ZANTAC FDA MedWatch Voluntary U.S. Reports Summary

These tables and charts are created from 1,492 U.S. reports for ZANTAC (RANITIDINE HYDROCHLORIDE) voluntarily reported by individuals directly to the FDA via the MedWatch Reporting System from 2004 through July 30, 2026. Events listed on this page represent serious and often rare adverse events reported to the FDA, and often do not represent typical side effects for the medication. Find common side effects on the most recent official drug label.

For a summary of adverse events including mandatory reports submitted by pharmaceutical companies (all countries and all reporter types) to the FAERS database, View FDA FAERS ZANTAC Report.

Top Adverse Events Reported with ZANTAC (from U.S. FDA Medwatch Reports)

	Side Effect	# of FDA Reports
1	NAUSEA	108
2	HEADACHE	86
3	SHORTNESS OF BREATH	73
4	VOMITING	73
5	PAIN	70
6	DIZZINESS	69
7	DIARRHEA	68
8	FATIGUE	68
9	DRUG INEFFECTIVE	55
10	JOINT PAIN	54
11	LACK OF STRENGTH AND ENERGY (ASTHENIA)	52
12	PRODUCT SUBSTITUTION ISSUE	52
13	ITCHING	48
14	RASH	45
15	INSOMNIA	44
16	ABDOMINAL PAIN UPPER	41
17	HOSPITALIZATION	40
18	DEATH	39
19	THERAPY CESSATION	39
20	ABDOMINAL PAIN	36
21	CONDITION AGGRAVATED	34
22	MUSCLE PAIN	34
23	FEVER	34
24	DEHYDRATION	33
25	DEPRESSION	33

Search all MedWatch Reports by Keyword:

ZANTAC Total Medwatch Safety Reports by Patient Sex

Male	Female	Unknown	Total
489	959	44	1,492

Medwatch Reporter Type	Count
Consumer	618
Physician	67
Pharmacist	255
Other Health Professional	214
Lawyer	14

Top Indications

Product used for unknown indication
INDIGESTION
Gastrooesophageal reflux disease
Gastrointestinal disorder

Type of Outcome Reported
Serious: 1141
Not Serious: 351
Note: A serious outcome means the adverse event resulted in death, a life threatening condition, hospitalization, disability, congenital anomaly, or other serious condition.

Suspected Role
Primary Suspect: 1492
Concomitant Drugs: 1357
Note: A single MedWatch report can list more than one drug. This summary includes ZANTAC identified as the suspect drug or as a concomitantly taken drug.

For serious adverse events, report them to the FDA by contacting the drug manufacturer or report directly through the MedWatch voluntary reporting form.

NOTES

This report, created by AskaPatient.com, is derived from U.S. drug-related adverse event cases that were reported directly to the FDA using the voluntary MedWatch online or paper reporting system. MedWatch is the voluntary FDA system for consumers, physicians, and others to directly report adverse reactions. The Medwatch initiative was launched in 1993 as a voluntary reporting program for consumers, physicians and other healthcare practitioners.

After processing the received forms, the FDA adds the MedWatch reports to the FDA Adverse Events Reporting System(or FAERS database.) Click here for the complete FAERS report summary, which includes mandatory reports submitted by pharmaceutical companies (worldwide) combined with the MedWatch reports. MedWatch Reports only represent about 5% of the FAERS database. For more, read "Does the FDA's Rapidly Growing Database of Adverse Events Improve Drug Safety?"

The data in this report was obtained from Open FDA. Data was last updated to include reports through January 27, 2026. The reactions, side effects, or "adverse events," represent up to the 20 most frequently occuring events in the database for a drug related to the event.

Open FDA states that it only includes the most recent version of a case report. It also adds the disclaimer: "Do not rely on Open FDA to make decisions regarding medical care. While we make every effort to ensure that data is accurate, you should assume all results are unvalidated."

FDA uses the "MedDRA" classification system to describe reported adverse reactions. MedDRA is a standardized medical terminology that facilitates sharing of regulatory information internationally. In some cases, "patient friendly" terms for the layman designated by MedDRA have been substituted for medical jargon. Please contact us with questions about this report.