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 |
| 3 | Seasonal Spring Time Allergies | Depression, very bizarre dreams, reduced drive, memory problems | Every year I (during the spring time) I resort to taking this stuff. And Every year I experience the same thing - depression, weird feeling, no drive. I knew something was going on because there is a definite pattern. I only have to take this stuff during the spring time due to my allergies - my eyes get very itchy and sneezing all the time. The zyrtec works on the allergy portion as expected but boy! There are some side effects that occur that are not mentioned. I used to take Claritin - that too made me feel weird but not depressed like this stuff. I guess if you have to use it for a shot time it'll get you through it - but I would not recommend for any length of time. Test it out - your mileage may vary. | M | 38 | 14 days | 3/14/2006 | 3 | allergies | lethargy, weight gain | Thank you to others who have posted on this site. I have been on allergy medicines for over 11 years (first Allegra, then Zyrtec). I had read that Zyrtec could cause depression. (I have not been diagnosed with depression, but was not the happy person I used to be.) I decided to try to wean myself off Zyrtec and use a Neti Pot. First, I used the Neti Pot (which is nasal saline irrigation) for two weeks, while continuing my regular dose of Zyrtec. Then, I halved my Zyrtec dose for a week. (The first day of half a dose was rather unpleasant for my sinuses, but the rest of the week was fine.) So the next week, I quit Zyrtec altogether. The first day was again unpleasant for my sinuses, but by the second day my sinuses were fine. (I was doing the Neti Pot 3 times a dayat this point, planning on weaning myself to 2 times a day once my body was used to not taking Zyrtec.) But the next day, I broke out in hives. It started on my scalp and worked down my forehead and back. By evenin | F | 38 | 8 years | 7/31/2007 | 2 | seasonal alleriges; red, itchy eyes | Extremely lethargic all day after taking before bed. Experienced hallucinations as well. Yelled at my son for something that didn't really happen. | I will not be taking this drug again. | F | 38 | 2 days | 3/31/2007 | 2 | allergies | I took Zyrtec for four years to battle seasonal allergies and cat allergies. I suffered headaches, stomach problems, and feelings of rage and anger that I thought were symptoms of PMS or stress related. Last weekend, I was visiting my sister, who has a cat, and I forgot to take my nighttime dose. I took it the next morning and drove four hours home. I was EXHAUSTED. More exhausted than ever, with an excruciating headache. I decided to stop taking Zyrtec. I am on day four and the itchiness is almost unbearable. My head, fingertips, back, everything itches! BUT, I feel so happy, relaxed, and with the help of my nettie pot, no nasal allergy symptoms. I now wonder if I could go off my Nexium--stomach medicine--because perhaps the pain was a side-effect of the Zyrtec. I will deal with the itchiness and will not take Zyrtec again. | If you start this medication, keep a detailed diary of any physical or emotional changes you notice. Try a nettie pot!! Demonstrations are available on YouTube, and they are sold in drugstores and online. | F | 38 | 4 years | 10/30/2008 | 2 | itching and hives on face | Drowsy and a | I took a very low dose of the medication since I am hypersensitive to all drugs. Just a small bite out of 10mg pill made me drowsy within 20 mins. It also made me feel melancholy and | F | 38 | 1 days | 8/31/2004 | 2 | ragweed allergies | This is my 2nd day of Zyrtec. It controls the histamine response very well, but I am having a side effect that feels pretty extreme, in that I cannot seem to concentrate, and feel dissociated from life. Sad and dull. Weird. | I don't think I can keep taking this, even though the ragweed season is so bad this August. I feel too weird in my head while taking Zyrtec. Back to Claritin (OTC) which was not really keeping the allergies at bay. Dang. | F | 38 | 2 days | 9/1/2004 | 2 | Allergic rhinitis | None | Basically did nothing for me, a lifelong allergy sufferer. Some of the other OTC and prescription medicines do a lot better for me. My current favorite is Singulair®. | M | 38 | 2 weeks | 4/7/2006 | 2 | allergies | I become so irritable and angry about 12 hours after taking this drug. I frequently am in dire need of an antihistamine and all my physicians recommend zyrtec over the others. But I have a 2 yo son that tries my patience enough; at least now I know that these feelings are irrational side effects rather than a legitimate existential crisis. I have never, fortunately, taken it for an extended period of time, only 2-3 doses max. But consistently I have this irritability 12 hours in. | F | 38 | 2 years | 9/21/2009 | 2 | Allergies | As others have listed, the first two days of using Zyrtec were "Very foggy"- My mind was in a complete haze. After day four came the aggressive behavior and mood swings. After a week came the depression. Zyrtec did work very well in stopping the allergy symptoms, however, the side effects frighten me. I chose to suffer the allergies. | M | 38 | 2.5 weeks | 4/17/2009 | 1 | Allergies. Zyrtec suggested by doc | Gained 6 pounds in 1 week despite also being on antibiotics that caused stomach issues. Have been off the antibiotics for almost a week and still haven't lost the 6 pounds. No doubt that the Zyrtec caused this. Very blurry vision in the evenings (about 8-10 hours after taking it). Spacey feeling all the time. Face looks sunburned, but that may be from the antibiotics. | Helps for a few hours, but no where near the 24 hours that it is supposed to. I realize it's effectiveness is essentially a bellcurve with it peaking a few hours after taking it and slowly wearing off. But, if I take it in the morning, by 2pm, it's worn off. If I take it at lunch, it gets me to about 7pm. So, only works for about 8 hours for me. It's either breathe during the day or breathe at night. Allegra and Claritin do nothing for me, either. Was hoping this would work, but so far, it hasn't. I gained weight on Allegra, too. Quit taking it and the weight came off. But, now that fall has arrived, I've got to start back on something else. | F | 38 | 10 days | 9/29/2008 | 1 | For seasonal allergies, dogs | My three year old daughter has been taking Zyrtec for a little over a year. We were having escalating behavior issues with her and thought it was something internal or what we were doing as parents. We even took some time off to spend with her to be more strict and work with her on her "anger management". It helped about 10%, even with our extra time and consistency. She was having fits, couldn't calm down when upset, was constantly getting in trouble at day care and turned into a child that we did not know. I happened to talk to my sister about the issues and without telling her about the medicine, she asked if she was on Zyrtec because it caused behavior problems. We took her off immediately because we were so desperate for a solution to her behavior problems. Within two days, she was back to normal! We have gone from literally 10-20 tantrums and fits per day to maybe one. If she has a tantrum now (off the medicine), she can calm down immediately and apologize. We | If your child is having fits of rage and they are on Zyrtec, take them off!! | F | 38 | 1 years | 7/30/2008 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies | Became agitated, depressed, irritable...violent thoughts. Normally I am very laid back and happy. Did not know this med could cause such mood problems. Worked well for allergies but not worth the problems it caused. This stuff is dangerous... | M | 38 | 7 days | 4/21/2009 | 1 | allergies | Bouts of uncontrollable crying and depression after 3 days of taking Zyrtec. | F | 38 | 3 days | 2/15/2009 | 1 | allergies | Can't breathe out of my nose at night. Fatigue, vomiting, and extremely craving sweets. Dry mouth and throat. Severley dry eyes | I will never take another zyrtec again and do not recommend for anyone. I am greatful to have found this sight or I would've kept taking it as many others on here have. | M | 38 | 3 days 10mg 1X day | 3/10/2015 | 1 | Seasonal allergies | I could not believe when I found this site and read all of the comments. I've been experiencing all of the same symptoms but never contributed them to taking Zyrtec. I've gained a lot of weight, I'm always bloated and gassy, lethargic, depressed and moody. I haven't felt myself in quite some time. | A side note to this for all of the women out there, is that a lot of these symptoms are similar to those of Ovarian Cancer. My mom was recently diagnosed and had many of the symptoms we've experienced taking Zyrtec. So if you are able, please get that checked. It's called the "silent cancer" because it's symptoms are easily dismissed! | F | 38 | 9 months | 9/1/2015 | 1 | Hay Fever | I ended up getting huge itchy welts all over my body. It took a while to realize that it was the Zyrtec causing it because why would an antihistamine produce a horrible allergic reaction like that! As soon as I stopped taking it the welts went away and I even tried taking it another time because I still found it weird that it would cause an allergy when it treats allergies! The itchy welts came back. If I scratched them, it was almost impossible not to, they would increase to 2 inches in diameter. It was horrible. | F | 38 | 14 days 1 pill 1X day | 7/22/2016 | 1 | Allergies fluid in ears | The med itself worked great for the most part. After a while I began to have issues with fluid in my ears again. I had to stop taking it for an allergy test. O dodnt even know there were withdrawals from allergy medications. I HAVE NEVER ITCHED SO BAD IN MY LIFE. I have had dermatitis that didnt itch this bad. I want to cry. This is day 2 of this. I'm having heart palpitations at night when I normally took the pill. It's also causing the worst smelling gas I have ever had. I had no clue what was going on until a coworker had brought up if it could be me coming off my allery medicine. I said I didnt think so and then googled it and there is SO much info on this. I can not believe they dont warn people of this. I cant believe they recommend this for children. Shame on them!!!! | F | 38 | 2 years 10 1X day | 9/15/2021 | 1 | Allergies | Extreme dizziness, anxiety, panic, couldn't absorb information, vision problems, dry mouth | I am shocked how terrible I felt on this medication. It took a few weeks for me to notice how badly I felt so I didn't connect the dots. Started feeling dizzy and incredibly anxious. Couldn't absorb information or speak clearly. Felt like my thoughts were jumbled. Couldn't see clearly. Thought I was losing my mind. Felt extremely depressed, lots of crying and anxiety episodes. Thank you so much for this website and your reviews. | F | 38 | 40 days 5mg 1X day | 7/19/2021 | 1 | allergy | My 5 soon to be 6 year old son started taking zyrtec about 2 weeks ago. On his last progress report, his teacher stated: "Alex is such a nice boy to have in class. I can always count on Alex to pay attention. Great job!". Since starting Zyrtec for less than two weeks. . .we've had 3 bad behavior letters sent home siting "dangerout behavior" like stabbing with pencils, throwing mulch and poking kids with a stick! He went from darling to dangerous in less than one week! I found this web site, thankfully, and will NEVER give him another zyrtec. I'll take the stuffy nose and continue with his allergy shots! | F | 38 | 14 days | 3/16/2006 | 1 | Pet Dander & Seasonal Allergies | Weight gain, Hair loss, Depression, Suicidal ideation, Inability to maintain focus, these are just the major side effects. The minor ones I can deal with. | Upon finding Zyrtec, I truly believed I had found a 'miracle drug' for my year round allergies I combat with. Sadly and regretably I am painfully so very wrong. I have tried Claritin and Allegra in the past before coming across Zyrtec. However they do not relieve my allergy symptoms anywhere near to what the Zyrtec does. I am a 38 year old female and I have no children. I have always been pretty active in exercise and a very very happy go lucky girl. The somewhat tragic side effects this medication has caused me has literally changed my life. What sucks is I didn't realize it was the Zyrtec until these last few days. I have put on well over 20 pounds that I tell you is IMPOSSIBLE to get off. I have been basically starving myself on a thousand calorie a day diet and wondering why I keep putting on weight. Or at least not losing one single ounce no matter what I do. My depression level is the greatest its ever been. I have suicidal thoughts. I also have little to no motivation. Thee other lovely, oh so lovely side effect that is past the point of unbearable is the hair loss. It comes out in clumps when I wash it. It is so very disheartening. Id rather have itchy skin and watery eyes than FAT, BALD & DEPRESSED!! I stopped Zyrtec this morning. NEVER AGAIN!!! | F | 38 | 8 months 1X day | 11/19/2012 |