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 | Seasonal Allergy | My 7 year old daughter become unable to focus, had trouble concentating in school, complained of headaches, became extremely unhappy, and experienced weight gain while on Zyrtec. And, thankfully within days of switching to Singular we are seeing "our daughter" back again. | The side effects are horrible! | F | 7 | 45 days | 10/8/2006 | 1 | Hives/cough/runny nose/red eyes | Intense mood swings, aggressive behavior, loss of appetite, fearfulness, broken sleep, diarhea, and spitting up. | My 15 month old has been on it for 10 days now. He was a very calm, even-tempered child. Quick to laugh- an angel. He has become seemingly possessed. He changed overnight- he is now hitting, biting, yelling/screaming and crying, then laughing again. He is pinching, waking up screaming at night and inconsolable. He is fearful, even of things he loved before. He went from never missing a meal to barely eating. After it took me two hours to get him to bed tonight, with him screaming hysterically the entire time, I looked online to find potential side effects of zyrtec (which I did before I gave it to him in the first place but I didn't find anything then). I am so relieved to have found this site and see other parents experiencing the same problems with the drug. I feel so bad that I gave it to him! I will never give him zyrtec again, and I will be sure to tell everyone I know not to take it or give it to their children. Though the drug did relieve his hives and lessen the runny nose/red | F | 24 | 10 days | 10/6/2006 | 1 | allergies - heyfever | My 4 1/2 yo son was put on Zyrtec to help control his hayfever. He experienced heightened behavioral problems at preschool - including intense hyperactivity, distractibility and inability to attend. He also experienced stomach problems and had diarrhea every day while on Zyrtec - at first we thought the diarrhea was directly related to an antibiotic he had been put on for 7 days but now we know he was cramping due to Zyrtec. | I might add that my son's doctor mistakingly put him on 10 mg instead of the 5 mg he should have been taking, for his age group. I am taking my son off Zyrtec - all together - and will see if that helps him get back to being "him" at school. If so, we might try a dosage of 5 mg at a later point in time. But after reading the comments here, I'm even skeptical about that level dosage in kids. Last night was his first night off of it and he woke up, mid night, with violent stomach pains, cramping and intense diarrhea. | M | 4 | 3 weeks | 10/4/2006 | 4 | allergy to dogs | irritibility, agitation, uncontrolled crying and anger. | My son uses Zyrtec only when he is going to be around dogs for an extended period of time; maybe 1-2 times a month when visiting family. I was blaming the behavioral changes on him being tired, etc., but it was too much of a coincidence. It works great for his allergies, however, the side effects are not worth it. | M | 2.5 | 2 days | 9/25/2006 | 3 | Allergies / Asthma | Increase appetite, weight gain | my daugther is 3 1/2 years old and has been eating ALL day! she will not stop eating. She has only been on this for 2 weeks and her allergies seem ok right now - but can't believe the increased appetite. | F | 3 | 14 days | 9/23/2006 | 5 | headaches allergic rhinitis | none whatsoever! | Had chronic headaches for years. zyrtec has helped immensely, but and i am amazed by reading all of the side effects you have mentioned. i have none. zero. zilch. except of course, my head doesnt hurt. | M | 3 months | 9/19/2006 | 1 | pet and pollen allergies | I took it for nearly a year before realizing that my insomnia and depression were caused by Zyrtec. I went off Zyrtec simply to get the antihistamines out of my body so I could be tested for additional allergies, and my mood lifted tremendously. So, I really inadvertently discovered that Zyrtec was causing my depression. I am so angry no one told me about this when I started taking it. It would have saved me so much misery. | F | 40 | 1 years | 9/8/2006 | 4 | Seasonal Allergies | Drowsiness, increased appetite, and dry mouth are the main side effects I have experienced. I went from a 10 mg dose to a 5 mg dose to combat the drowsiness but still find myself experiencing insatiable hunger. | I rated it a "4" because it really does control my allergy symptoms, but my appetite has been over the top. I'm only going to take it when I wake up with severe allergy symptoms. I can't risk the possibility of extreme weight gain. | F | 42 | 1 years | 9/6/2006 | 1 | We are investigating the effects of Zyrtec on infants, children and teenagers. If you have a child who has taken Zyrtec and would be interested in speaking with us further about the adverse effects experienced while taking the drug, please contact Lisa Scherer or Harvey Franklin at 888/705-6800 between the hours of 8 and 5. We are located in California. | We are investigating the effects of Zyrtec on infants, children and teenagers. If you have a child who has taken Zyrtec and would be interested in speaking with us further about the adverse effects experienced while taking the drug, please contact Lisa Scherer or Harvey Franklin at 888/705-6800 between the hours of 8 and 5. We are located in California. | | 9/5/2006 | 1 | Our law office is investigating the effects of Zyrtec on infants, children and teenagers. If you have a child who has taken Zyrtec and would be interested in speaking with us further about the adverse effects experienced while taking the drug, please contact Lisa Scherer or Harvey Franklin at 888/705-6800 between the hours of 8 and 5. We are located in California. | Our law office is investigating the effects of Zyrtec on infants, children and teenagers. If you have a child who has taken Zyrtec and would be interested in speaking with us further about the adverse effects experienced while taking the drug, please contact Lisa Scherer or Harvey Franklin at 888/705-6800 between the hours of 8 and 5. We are located in California. | | 9/5/2006 | 2 | Sinus and throat allergies | TERRIBLE WITHDRAWAL - If I ever missed a dose (36+ hours), I experienced terrible itching. My solution was always to take another dose. Before long I was not taking the Zyrtec for my allergies, but rather to prevent the itching. I was told by a counselor friend of mine that it sounded like I was experiencing withdrawal. I researched, found this site, and have read that others have experienced similar withdrawal symptoms. I quit taking Zyrtec cold turkey and am experiencing frequent fits of INTENSE itching all over my body. I'm told that this should last about two weeks. So far it's one of the worst things I've ever experienced. A typical itching episode lasts from 45 minutes to 2 hours (of nonstop scratching)! I then usually get 30 minutes to an hour of no itching before it starts back up. | I gave a rating of 2 because I'm not satisfied with the withdrawal symptoms. However, when I first began taking Zyrtec, it relieved my sinus and throat allergies wonderfully. But all the allergy relief in the world is not worth what I'm going through. I would stay far, far away from Zyrtec. | M | 30 | 3 years | 9/3/2006 | 5 | general hay fever | Dry Eyes and Nostrils. Minimal side effects with a 5 mg dose. Significantly greater effects with the normal 10 mg dose. | I only use Zyrtec on an as needed basis about once per week most of the year and two to four times per week during the spring pollen season. A 5 mg dose works great for controlling my allergy symptoms. Both my doctor and pharmacist said it was okay to cut the 10 mg tablets in half, so, I am using a pill cutter to do that. | M | 62 | 5 years | 8/25/2006 | 5 | hives | Drowsiness, fatigue. I don't take zyrtec regulary, but whenever I take this med, I would have to stay home for 24 hours because I am very sleepy, tired and would want to stay in bed. I tried taking only half of the 10mg, but it doesn't work very well. | I only take zyrtec when I have a really bad allergy. | F | 51 | 6 months | 8/21/2006 | 1 | asthma and allergies | behavioral changes to the worse drowsyness irritability weight gain extreme hunger ect. ect. | some symptoms may have been relived but not all and it was not worth the side effects | M | 18 | 2 times | 8/21/2006 | 1 | asthma and allergies | mood swings irritibility you name it | TAKE THE DRUG OFF THE MARKET IT IS EVIL. | M | 1 years | 8/20/2006 | 5 | hives | I started developing hives about 7 years ago for no reason. my doc did all these test and I was fine. I even changed everything in my house that I was using to see maybe I developed an allergy to something. no immune problems either. I tried a couple of different meds and nothing worked. my hives were severe. They would start around my joints move to my hands and feet and wrist, then move to the rest of my body, even in my throat, my face and me eyes would itch. It was the worst feeling. zyrtec is the only thing that surpressed it. I take it every 3 days for the past 7 yrs.It literally saved my life. | I take the generic brand of zyrtec because its a whole lot cheaper and works just as good. | M | 32 | 7 years | 8/16/2006 | 2 | Seasonal Allergies | Weight gain, extreme irritability, overly sensitive, moderate depressive symptoms, extreme lethargy (I have been consistently late to work because it is so hard to get out of bed). | All it really did was get rid of my sinus headaches and the sneezing. I still had itchy, watery eyes and a really stuffy nose. | F | 25 | 25 days | 8/13/2006 | 5 | A ton of Allergies & Asthma | Drowsiness...didn't realize why I was always tired until I actually added on a new medication called Topamax for epilepsy this March (about 5 months ago) & combined the two meds and was really really tired and was almost falling alseep while driving...& then read the side effects of zyrtec and said to myself..."oh that's why I was always tired." | Zyrtec was my LIFE SAVOR!!! Saved me from going to an allergist. It is sad to say though I just got new Health insurance b/c I switched jobs and now my health insurance won't cover it...(I was dumb enough not to look into that) now I am worried that the new medicine won't work as well. (Claritin, also known as Loratadine) I was also on Allegra for 3 years but my body actually got immune to it, and wouldn't work anymore. I have felt that zyrtec works the best for me. It helped with the worst cases of itchy eyes, hives, runny nose, congestion etc. | F | 23 | 2.5 years | 8/11/2006 | 4 | severe rash/hives | Slight lethargy, but eminently bearable compared to Benadryl, which knocked me out completely. | I took this to help clear up a severe rash due to an allergic reaction to sulfa drugs, and it made the hives disappear fairly quickly, within 2 or 3 days. It was supposed to take a week, so I was very happy. However, my brother has taken it for hay fever, and it did not help him at all. It is also very expensive. I have 25 pills left and will try them for allergies in the spring, just so as not to waste $60. | F | 18 | 5 days | 8/11/2006 | 1 | environmental allergies | Allergies were better but noticed I put on 15 pounds and could not lose any weight. Mostly noticed in waist, hips, thighs. Now that I've been off for only 2 weeks I can tell my pants are fitting better, don't feel so "thick" in the middle. Now I realize my mind is much clearer and I have more energy! | I don't recommend this medicine if you're a woman who wants to avoid weight gain, or with concerns over feeling clear-headed. | F | 28 | 4 months | 8/10/2006 |