ZYRTEC Reviews (CETIRIZINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 2.0 (1816 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ZYRTEC with similar:
Type: Over-the-counter Drug
|
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 |
| 1 | itching/allergies | although the zyrtec did control the itching at night, my daughter complained about feeling 'not real', pretend like in a story. She said she felt like she had water in her ears; a stuffy feeling that comes & goes. She said it started around the time 1st grade began. I connected that was when she started taking zyrtec as prescribed by her PCP. | we stopped the zyrtec and after 3 days, she said she said she was feeling more real! I definitely believe it was the zyrtec, especially after reading this database. I was actually looking for a psychiatrist thinking she had a mental health issue. We're turning to homeopath treatments to relieve her allergies now. | F | 7 | 10 months | 8/16/2009 | 1 | child's chronic allergies | My son, experiencing restlessness, involuntary jerking of extremities, palpitations, wheezing, numbness of hands, stomach achee, overall feeling of illness. | I'm so hopeful these side effect disappear because they are worse then what zyrtec is supposed to do for my child. Everything put into you're body is a risk, but 2 weeks later I'm not interested in this medication and strongly advise you to think twice before using. Nothing scarier then your child gasping for air. | M | 7 | 2 weeks 5ml liquid | 2/4/2016 | 1 | My son's seasonal allergies | My son, age 7, has been experiencing extreme anxiety recently, including feelings of paranoia, stress and worry. It's been frightening! He's been taking Zyrtec for about a month and although it helped his allergies, it's changed his personality. We have stopped Zyrtec and are hoping he is back to his happy self soon. | Please remember to contact the FDA with any drug side effects. They can be reached at www.fda.gov/medwatch or 1-800-FDA-1088. The makers of Zyrtec need to know the harm that their product can cause. | F | 7 | 4 weeks 1X day | 5/23/2017 | 1 | seasonal allergies | My son is unable to take ANY of the 24 hour allergy medications...he becomes enraged, physically aggressive, tantrums, runs away from school...my very sweet boy turns into a demonic entity...we have tried Zyrtec, Allegra, Claritin, and their generics all have turned him into the most impossible child. We tried the OTC nasal steroids this spring...what an amazing difference...he was back to his normal boy behaviors!!! | M | 7 | 10 days 10mg | 8/2/2014 | 1 | Chronic Sinus Infections | Irritability, crying, sour throat, tiredness When we tryed taking her off, our normally well focused child has problems following directions, focusing, itching and stomach pain. None of these problems existed prior to medication. She was originally seen for sleep apnea type symptoms and chronic sinus infections. | If we use this drug in combination with Singular, the sleep apnea type syptoms seem to go away, but I wonder if their masking it because their making her sooo tired. I did sleep with her one night and she still had irregular breathing during sleep after taking just zyrtec. When we initially went to our Dr. about our daughter (she was 3 1/2) waking at night saying she couldn't breath and having constant sinus infections, we were sent to a ENT that said there was nothing wrong with her. We insisted something was wrong, her beathing was irregular at night. Our Ped. referred us to an allergist who put her on Zyrtec and when that wasn't enough, he put her on Singular as well. I hated the way she seemed like she was a zombie, so we just put her on nasal spray. We finally took her off everything and she experienced extreme itching in her ears and stomach pain. I agree that this drug is addicting, I put her back on and her itching and stomach pain stopped. After reading all these notes, I am t | F | 7 | 2 years | 5/18/2006 | 1 | Allergies | severe moodiness and tempers, lack of concentration, poor performance in school | My son started taking this medicine after allergy testing showed he was allergic to 90% of the allergens in the test. The medicine did seem to help his allergy symptoms. Meanwhile, my son started having lots of problems in school concentrating eventually leading us to getting him tested for seizures (per his pediatrician) and weekly meetings with a therapist/counselor. I asked both his pediatrician and allergist if any of this allergy or asthma medicines could be causing these problems and was told no. Meanwhile, he was barely passing kindergarten, then first grade, then second grade even though testing showed he was above average intelligence. This spring, it seemed like his allergies were getting worse so I stopped Zrytec and tried Claritin and next thing I see is that he is making 100s and getting good conduct marks at school. I didn’t put 2 and 2 together until I gave some Zrytec to his little brother and suddenly he started having big brother type mood swings and troub | M | 7 | 3 years | 3/7/2006 | 1 | Seasonal allergies | Anger, fatigue, emotional outbursts including crying and yelling, clothes and hair bothering her, stomachache. My daughter has taken Zyrtec (generic) as needed for a couple of years. This time around, she had been on it for about a wk or so but still complained about her allergies. We also noticed her fatigue and thought that she might have a virus but we kept her on the drug. I even slightly increased the dosage this wk (per her doctor's orders) and split it so she took some in the AM and some in the PM but she still was complaining about not feeling well. This wk she has been very emotional over minor things and started to complain about her stomach hurting. Then, she said, "I am mad but don't know why." Later, she said she went to her room and felt like throwing all of her stuffed animals off of her bed, but didn't have any explanation as to why she would want to do so... | She is normally a very laid back and go-with-the-flow type of child so this was concerning. She even said that her heart was beating very fast. I quickly took her off Zyrtec & called her doctor, who simply suggested a different drug because of the fatigue & didn't acknowledge the behavior issues. Last night, after being off of Zyrtec for almost 24 hrs, she said she didn't feel well & she didn't know why, thought her heart was racing & asked if she could go to the doctor in the AM. That was it. We immediately went to the ER of the local children's hospital where she had an EKG that was normal. The doctor there said he sees this problem all the time with antihistamines in children. He stated that some children just go off the wall crazy with them & that it would take a few days for her to return to normal & that if she wasn't better by then to see her dr. That night was horrible & it was almost midnight before she could calm down enough to sleep. Her clothes were bothering her & she was worried about everything. Tonight will be 48 hours w/no meds & she seems to be doing better today w/only one small crying incident about her hair, one time where she said her pants made her feel bad (angry) & one time she said she was mad at her sister & blamed the meds. (LOL) I just want my girl back. I hope this helps someone else. | F | 7 | 3 weeks 1X day | 5/12/2012 | 1 | nasal allergies | aggression, violent tendencies, tantrums, severe anxiety | We gave my son Zyrtec on and off for a year (age 5-6). At that time, he had exhibited some worrisome behavior--aggression and anxiety. But since we didn't give it to him all of the time (just seasonally), his aggression came and went. We thought it was a behavior issue, and even took him to see a therapist for a few sessions. After my daughter (3 yrs.) had a VERY bad reaction to Zyrtec (night terrors), we took my son off of it completely, thinking maybe it would help with his bedwetting, which it did. Unfortunately, a year later, my son's allergies were so bad that I, without remembering what I had read online, started him back on Zyrtec for his really bad allergies. I was truly just looking for some relief for him. Within a week, he was so violent towards his sister for no reason. He had uncontrollable rage, he told me he was stupid and he wished he was dead. Even his handwriting was illegible during this time! He was able to "control" his symptoms at school, but as soon as he got in the car to come home, the frustration and rage would start. He also experienced severe anxiety about things as simple as going to a new park or going to his basketball games. It took me 5 horrible weeks to put it together this time. Again, we tried a family therapist to help deal with the behavior. Good news is that within 24-48 hours of taking him off of the medicine, he was back! No rage, no hitting or throwing, he's able to resolve conflicts again. I am so grateful t | M | 7 | 5 weeks 1 tsp. 1X day | 3/9/2012 | 1 | allergies | My 7yr old son was on this drug and he will NEVER take it again. Zyrtec made him a different person. He started hurting his sister, was very moody, depressed, etc. Two days after I took him off of it, he was better. I took him off about 6 months ago, and he has not hurt his sister since being off zyrtec. His allergies are okay-he does allergy shots. | Watch your child for agression and depression while on this drug! | M | 7 | 3 years 5mg 1X day | 3/15/2010 | 1 | Allergies | My 7yr. old son had been taking this for his allergies. He has been very hard to deal with. Very angry, hateful wanting to hurt himself, trying to hurt others. He has said he wants to kill himself a few times over the last month. Lots of crying every day over nothing. I did not know that it was this drug doing this to him. He has been off it for three months now and is doing wonderful. He came to me and said he does not feel mean anymore. Mom, I'm back to my old self again. I was so happy to hear this. He has not had any crying, mornings have been great. He does take Advair 115/21 still now I'm wondering if this is doing something to him also. | M | 7 | 8 months 10mg 1X day | 2/10/2010 | 1 | Allergies | Change in behavior of our 7 year old son. He also did not feel right on the medication. | Did not clear up the runny nose. It did lower occurrances of sneezing. | M | 7 | 3 weeks | 6/10/2001 | 1 | Severe Allergies | Stomach ache, throat pain, and severe stomatitis | M | 7 | 3 days | 10/1/2007 | 1 | Allergies | My daughter had behavioral changes...she cried constantly. She was honestly depressed. She never smiled. She was also very itchy on Zyrtec. After about 6 months she developed a motor tic. It took awhile to link it to Zyrtec, but within a month of going off Zyrtec the motor tic went away. She was also able to smile and laugh again. | Zyrtec was a horrible experience for my daughter. | F | 7 | 1 years | 10/30/2008 | 1 | Alergies | Our 7 year old son was having violent temper tantrums, throwing things, punching and hitting other family members. These tantrums would last up to an hour or more. He was unable to handle anything that didn't go his way. He was like a monster and we did not know what to do. I thought he was ADHD or ODD and we began threapy for him. THANK GOD I FOUND THIS WEBSITE! It never dawned us us it could be the Zyrtec. Neither his doctor or his therapist knew anything about the pschological side effects that Zyrtec can cause. After further research I found that the following pschological side effects were listed in Zyrtec's own studies *** ABNORMAL THINKING, AGITATION, AMNESIA, ANXIETY, LOWERED LIBITO, DEPERSONALIZATION, DEPRESSION, EMOTIONAL LABILITY, EUPHORIA, IMPAIRED CONCENTRATION, INSOMNIA, NERVOUSNESS, PARANOIA, SLEEP DISORDERS *** Amazingly, the doctor perscribed the medication and never warned us of this! Everyone should be aware of this and I can attest that children should not be taking | Needless to say we took our son off the Zyrtec as soon as I read the information on this website. It has been about three weeks and we have seen much improvement. I pray that there are no long term effects on our son. Any other parents' comments are welcome. Feel free to e-mail me. I would love to hear from you. | M | 7 | 1 years | 2/13/2006 | 1 | sinus/allergies | My seven year old daughter began taking Zyrtec daily in July. She has suffered from sleeplessness, extreme temper tantrums, ODD like behavior (very defiant), crying over everything, extreme hunger (even after eating). This behavior has increased and escalated everyday. | We have taken her off this drug. I have reported this to the FDA through a link at the following website www.keepkidshealthy.com. | F | 7 | 30 days | 8/19/2007 | 1 | allergies | My seven year old daughter became very emotional and irrational when her dose was increased to 10mg. She began taking 5mg when she was three and it worked well for several years, but it had started to be less effective (more drainage that interfered with sleep). My sweet girl became a moody, argumentative, mean girl. It was scary. | I stopped the zyrtec immediately after reading about similar side effects on this web site - thank you for making the connection for me. I had thought that maybe the higher dosage was interfering with her sleep and making her super grouchy. After stopping zyrtec, she was back to her normal self within about 10 days. She will never take it again. | F | 7 | 4 years | 1/23/2007 | 1 | Seasonal Allergy | My 7 year old daughter become unable to focus, had trouble concentating in school, complained of headaches, became extremely unhappy, and experienced weight gain while on Zyrtec. And, thankfully within days of switching to Singular we are seeing "our daughter" back again. | The side effects are horrible! | F | 7 | 45 days | 10/8/2006 | 1 | Seasonal Allergy | My 7 year old daughter become unable to focus, had trouble concentating in school, complained of headaches, became extremely unhappy, and experienced weight gain while on Zyrtec. And, thankfully within days of switching to Singular we are seeing "our daughter" back again. | The side effects are horrible! | F | 7 | 45 days | 10/8/2006 | 4 | Daughter's Allergies | Not any-my daughter has been taking zyrtec for 4 years now | If I discontinue zyrtec-she will immediately become crazy from the allergies. She has environmental allergies and this seems to work great along with a nose spray. | F | 8 | 4 years | 8/25/2008 | 3 | chronic allergies | Waking up 15 minutes to an hour after going to sleep; says he feels hot and does look and feel a little flushed; uncontrolled crying for no reason; feeling sad for no reason. | My son started zyrtec on his 8th birthday. The regimen is singulair and rhinocort in the morning, and zyrtec at night. This has helped his allergies tremendously. Then he started waking up for no reason after going to bed, feeling hot for little reason (once I thought it was from too much sun), and on numerous occasions, crying for no reason. Tonight I asked if he felt sad, and he said, "Yes, but I don't know why." Tomorrow, we will go without Zyrtec. (He had taken Singulair on and off for over a year so the mood change is not from that.) If he needs a nighttime antihistamine, I will give him what I have taken for 44 years: chlor pheniramine maleate, aka Chlor Trimeton. The only side-effect I've ever had is drowsiness. BTW, I attribute the biggest improvement in my own allergies (shots since age 5) to nasal spray (Rhinocort). None of the new antihistamines do as well as the classic old ones (Benedryl and Chlor Trimeton) but most of the new ones don't make one drowsy. | M | 8 | 3 weeks | 8/16/2007 |