2 | Allergies, Asthma | My daughter has been on Zyrtec for 2 1/2 years and has exhibited all of the horrible behavior problems other parents talk about on this site. We never made the connection. She was kicked out of a preschool; had a behavioral psychologist examination; was moved to private school and punished over and over again for poor behavior. I can not believe that pediatric allergists are continuing to prescribe this drug! | I can not believe that pediatric allergists are continuing to prescribe this drug. And if they are (because it does help with allergy symptoms) why aren't they asking the right questions at follow-up exams? Ask about behavioral changes? They always take careful weight and height measurements to ensure that steroid use for asthma is not inhibiting growth rates...why not ask about behavior issues? When I finally talked with our doctor about this site she did admit that some other parents were having problems and we should try something else. But we've lost more than 2 years during crucial brain development time. Is anyone suing? | F | 5 | 2 years | 9/6/2007 | 2 | seasonal allergies | My 5-year-old developed an extremely volatile mood tending toward tearfulness, depression, erratic sleep patterns. This occurred on the day I started giving him Children's Zyrtec and ended the day after he ceased to take it. | M | 5 | 5 days | 3/3/2009 | 2 | asthma allergies | speech issues. stuttering. emotional outbursts. Night terrors. body pain. | M | 5 | 1 days 20 | 6/15/2020 | 1 | Seasonal allergies | Irritable, moody, night terrors. | My kid never had issues sleeping and was generally a very happy child. The only thing I changed was I switched from Claratin to Zyrtec and he changed. Moods and all. I did not connect that to Zyrtec till I noticed that he began having night terrors. I took him off 24 hours ago. Let's hope things get better. | M | 5 | 4 days Childrens 1X day | 5/3/2021 | 1 | Son | Follow up to the 1/16/2020 date added post. My son has been off this medicine for 4 days and complete turnaround in behavior, attitude and overall happiness. He has even commented on how much better he feels. | F | 5 | 15 times 5mg 1X day | 1/17/2020 | 1 | 5 year old son | Back in Nov of 2018 my 5 year old son was prescribed zyrtec on an as needed basis to help with seasonal allergies. We would give him a pill as needed either in the am or before bed. Between 2018 and the summer of 2019 we really hadn't given him much of the medication but from time to time we were called by the tk teacher stating our son had a bad day; couldn't control his emotions. My husband did not think much of it. When he started kindergarten in 2019 we started giving him a pill here and there to help w/ his allergies. Again, we started getting calls from the school that our son was in a blind rage. Unable to control himself. Lashing out at the smallest of things. Displaying OCD traits due to high anxiety (washing his hands until they were red and cracked). One night he spoke to my husband and I telling us he didn't like his face, or hair or himself. It was a very sad moment coming from a child that normally was the happiest kid ever. We felt his pain and were concerned that | Please, don't let your child take Zyrtec. My husband and I spent hours with a counselor questioning our parenting skills. We punished or took away things he loved as a consequence for his bad behavior, which wasn't his faught. We had secured an appointment for our son with a counselor because we felt there was something deeper that we couldn't help him through. Truth is it was the zyrtec as in so many other cases. It's very sad to think doctors think it's ok for this to be prescribed to children. It crosses over the blood brain barrier and creates so may of these side affects. I never post on any sights but feel this experience is so important and how badly medicine affects our children others know about it. Find another alternative...... | F | 5 | 15 times 5mg 1X day | 1/16/2020 | 1 | seasonal allergies | defiant behavior | My child had been taking Zyrtec for 3 years. It was a fluke that we discovered her behavior was related to her taking zyrtec. We had run out and skipped a couple of days. Over the last year, we had been having problems with her at school/home with defiant/violent behavior. She's such a sweet child. Most of the time she didn't know why she was doing what she was doing. She began to tell us she hated herself because she couldn't "be good". It broke out hearts. We had been taking her to a counselor and were getting her screened for ADHD. Don't give this drug to your children! My beautiful little girl is back to being her sweet self. Is anyone suing???? I can't believe something isn't being done. My poor baby suffered for 3 years!!! | F | 5 | 3 years | 3/10/2009 | 1 | Coughing from post-nasal drip | I gave my 5 1/2 yr old son this medication and within a day he was moody and miserable. I didn't immediately connect it with the medicine, I just thought he wasn't feeling well. I gave it to him for about 4 days and also started my 8 yr old on it when he started with a similiar cold. They were at each others throats, fighting and generally irritable. I stopped the medicine for both of them and it took about 2 days for them to be back to normal. What a drastic reaction they both had. I will never give it to them again. | M | 5 | 4 days | 4/24/2009 | 1 | My son | His behavior gradually became very agressive. He was having sleep issues, anger problems and would cry very easily. He mentioned that he could not control it. I have stopped using the medication and I his behavior has returned to normal. It was so bad at one point that we were going to start him in therapy. Now I do not see the need for that. | M | 5 | 4 months | 6/7/2009 | 1 | Indoor allergies (cats and dust) | extreme mood swings/ irritable, axiety, lack of concentration/ focus, sluggishness, constant complainging of body aches and stomach ache | My 5 year old daughter began taking Zyrtec 3 months ago and I noticed some immediate (within a week of beginning Zyrtec) changes. The slightest conflict produces crying and tantrums that I have never before seen in her. She constantly complains that her legs ache and stomach hurts. She worries about ridiculous things she never was concerned with before, and her grandmother has even gone so far as to call her paranoid. Again, this has all started only since I began giving her the medicine and this site has been eye opening for me. The worst part- she is still having allergy symptoms. She took her last dose of Zyrtec last night and she is scheduled to see an ENT doctor to see if her allergy symptoms are not an anatomical issue. | F | 5 | 3 months | 12/4/2009 | 1 | allergies | My children took this. My son turns into another person..no reasoning, hyper, mean, whining, clingy, waking up at night...He took it from the day he turned 2 until around the middle of the summer. I was at my wits end..I stopped zyrtec...new person? My daughter becomes clingy, emotional, has anxiety, emotional mess...no more, no more. Nordic Naturals ProEFA fish oil (369)literally stopped his allergies/eczema in its tracks...maybe another option for some of you out there..Never again..A runny nose for a few days is a whole lot better than this. My children are 2 and 5. | F | 5 | 6 months | 11/10/2009 | 1 | allergies | When my son was very young he took Zyrtec for his allergies. During this time, the smallest thing would make him get extremely upset and angry. He would throw a fit for a couple hours and nothing we could do would settle him. He had no pain tollerance as well. Our older child had to have perfect behavior with him because anything could set him off. It got so bad I thought I was going to have to take him to a therapist. He had been such an easy going child before this. Fortunately he was a very articulate child and during these episodes he would be crying saying he couldn't control how he felt and didn't know why he was so angry. I read a blog that others had written about the same reaction, unable to control anger and no pain tolerance. I immediately took him off the Zyrtec and he returned immediately back to his sweet easy going self. He has been off it for about 7 years now and is the sweetest child you could ever meet. DO NOT PUT YOUR CHILD ON ZYRTEC!!!! | M | 5 | 2 years 1X day | 10/16/2013 | 1 | Allergies asthma | I had occasionally given my son Zyrtec or generic cetrizine 5mg during allergy season, but when the doctors prescribed a 10mg dose daily is when I finally put 2 and 2 together and the side effects really got bad. Each day of that week he got progressively worse with crazy out of control tantrums. He’s always been on the emotional side so I’ve seen a fit but these were awful, kicking, thrashing, head banging, hitting, like blind with rage, totally not reachable. He literally could not control it even when I could get him to hear me. It was so so scary. I can only imagine how scary it must’ve been for him. | M | 5 | 5 days 5-10mg | 10/15/2017 | 1 | allergies | nightmares, mood swings, hallucinations, crying outburst, bed wetting accidents, facial twitches | my 5 yr old son started taking zyrtec and started having these side effects quickly. I didn't relate it to the medicine, until the facial twitches caused me to do a cross refrence of zyrtec & facial tics...it led me to this web site. I took him off of it right away. Immediatly his behavioral effects stopped, but the facial tics just stopped a few weeks ago. we saw a pediatric neurologist who has seen this type of reactions before. It has taken 2 months to get him back. I am posting this so that I can help another mother that may be in the same panic I was a few months ago. Please feel free to email me if I can help. | M | 5 | 1 months | 8/30/2007 | 1 | seasonal allergies | stomach pain w/upsetting bm's, restlessness, unusual tantrums, nightmare's, crying, mood & personality changes | After not having much success with Benedryl or Clariton for my 5 year old's allergies, my pediatrician reccomended Zyrtec. Initially the stomach aches started. Each night my son would wake up and come into my bed complaining of nightmares, something he had not done in years. Witihn 3 days I noticed his inability to sit still, which became significantly worse each day! By day 5 he was out of control, a totally different child!! And, as one other parent wrote, non-compliant, desrcribes it well, way beyond what is normal for a 5 year old boy, and very unlike any behavior he's exhibited in the past. By the evening, he had a full blown tantrum of which the likes he has not exhibited since a toddler. I decided to check this Zyrtec out and boy am I glad. He will never take another pill. I am outraged that my pediatrician never mentioned this, nor were these side effects listed on the information sheet provided with the prescription. | M | 5 | 5 days | 7/11/2007 | 1 | Allergies | Emotional, irratability, temper tantrums, agressive behavior, edgey, | My 5 year old son has been on zyrtec of and on for 2 years. He recently had his dose increased to 10cc from 5cc. He has been irrated, emotional, and agressive since we increased his dose two months ago. I have gotten calls from preschool, family members, and friends about his change in attitude. I was really concerned something happened to him. Something did happen...zyrtec. I am taking him off immediately. I have spent too many sleepless nights, and punished him too much for something that a doctor should have told us. | M | 5 | 2 months | 5/16/2007 | 1 | mild allergies | hallucinations, trouble urinating, facial twitches, nightmares,insomnia,flushing,visual spotting,headaches,loss of appetite, staring in space,loss of reality,extreme fright,loss of social skills,not making sense when he talks, crying, negative behavior,psychotic | It has been four weeks since his last dose of Zyrtec and he is still not back. I am sick with worry and am afraid that this is permanent damage. He went from being a super star at preschool to jumping on tables and crying and screaming. He had a ct scan and eeg both were normal. Pediatric neurologist said that it was a toxic reaction to zyrtec and it would wear off. How long does it take to wear off? If anyone has any insight to calm down a distraught mother please e-mail me. I have been crying every day and I am so afraid he won't come back. | M | 5 | 3 weeks | 6/1/2007 | 1 | allergies | My sons took this for allergies, ages 4 and 5, with bad dreams and restless sleep as a result. Also my 5 year old had daytime hallucinations, asked if he was dreaming, said he saw things that we didn't, it was really weird. | I would not give this to children unless their allergies were unbearable. I would rather treat with Vicks Vaporub at night than have a wigged out child. | M | 5 | 3 months | 4/20/2007 | 1 | Hayfever | Bad behaviour! More than usual! | My son has special needs and his behaviour is not great as it is! He has been taking this medicine for 2 days and I've noticed a huge decline in his behaviour. | M | 5 | 2 days | 6/13/2007 | 1 | 5-yr-old daughter has allergies | Mood swings, irritability, tearfulness, fatigue, sleepiness. | My 5-yr-old daughter has seasonal allergies and we tried OTC Zyrtec for the first time. It worked great on her allergy symptomms, however her behavior changed and I couldn't tell why until weeks later a friend of mine told me about her daughter's experience with Zyrtec. My normally happy and sociable daughter was cranky all the time, and would have meltdowns similar to those of a 2-year-old. She was crying non-stop on some days, and just seemed overall miserable and depressed. I have stopped giving her Zyrtec 2 days ago and am hoping to see improvement soon. I am glad I stumbled upon this website and read all the comments. I'm not alone!! | F | 5 | 3 weeks | 4/20/2008 |