ZYRTEC Reviews (CETIRIZINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 2.0 (1820 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ZYRTEC with similar:
Type: Over-the-counter Drug
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Results are sorted by Date added. 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 | FDA Adverse Event Summary
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ZYRTEC | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 1 | allergies | Almost immediately experienced extreme irritability and a racing pounding heart. | I tried taking Zyrtec two different times; when it was prescription only and when it came out OTC. Both times I had the same experience. At first I felt very irritable and foggy headed then after a day or two began to have an extreme pounding racing heart. You could see my pulse beating in my neck and I felt as if I was going to have a heart attack or something. I really can't believe that this medication is available over the counter. I see others have experienced the same thing. | M | 45 | 4 days | 4/13/2009 | 4 | Allergies (pollen) | Overall I've experienced less side effects with Zyrtec than most other over-the-counter medicines. Benadryl works great, but leaves me mentally on another planet. Tylenol Allergy works fine for a couple of hours, but within 4 hours it's wore off. Claritin has no effect on me at all. Only Zyrtec zaps out most of the symptoms. Dizziness however, does occasionally occur. | I find that the "3 days on, 2 days off" approach works great for stuff like this. Take it for 3 days, and then go OFF of it for 2-3 days. This SEEMS to lessen any side effects and keeps it effective, as taking it continuously will over time cause you to develop a resistance to just about any drug. Dizziness does sometimes kick in when you make sudden turns or bend over, so be prepared. I experienced no other side effects other than that one. | M | 43 | 3 weeks | 4/12/2009 | 4 | chronic allergies | brief sluggishness, dry mouth. | Nothing ever worked for my allergies. Claritin had no effect. Allegra helped a little, but upset my stomach. Zyrtec is (in my opinion) the best. After reading other posts I had to jump in and sing some praises. I've had no change in sex drive. I've had no change in sleep patterns. I was foggy for a day or two when I started taking it, but that passed. The dry mouth went away also. I think its a matter of body chemistry and specific allergies. For my scenario where everything makes me itch and sneeze, zyrtec works. I've been on for 2 years, and was on a few years prior to that... there was a lapse of time where my insurance didn't cover it and it wasn't OTC yet where I suffered. | M | 29 | 2 years | 4/8/2009 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies | My 4 year old has been on Zyrtec for 2 weeks. Irritability, mood swings, extreme fatigue, acting out, defiant, sad, etc | My son's behavior changed so dramatically on this medication, it was scary. He became a different person. My husband and I kept trying to pinpoint what was causing the changes and by chance I googled Zyrtec side effects and found this page. Thank God. I absolutely believe this is the cause and he will NOT be on this medication again. | F | 37 | 12 days | 4/8/2009 | 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 allergy | I Purchased OTC Zyrtec for my daughter as per her doctor, she took the Zyrtec for a little more than 2 weeks. The caughing and sneezing became worse with asthma like symptoms. She was having a reaction to the medicine. I took her off Zyrtec and within a day the asthma symptoms started to clear up. Her breathing became better and the caughing subsided. | If symptoms for taking Zyrtec do not get better in a few days, but seem to get worse, consult your doctor right away. My daughter was on the edge of having a severe asthma attack while on Zyrtec. | F | 15 | 2 weeks | 4/7/2009 | 2 | Seasonal Allergies | Low energy, very drowsy, malaise. | I took it because my wife said it wasn't supposed to make you drowsy. The day I took it I slept 11 hours that night. The next day I was zonked and out of it, and finally had to take an hour nap at 4 pm. Took it for two days and won't take it again. | M | 49 | 2 days | 4/6/2009 | 1 | chronic allergies | Major effect was that I had progressively worse memory impairment. After 3 months, I was having trouble remembering recent events and finding common words, and it was starting to affect my job. I also experienced significant weight gain (20 lbs) and the medicine just didn't work well for my allergies compared to others to combat allergies, although at least it did not make me tired. | I rarely have very negative reactions to drugs, so I was surprised at the extent of my impairments with this medicine. Once I went off it for several days, my memory started to improve and I began to lose weight again. I realize everyone is different so the drug might work okay for some people. However, if you start experiencing memory loss, realize it may be the drug itself. Very scary to experience. | F | 42 | 3 months | 4/6/2009 | 4 | seasonal allergies | significant drowsiness, persistent dry mouth, feeling "zoned out" and in a fog. Also seems like I lost my sense of smell and taste somewhat. | took this med during allergy season for several years. Even though it is advertised as a non-drowsy antihistamine, it makes me drowsy. It does work very well though, better than any other second generation anti-histamine in my opinion. I am going to try to start taking it at night and see if that helps. | M | 22 | 5 years | 4/4/2009 | 3 | I'm not sure if it is from zyrtec but my son seems to stutter when he is taking it.I went to this wbsite to see if it could be one others have had | M | 3 | 3 months | 4/4/2009 | 5 | seasonal allergies | A little hyper, decreased appetite | I took this medicine about 2 years ago, but i was also taking antidepressants and didn't notice side effects. but now i'm just taking the over the counter zyrtec and i have a decreased appetite, which is great bc i tend to eat to much and am wanting to lose weight. and i am a little jittery, which is ok bc i usually don't have much energy. I would never give this too my kids tho...especially after reading the reviews | F | 26 | 2 days | 4/3/2009 | 3 | suggested for winter allergies | Depressed, ill tempered, overly emotional. Like a super bad case of PMS-ing only I wasn't! Also had bad headaches for the first few days. Took only for just under two weeks. Helped w/allergy symptoms but I did not feel it was worth the side effects. | Additionally when I went off Zyrtec, I developed a major migraine type headache followed by extreme nausea and fatigue. Went away after a day. | F | 40 | 12 days | 4/3/2009 | 1 | Allergies | Facial tics | My son who is 7 has been taking Zyrtec 2 years. Within the 2 years I noticed that he was blinking his eyes a lot. It went from blinking to "eye rolling" within 6 months. The eye tic was so bad that I thought that he had Terrett (sp) syndrom. I starting looking on the internet and found this web site. My son also had night terror. I stopped Zyrtec and was wondering if anyone knows how long it stays in the system? He is soooo much better without this drug although I don't know what to do about his seasonal allergies (it did work for that). | M | 7 | 2 years | 4/3/2009 | 4 | Allergies | None | I believe the sincerity of those posting here who've experienced problems with Zyrtec. However, Zyrtec works for many adults with no side effects and I would hate to see the drug denied them. My sister led me to Zyrtec after Claritin proved increasingly ineffective. Zyrtec has been wonderful. | M | 44 | 1 months | 4/2/2009 | 1 | allergies | I only took 5 doses, I could smell before I took them even though I was sneezing,coughing, and having a runny nose. The drug cleared up my nose and took away my Total sense of smell. | Today is 4-2-09, I took the pills in the 1st. week of March 09, so I have been without my smell for about a month. I only took 5 doses,2 and 1/2 days. I can not smell anything at all and even though I can still taste,it seems not as much as before. Now I find that it's really dangerous because I can't even smell smoke. I rushed to the store and got 2 smoke alarms for safety.I will now have to be more mindful of my food spoiling, cause it could look okay, but now I can't smell to be sure. I think of all the things I'm going to miss,like puppy breath( only true dog lovers knows that wonderful smell). A new doctor has given me 7 days of an antibiotic, Nasacort nose spray and 2 shots, its now day 3 and I do not think it's going to work. If I have to live with this I sure won't like it, but on the upside, when I'm picking up the dog mess in my yard from my large dog I don't smell it. And I want smell the dead skunk in the road. Has this happened with anyone else like me in just days time? | F | 53 | 3 days | 4/2/2009 | 1 | allergies | With in two days of use I was very testy, disinterested in my relationship with my wife, on edge, and full of anxiety. The smallest things set me off. I had difficulty sleeping with horrific violent dreams. I quit taking ZYRTEC and within 3 days I was my old self. | M | 51 | 4 days | 3/31/2009 | 2 | Allergies, seasonal | Irritability, crankiness in my 3 year old after one week of taking zyrtec. iritability, crankiness and decreased sex drive in my spouse after one week of taking zyrtec | Rather deal with the Benedryl Sleepiness than the crankiness and irritability. Not sure if the side effects would snowball and get worse over time, either. | F | 36 | 7 days | 3/30/2009 | 1 | seasonal allergies | malaise, negative thoughts, bad mood, depression | I took this drug once when it was prescribed to me by a doctor, I only had a couple doses before noticing that it was affecting my emotions and I stopped. A few years later, I had forgotten about that episode and took Zyrtec again - exact same results in just two days, I've never had any medication affect me like that: a horrible feeling of depression. I'm sorry to read about all the parents who have given this to their kids. Personally, I have had the best results with Allegra, no side effects. | M | 41 | 2 days | 3/30/2009 | 1 | Allergies | About 1 1/2 years ago I started giving children's liquid Zyrtec to my son per his Peds. Allergy Specialist. After reading this site, its like OMG... the changes in him are from the Zyrtec. He used to be a happy go lucky kid, nothing rattled him, he slept through the night. Now he is angry and mean, sleeps poorly, having concentration problems in school, having crying meltdowns, being clingy. It's like he has become a totally different child. There is no rhyme or reason to his crying fits or his angery fits. The hardest part of this for me to accept is that I did this to him, I allowed a Doctor tell me there are no side effects to this drug. When clearly there is, my son was on 1 1/2 teaspoons a day per Doctors orders. (1/2 teaspoon more then recommend dose) I am stopping it TODAY!!! Hopefully by the end of April I'll have my little sweety back. Someone should look into a class action lawsuit, this drug is harming innocent children because these Doctors and drug companies are ha | To any parents who are considering this or have just started your child on this horrible drug STOP!!!!! You won't recognize your child if you keep them on this drug. This past year and a half has been a nightmare for me to watch my son turn into this depressed, angry, exhausted, fits of crying and meltdown child. I have spent the last year trying to figure out what has happen to my son, and not been able to come up with an answer. My family has just started family counseling because I have tried everything else. I will update you at the end of April to let you know how he is doing. | M | 6 | 1 years | 3/30/2009 | 4 | Dog allergies | overwhelming tiredness, Weight gain | Now that I read all these comments, the light has turned on. I have been taking this drug for just about a month now, since we got a new dog for our boys, and as the weeks have gone on, the problems have added up. I had been waking at night, which I thought was because of the allergies, and have been literally falling asleep while typing at my desk at work. I even went so far as to call my doctor, and had a blood test to check my thyroid levels. I am on many medications, so it may be a combination of things; we'll see when I stop taking it what will happen. Hopefully I'll fit into my clothes again too!! | F | 35 | 4 weeks | 3/27/2009 |