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 |
| 2 | hives | weight gain, mood swings, difficult to concentrate | my 8 y/o son was given zyrtec by the allergist for hives in july . it is december and my son has gained 7 pounds in 5 months. he has lower grade average, difficult concentrating, tearful etc. i will take him off this med today and will use benadryl if needed , not on a daily basis as with zyrtec. i should have checked this before. | M | 8 | 5 months | 12/23/2008 | 2 | allergies/asthma | drowsiness, problems with attention/focus | My 7-year-old has been on Zyrtec for four years. He was having trouble in school. His reading levels were poor. This year his teacher even thought he might have ADD or an auditory processing disorder. He was going to be evaluated by a speech pathologist, and they asked me if he was on any allergy medicine. I told them yes, he is on Zyrtec, Singulair and Advair, when needed. She told me to check the side effects of these medicines. After checking Zyrtec, I read other similar reports that children were having trouble focusing, paying attention and reading levels were poor. I took my son off all medicines. There has been a huge improvement. His reading level went from a 12 to a 20 in one month. His teacher said he is volunteering answers during class discussion and is being more social. This has all changed since taking him off the medicine. His attention and focus is much better. Now that he's off the medicine, I asked him if he feels different. He told me he used to feel | M | 7 | 4 years | 12/19/2008 | 3 | Hives/food allergies | Anger, mood swings, fatigue, irritability, depression. | I started taking Zyrtec about 6 months ago for chronic urticaria (hives). Prior to this medication, I was taking Claritan, which doesn't work at all, Zyrtec completely helped with hives...but I had other symptoms...extreme aggression, mood swings, headaches, panic attacks. I now am on anxiety medication because it affected me so bad. I stopped taking Zyrtex for about a month and I felt so great, but unfortunately, my hives came back so I started to take it again and I became so tired and angry again. This could just be how my body responded to it, I am not sure. | F | 24 | 6 months | 12/18/2008 | 1 | seasonal allergies | Severe nightmares | It took 3 nights of severe nightmares and waking up crying, and unable to stop for an hour, to realize it was Zyrtec. | F | 34 | 3 days | 12/18/2008 | 5 | Hives | No side effects as of yet (1 week) except possibly a little insomnia. The insomnia might be due to having just come off another antihistamine I was on previously, though. It put me to sleep, and now, without it, I find it hard to resume normal sleeping patterns. | I have quite a lot of food allergies which caused hives to break out all over my face. I know quite a few of my triggers, but avoiding that many foods often proves impossible. Zyrtec has taken care of the issue 100%, even when I'm badly abusing my privileges. I am taking only 10 mg per day, but I will double-up sometimes when it has been more than 8 hours and l know I will be heavily indulging in "bad" foods. It is a miracle worker. | F | 24 | 1 weeks | 12/16/2008 | 1 | ALLERGIES | DRY MOUTH HEADACHES HYPERACTIVITY IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT | I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND GIVING THIS TO CHILDREN. MY DAUGHTER HAS EXPERIENCED MANY SIDE EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE MEDICINE. | F | 32 | 2 years | 12/15/2008 | 1 | Seasonal allergies | Depression, moody, extreme anger over small problems, feeling of being overwhelmed and out-of-control | Took this for three days - noticed the extreme anger and depression on day two - I'll go back to Claritin | F | 57 | 3 days | 12/11/2008 | 5 | allergies | If you're like me, you will itch all over for a few days after you stop taking it (such as, during your "off season"). My sister reported the same thing. It's a minor side effect in the greater scheme of things. I've actually got enough allergies that I should take this year round. | Zyrtec is the best pill-form allergy medicine out there right now. | F | 46 | 3 years | 12/9/2008 | 5 | CLARIFICATION | This post is to correct the post dated 12/4 that starts "EVERYONE PLEASE READ!!!" and goes on to say that there is a difference between the prescription and OTC brands, and further states that Pfizer makes the Prescription brand Zyrtec and the OTC brand is made by "a company contracted to make a cheap OFFBRAND of the real product." | This is categorically false. The prescription Zyrtec and the OTC Zyrtec are the exact same thing. McNeil has not been contracted to produce a "cheap offbrand" by any means. McNeil, a Johnson & Johnson Company, purchased Pfizer's OTC division, and thus purchased the Zyrtec brand when the FDA cleared it for non-prescription use. | M | 41 | | 12/9/2008 | 3 | Allergies: Seasonal/pet/ medicine | Weird dreams, Irrational thoughts, heart racing, weight gain, hair loss/thinning, mood swings, sinus trouble, lack of focus and memory loss. | This medication was excellent in helping me sleep through the night. Without meds I suffer from clogged sinuses, and headaches with itching daily. It allows me to be able to get through the day okay, but the side effects are not worth it. I am very suspect that this drug is behind my hair loss, and will discontinue the usage and try another medication to control my allergies that will not have so many side effects. This is an excellent site, I got to compare my side effects with others and learned new things about the medication. | F | 8 years | 12/8/2008 | 5 | Hives | None | EVERYONE PLEASE READ!!! I tried every medication for my hives and nothing worked. whole body would break out in hives every day. lips and eyes will swell and could also start to have breathing problems. i started to feel like i'd rather be dead til i tried zyrtec. zyrtec kept me free of hives for 24 hours and this is a very serious allergy that i have because my doctors still cant figure out whats causing it. you can put me in a allergy free bubble in outter space and i'll still break out. now the reason im writing this is to clarify something, prescription zyrtec is not the same product as the over the counter. prescriptioned zyrtec is made by a company named pfeizer and the over the counter is made by mcneil PPC, INC. which is a company contracted to make a cheap OFFBRAND of the real product, which is also why it has the name ZYRTEC. The real zyrtec cost $90 - $100 without insurance for 30 tablets as the over the counter is around $20 for 30 tablets. so i want everybody to know that | M | 23 | 8 years | 12/4/2008 | 2 | seasonal allergies | the main side effects that were a problem were a major change in emotional outlook and irritability. After just a couple of days on Zyrtec my patience grows very thin and I am frustrated and angry with everything. This time, after several days, I also started having pretty dark thoughts, almost suicidal, which is not like me at all. The worst may be that I am unaware of what is causing it and unable to really see the changes in myself accurately until after I stop taking it. The rest of the family sure notices immediately. When I stop after it leaves my system it is like a massive cloud just dissipates. I only use occasionally to manage bad allergies, but I have now decided I cannot take it again. | It works well for my allergies but I cannot handle the side effects. I usually only take a few times a year and for a week at a time at most, but it is causing big issues in the family and this last time I seriously was in a very depressive state, it was scary. | M | 43 | 5 days | 12/2/2008 | 1 | Allergies | My 4 year old daughter took Zyrtec for itching from allergies. It didn't take care of the itch, but worked to remove the red under her eyes. Her behavior changed drastically. She became defiant and rude (talking back). She also became overly emotional, crying and becoming angered easily. She really became another person while on the medication. | This is the second time I took her off -- the first time it was because I suspected it affected her behavior, but then her red circles came back so I tried it again. I just took her off last night and plan to call her allergist. She's just not her normal (sweet, confident, respectful) self when she's on the medication. We will NOT try this again. | F | 43 | 2 months | 11/28/2008 | 2 | food and environmental allergies | Screaming fits similar to night terrors that lasted an hour at night, wouldn't look anyone in the eye, defiant(would constantly run into the street,screaming if you changed his diaper), hyperactive, lost speech ability, a nurse said he might have autism, fell down constantly, seemed in a fog. | Worked great at first- he slept better for a few weeks. Then after a few months the side effects set in. I don't want to put my kids on any drugs again. I'm looking into holistic and homepathetic cures now. | M | 1 | 6 months | 11/21/2008 | 1 | daughters allergy | this drug is stupid and doesnt work | does not help allergies, and it full of crap, i dont like it, my daughter is still getting horrible allergies. | F | 10 | 1 years | 11/21/2008 | 1 | Itchiness from allerg reaction | Weight gain, anxiety, nervousness, jittery, unable to think, forgetful, sad/depressed, weakness in my legs, increased migraines. | I was on Zyrtec under a doctor's advice following an allergic reaction to an antibiotic (itchiness/hives). I was on the medication for a total of 5 months. For the entire time, I was not myself. I was anxious and nervous constantly. I was very jittery and had a persistent weakness in my legs/thighs. I was very emotional and fragile with frequent mood swings. I was having migraines weekly. I honestly thought that I could be having a nervous breakdown. Then I stopped taking Zyrtec. My leg weakness disappeared and I was not anxious/jittery. Things went back to normal. I recently had another allergic reaction to antibiotics and was itching again and so I took it for three days. The leg weakness returned. So did the jitteriness and I had a migraine for the first time in almost three months. I consider this a harmful drug and will never take it again. | F | 41 | 5 months | 11/20/2008 | 1 | Allergies, Asthma | Severe depression, weight gain, anxiety, trouble concentrating, paranoia | I am a 27 year old female, I go to school full-time and my asthma and allergies have been particularly bad lately. I do not take drugs other than my asthma medication and have been taking Zyrtec for almost a month, but I am stopping today after reading others who have talked about depression as a side effect. Already I have struggled with mild-depression, but as I have gotten older I have learned to deal with this problem. For the last month I have been a complete emotional wreck, with anxiety, paranoia, problems with concentration and mood-swings. Although this drug is very affective with my allergies, I have also gained weight with no change in diet (vegan, very healthy) and the depression is simply unbearable. Please do not take this drug if you have previously struggled with depression!!! | F | 27 | 1 months | 11/17/2008 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies | Excessive Weight gain, lethargy, depression, sadness, mood swings | It only occured to me this morning that my allergy medicine migh be the cause of my 10-15 lb. inexplicable weight gain over the last 6 months. It was a stretch, in my mind, but worth a google search, nevertheless. I was amazed that so many others had the same symptoms. I have had multiple blood tests for anything that can explain my ballooning weight and sudden onset of depression, fatigue and uncurable bad mood. One dr thought it was a thyroid problem. Another thought it was my birth control pill. Maybe I am just crazy and fat and looking for something to blame it on, but I can't wait to see if going off zyrtec will help. I mean, I run marathons for Christ's sake. I don't eat junk as a rule. I have never gained more than a few lbs since I was 15. God, I hope it's the zyrtec. | F | 33 | 6 months | 11/17/2008 | 1 | Allergies | Weight gain, constipation, bloating, swelling in hands and wrists, headaches, depressed mood, irritability, fatigue, difficulting concentrating | I am so relieved to have found this website. I thought I was going crazy. Since starting Zyrtec four months ago I have gained ten pounds despite a healthy diet and fanatically regular exercise including running and weight training. Many of my side effects mimic my premenstrual symptoms but I stopped making excuses when my wrists were swelling so much during the day my watch would get tighter and tighter. I am dumbfounded that a drug now available over the counter could have such significant side effects. I switched back to Loratidine three days ago and I already feel the "cloud" lifting over my head. | F | 38 | 120 days | 11/17/2008 | 1 | Seasonal allergies | malaise, lack of focus and motivation, overly sensitive | Sneaky side effects that creep up. I was shocked at how much better I felt when I quit taking--I had no suspicion and never felt the normal antihistamine drowsiness. I thought I was becoming depressed. | F | 43 | 90 days | 11/17/2008 |