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 | seasonal allergies | temper tantrums, irritable, | My 7 year old has spring allergies every year. We have used Claritin but last year noticed it was not working as well. We tried giving it to him, under doctors advice at the 18 hour point which did help. This bothered me, giving a child so much medicine each day. We tryed zyrtec this week. Today markes day 3 and I will not be giving it to him again. Yesterdy I noticed he was very irritable, unable to focus on his homework and cranky. Today he has had several temper tantrums and can not play with his friens. I am so glad I found this site and realized that Zytec may be the cause. I see that some have had trouble coming off the medication so before I give it to my child again I will stop now and go back to Claritin. | F | 44 | 3 days | 4/19/2008 | 2 | Allergies | I have gained 20 lbs in one month, am tired all the time, my hips, knees, ankles hurt, along with my lower back, my periods keep coming earlier and earlier and I am having leg and foot cramps. I went to an internist who thought I might have rheumatoid arthritis but that test was negative. He referred me to a sleep specialist for possible sleep apnea. My regular dr. ran tests for lupus, lyme disease, ms, diabetes etc and no one can figure out what is wrong. After reading this site I am going off zyrtec and see if my symptoms get better. | F | 44 | 2 months | 7/27/2006 | 2 | Allery-related sinusitis | Depression, irritability, negative and hateful thoughts, mood swings, fatigue, difficulty getting out of bed | This medicine helped my sinusitis immediately, but I was a depressed basket case while taking it. I was pissed off at everyone all the time and couldn't find a positive thought in my brain... very negative, mean, and depressed. I felt as if there were a pane of glass between the world and me... just couldn't connect. I also lost my libido -- absolutely no interest in sex. I also felt extremely exhausted for about two hours each morning, even after sleeping 9-10 hours (I was only taking 5 mg once per day, right before bed), and would just lie in bed not wanting to face the world. Once I stopped the drug, I felt normal within 24 hours. | F | 44 | 2.5 weeks 5 mg 1X day | 3/28/2014 | 1 | Allergies | Thought I was just getting older but went off this drug and found it had caused extreme insomnia where I needed medication. Also made me angry for no reason. Very bad drug! Never taking again! Should be removed from market as the side effects are not work the reduced sneezes and other allergy issues. | F | 44 | 5 years 10mg | 4/21/2014 | 1 | allergies/sinus | extreme sluggishness, some tightness in my chest | I felt very clear and lucid at first...then it hit. 15 later and I still can't get it together. This medicine is horrible. Not taking anymore. So gald I found this. Other people were telling me to just hang in there and take it a few more times. | F | 44 | 1 days | 11/2/2009 | 1 | Sinus Infection | Went to the doctor with a bad deep cough that I had for about a week. I was told it was an upper respatory / sinus infection and was prescribed an antibiotic, eye drop, and an antihistamine. Went to the local drug store and was told insurance would not pay for the antihistamine because it was the same thing as OTC Zyrtec and that the drug store had a generic brand which was cheaper. Started taking it on a Friday night all went well until the following Thursday night at work. Arrived at work normal time when roughly one hour into my shift I notice sweating over my entire body, dizzy, and completely unaware of my surroundings, when suddenly I found myself passed out on a hard concrete floor with seizer like symptoms. I was taken to the ER were they performed CT scan, MRI, and very painful spinal tap. All came back clear. After a stay in the hospital Friday I was looking forward to being discharged Saturday morning when all of sudden it happen once again. I was very sweaty, dizzy an | M | 44 | 7 days | 6/25/2008 | 1 | Seasonal allergies | DEPRESSION, sleepy | I've been trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with me. I was a very down to earth happy go lucky person until I started taking Zyrtec a week or so ago. I didn't know what was wrong. Thanks to all of you for actually taking the time to post. I won't take it anymore. | F | 44 | 10 days | 10/1/2008 | 1 | seasonal allergies | extreme itching of hands and feet when I stopped taking zyrtec. The itching becomes painful at times. Occasional itching of shoulders, legs an ankles. | My Doctor perscribed Zyrtec for me 10 years ago for seasonal allergies. I was becoming increasingly tired, I asked to switch to something else and within two days of being off Zyrtec I had intense itching. I went back to my doctor and was told to take the Zyrtec again. I requested a referal to an allergist. I saw an allergist within a week.I was still itching. I had testing for every allergy you can imagine.To my utter surprise I have NO ALLERGIES. My allergist said The itching I am experienceing is a possible withdrawl from zyrtec. I am now 11 days off zyrtec and I still have occasional intense itching. My advice to anyone whose Doctor prescribes allergy medicine, see an ALLERGIST FIRST. I was shocked that I didn't have allergies and had taking that medicine for so many years. | F | 44 | 10 years | 4/8/2009 | 1 | seasonal allergies | Apathy, sadness, depression, feeling detached from my family, very irritable, can barely keep my eyes open. | I took this drug for the first time last night, slept poorly and woke up an angry, sad, zombie. I literally went from being a happy stable person, to not caring about anything, literally overnight. I've never felt this way before. I knew I would be tired as I am very sensitive to antihistimines. The dry mouth is horrible--no amount of water seems to make it better. I couldn't imagine that all these disturbing symptoms could be from something so benign as an allergy med (I was on Claritin for awhile and it did nothing for my allergies, and I had no side effects that I am aware of). I take no other medications, so it can't be something else. My husband keeps asking "what's wrong?" and I keep saying that I have no idea. Thank God I thought to just check out others' experiences with Zyrtec. My son has been taking zyrtec off and on for a few months when he has problems with his allergies--I'll be taking both of us off this immediately. He's only 4 and I haven't seen any | F | 44 | 1 days | 8/23/2008 | 1 | Allergies | Extreme dizziness, heart palp, head pressure, ear pressure, neck, back, shoulder, leg and foot pain. Major anxiety and depression | I have been in and out of doctors and specialists for months. Nobody could find anything wrong with me but yet I felt like impending doom. All my blood work and scans came back normal. After thousands of dollars and about 25 doctors an allergist told me about the side effects of Zyrtec. Ive been off of it for almost 3 weeks and im still having issues. When does this end? Others say it takes about a week but I'm so afraid I permanently damaged my body. | F | 44 | 2 years 1X day | 10/12/2020 | 1 | Seasonal allergies | Really thought I was losing my mind until I read these reviews. Have not been myself—just didn’t realize it until the anxiety settle in. Experienced severe brain fog (totally not with it) and anxiety, panic attacks over routine work tasks, heart palpitations, vision alterations, disinterested in basically everything, etc. Hopeful that I return to normal soon. Will not recommend this allergy med to anyone. | F | 44 | 3 months 1x day | 6/23/2018 | 1 | allergies (swollen red eyes) | I have been taking Zytec for over 2 years, it works GREAT, I only take a half tablet daily to control allergies. But for the last 3 months I have been at a loss at to why my hair is falling out-I've read that this may be a side effect of Zyrtec-I've stopped taking it and must put much effort into ensuring my hair grows and get healthy again. I hope that stopping Zytec will help my hair grow back because I now have red swollen eyes and less hair-lovely! | F | 44 | 2 years | 8/23/2005 | 1 | Allergies | While taking Zyrtec, I noticed an inability to focus and organize my thoughts as well as a substantial decrease in attention span. My memory was not as sharp, almost porous, as though I was physically present but without awareness. I became forgetful. I started to procrastinate and found it quite difficult,not to start, but to complete projects, either work or personal. I was quite irritable and easily frustrated - not a fun person to be around. I only took Zyrtec for 2 month. When my seasonal allergy symptoms began to subside, I stopped taking Zyrtec and within a few days, I noticed all of the above symptoms begin to subside. | Although Zyrtec did work in relieving my allergy symptoms, I would never take it again due to the life altering side effects. There are other medications and ways to relieve my allergies than to take this medication. The risk is simply not worth the reward. | M | 44 | 60 days | 11/11/2008 | 1 | Spring Allergies | Extreme Irritability, Out of control behaviour, strange dreams. | I would never take this again. It was like being possesed. | M | 44 | 1 days | 4/7/2008 | 1 | Seasonal A;;ergy | Fatigue, Muscles pain, mood swings, tired all the time. I keep complaint to my doctors, but because I take a handful of other medications, I had to withdraw one by one to find which one was causing the problem. Unfortunately Zirtec was the last one that I withdrew. The muscle pain has gone, which was my major complaint. I feel more energetic. | I wonder why the FDA doesn't do a real thoroughly, investigation on these medications, before putting on the marketing. instead the need making the Pharmaceutic Companies ultra gazillionaires while we, the poor guineas pigs, have to go through the hard side effects, that sometimes not even the doctor who prescribe are aware of it. | M | 44 | 12 months | 9/17/2007 | 1 | hives | extreme weight gain, ate when I wasn't hungry, swelling of eyes and mouth, tiredness, just not feeling like myself, felt out of it. | F | 44 | 30 days | 8/28/2007 | 1 | Allergies | Massive vomiting. Dizzy and weird heart beat. Was in bed for 10 hours sick. Never again | F | 44 | 1 days | 4/24/2012 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies while hiking | I just started suffering from a non stop runny nose while hiking in the local mountains. I first tried Clariton which stopped the runny nose but I noticed I felt wobbly while hiking at altitude which is not safe so I tried Zytek hoping for and improvement. Not only was the 24 hour pill WORSE it could have killed me. I was leading a hike up a mountain I had conquered many times before and the Zytek made me nauseous, severely weak, tachcardic AND dizzy. I was unable to finish the hike on a very hot day and risked dying going by myself to the car. Even the down hill was an extreme challenge. It is going in the trash! | F | 44 | 1 days 10 mg 1X day | 6/2/2012 | 1 | skin rush &spring allergys | Hair loss, weight gain,restless sleep, fatigue and excessive sweating | it did work for my allergy 100% ,today is 3d day after i went off Zyrtec and slept through the night with no interruptions for 1st time since i started take and no more nightsweats and scalp burning ...and allergy is back... It helps with the allergies but the side effects are not worth it. | F | 44 | 70 days 10 mg 1X day | 5/26/2010 Patient History | 1 | Seasonal allergies | I began taking Zyrtec because the Claritin was not working for me. I noticed the allergy symptoms clearing very quickly. HOWEVER, by the 4th day a dark sad mood came over me - for no apparent reason. (I am a 44 year old woman that understands her body well - when I am hormonal, etc. This was not hormones.) By the 5th day, I was feeling suicidal and extremely concerned by the depression closing in on me. I was also very very tired, even though I had slept 8 hours the night before. | Then, I remembered that we had taken my 9 year old son off of Zyrtec because we thought it was affecting his moods. Apparently, we were right... his out look on life and his general mood changed drastically a couple of days after taking him off Zyrtec. For some reason, I thought I would be immune to the side effects. But, I was not. I would recommend NOT taking Zyrtec. | F | 44 | 5 days 10 mg 1X day | 2/10/2011 |