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 |
| 4 | Sinus Infection | Rapid heartbeat, anxiety, fatigue, no sleep | I've been off the drug for 24 hours still no change in rapid heartbeat my doctor says it will take 3 days to get out of your system. He has prescribed me something to calm me down so I can sleep. | F | 37 | 3 days 120 1X day | 6/2/2011 | 3 | Severe allergies,indoor/outdoor | Severe vaginal dryness with cracking and bleeding of skin with bumpy rash in and around the pubic hair. Ear infection and itchiness of the ears. | I am posting this side effect because it is NOT listed with the other side effects that people are posting. I have noticed weight gain as well. The reality is that I already had trouble with my vaginal area and I believe this drug increased and caused new issues. I have not had a sinus or ear infection in about two years, developed an infection in both ears which has lasted for about two weeks, ears are severely plugged and I have been woken up the last two nights with extreme itching in my right ear and much itchy discomfort in the vaginal area. | F | 37 | 4 months 10mg 1X day | 4/28/2012 | 3 | allergies | For first few years, it was wonderful. Recently I experience increased congestion; headaches, thickening of the post-nasal drip, and fatigue. Dr. suggested I stop the Zyrtec several days ago. The withdrawal has been difficult and was completely unexpected. I'm experiencing significant itching in all parts of my body. Had difficulty sleeping the last 2 nights. | I've been searching but can't find much information on typical withdrawal symptoms, much less methods to cope. | F | 37 | 5 years | 1/17/2007 | 3 | Allergies | Both my 6 year-old-son and I were on zyrtec for under a year. The medicine did a great job with making us feel better when we had allergies. With me, I experienced swelling of the lips. Not angioedema, but Angelina. Perhaps I should have been happy about this, but I couldn't find the cause. I was prescribed an epipen, and was concerned my lips and throat might swell at any moment. With my son, he had behavioral issues. We saw a dramatic increase in the amount of times we had to speak to him about behavior. He had major mood swings and aggression towards family members. Our sweet, caring, calm little boy was gone. This site was a life-saver, because it opened our eyes. We decided to take our son off of zyrtec. My husband noticed dramatic differences within a week. I noticed him getting better everyday. Today my son said something that was heartwrenching. He told his father that it was like the real him had been dead. He said that he feels so much better now. I am so happy | If you do go on zyrtec, please monitor emotional and physical states. Know that this drug can cause some unusual side effects. | F | 37 | 1 years | 5/7/2007 | 3 | itchy nose and eyes; sneezing | Drowsiness beginning >12 hours after taking daily dose. | F | 37 | 3 months | 5/11/2009 | 2 | Environmental allergies | Noticed a weight gain first. Mentioned it to others and they thought I was crazy. I've been the same weight for 25 years and in the 5-6 months I've been taking Zyrtec I've gained 15 lbs! Despite working out and running more. Also noticed that I'm EXHAUSTED in the mornings despite being a "morning person". I haven't noticed any mood swings or anything though. I just googled Zyrtec and weight gain and found this website. Now I KNOW I'm not crazy! Can anyone tell me once they stopped the medication when their symptoms went away? Did you go back to your previous weight? Any alternative for this drug?? | I'm never taking this drug again. Although it worked wonderful for my allergies, the side effects are terrible. | F | 37 | 6 months | 8/31/2008 | 2 | runny nose and cough | Made me so drowsy that it felt as if I was under anesthesia or about to pass out. During the day on the weekend, I would fall asleep and have bad dreams. Am so tired and dizzy during the day that I can't get anything done. Also caused painful headaches, agitation, irritability, and low mood. It is labeled as non-drowsy but it must cross the blood brain barrier because of the drowsiness and mood changes it caused. | F | 37 | 2 weeks 5 1X day | 6/15/2015 | 2 | cedar allergies | heart palpatations,extreme fatigue,irratability,sore throat | does not completely stop the running nose,or sneezing,makes me feel horrible.would not give to my kids.I taken this off an on in 2 yrs when allergies hit. | F | 37 | 2 years 10mg 1X day | 1/2/2014 | 2 | Itching from chigger bites | I have taken Zyrtec before, and it has made me very sleepy. However, the last time I took it was Wednesday night for itching related to chigger bites. (I gave Zyrtec two stars because it DID alleviate my itching.) Thursday all day I literally felt like I was having an out of body experience. I felt like I was high/drunk/floating and had a hard time forming and thinking of words. My hands, arms, and legs felt heavy. I kept having to remind myself to take deep breaths because it was like I could not remember to breath reflexively. I fell asleep 3 times during the day which is not like me at all. Even late into the night Thursday, I felt very out of it. I am so thankful I found this forum with people who have experienced similar reactions to Zyrtec. My husband takes it every morning and functions just fine all day. | F | 37 | 1 days 10 MG | 6/19/2020 | 2 | Severe allergies | Weight gain, drowsiness | At first, I called Zyrtec the Miracle Drug because it was the only thing that relieved my severe allergy symptoms of itchy, watery, mucousy eyes; sneezing; runny nose; sinus pain; stuffy head; headaches; and hives. Allegra, Claritin, Sudafed, Nasacort by themselves all did not work. After reading an article and the comments on this board on Zyrtec and weight gain, I am VERY suspicious that Zyrtec caused me to gain about 2 lbs per month, over 20+ lbs in 3 years. Most of the weight gain is in the stomach and, to a lesser extent, in the face, upper back, and thighs. I am normally skinny-to-average in size. Recently, I noticed that when I went off Zyrtec for 3 weeks, I lost 5-6 lbs. When I went back on Zyrtec, I gained 8 lbs in 5 months. I admit I sometimes eat over my caloric count to lose weight of 1,200 calories a day. But I exercise 2-6 times a week for about 45 minutes each. So the 20-lb weight gain seems too severe. I think my age and slowing metabolism, as well as the pill | F | 37 | 3 years | 6/2/2007 | 2 | allergies | Increase in appetite and weight gain!!!! I couldnt undrstand why my clothes were getting snug even with my regular exercise. then i stop taking zytrec for a couple days and my appetite decrease tremendously. And I would have increase dream activity. | Although it did help with my allergies i am goin to discontinue use daily and only use when my symptoms are severe. | F | 37 | 30 days | 2/15/2008 | 2 | Hay fever | loss of smell, decreased effectiveness over time. Rebound effect when discontinued | Worked well for a few months, then decreased in effectiveness. When I stopped taking it, I had a terrible rebound effect for a few days, but after about a week I was okay. I realized later that my allergies off the medication are no worse then when it stopped being effective. Maybe I should only take it for acute symptoms. Also, realized after a couple of weeks that my sense smell is coming back. Had not realized it was gone until I started smelling again. That may explain me being heavy-handed with my seasonings when I cooked the last few months. | F | 37 | 6 months 10 mg 1X day | 12/6/2011 | 2 | hay-allergies | mood has changed into very depressive | but works for allergies | F | 37 | 20 days | 5/17/2006 | 1 | Hayfever | Depression, moodiness, feelings of being "out of it", anger. I was also very tired after taking it. It did help my hayfever, but I'd rather sneeze than weep or rant over nothing. | It was pretty obvious to me after taking it that something was wrong, but none of the side effects were disclosed on the pill bottle or on the zyrtec website. I'm glad I was able to find this site via google so I could get the real story. Where the heck is the FDA? | F | 37 | 4 days | 4/10/2006 | 1 | allergies | muscle pain, swelling of hands/feet, itchy skin | All side effects disapppered within 48hrs of stopping Zyrtec. | F | 37 | 3 months 10 MG 1X day | 2/24/2012 | 1 | Allergies/Asthma/Rhinitis | Insomnia, weight gain, irritability, can't deal with people, flying off the handle for no reason, headaches, digestive issues, "spaced out" feeling, lack of concentration, can't seem to "grasp" what I'm reading, etc, etc. | Absolutely useless as an antihistamine and I've tried them all. Claritin and Zyrtec do nothing for me. Complete waste of money. I'm back on Benadryl and prescriptions eye drops. I don't understand why doctors/allergists seem so gung-ho on this medication, because it DID NOT help at all but did give me unpleasant side-effects. These pills completely changed my personality, and judging from the other reviews here, I'm not the only one. AVOID. | M | 37 | 5 years 20mg 1X day | 10/6/2012 | 1 | Inner ear infection | Two days after taking my last dose I started itching terribly bad in my hands and feet. I thought maybe I was having an allergic reaction to something but I had no hives or red spots at all. I thought maybe just dry skin but even with lotion the itching would not go away. I thought maybe there was a connection with the drug and have found thousands of reports of intense itching after stopping with this product. I would much rather have dealed with the ear infection than put up with this intense itching which I find will take at least 2 weeks to subside. | F | 37 | 10 days 2X day | 7/1/2011 | 1 | Sinuses/Ears | Mood swings, depression, extreme fatigue, weakness, dizziness | I would not recommend this medication to anyone after just one day I notice I felt angry then after the third day I was in such a horrible mood and so exhausted I would snap at anyone that came near me or looked in my direction. I would wake up and be ok but within an hour of being awake I couldn't hold my eyes open the rest of the day. It's definately not a safe drug to be taking and really should be looked into again as far as warnings and side effects are concerned. | F | 37 | 3 days 10mg 1X day | 4/19/2010 | 1 | Allergies | No side effects but terrible withdrawals. I have been taking Zyrtec for 3 years BECAUSE I have been getting hives which were caused by the drug. I just figured this out 6 days ago. I stopped immediately and have not stopped itching since day 2 of being off of it. I heard that you can not take anything to offset the itchiness, other than heavily moisturizing. I also heard the itching can last up to 6 weeks! That is torture! | M | 37 | 3 years 10mg 4X W | 2/8/2010 | 1 | Sinus issues | dark urine, major itching, chills, red eyes, dry mouth | I was told by my ENT to take Zyrtec for my chronic sinus issues. It helped with my pain. But then I was having wired side effects. I did not know why I had major itching, dark urine. It was not until I ran out of Zyrtec that I relized it was the drug! I was off the Zyrtec for a week and my urine improved a bit, the itchy rash was getting better. Do not take this drug it not worth the side effects!! I am going to find a better way to relieve my chronic sinus pain, like accupunchure. Chronic means Always. :( | F | 37 | 1 years 1X day | 2/16/2010 |