Reviews for ZYRTEC350 ratings: (age 12 or younger)Edit Filter | Clear FilterCompare 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.) |
More on ZYRTEC: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ZYRTEC | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 3 | chronic allergies | Waking up 15 minutes to an hour after going to sleep; says he feels hot and does look and feel a little flushed; uncontrolled crying for no reason; feeling sad for no reason. | My son started zyrtec on his 8th birthday. The regimen is singulair and rhinocort in the morning, and zyrtec at night. This has helped his allergies tremendously. Then he started waking up for no reason after going to bed, feeling hot for little reason (once I thought it was from too much sun), and on numerous occasions, crying for no reason. Tonight I asked if he felt sad, and he said, "Yes, but I don't know why." Tomorrow, we will go without Zyrtec. (He had taken Singulair on and off for over a year so the mood change is not from that.) If he needs a nighttime antihistamine, I will give him what I have taken for 44 years: chlor pheniramine maleate, aka Chlor Trimeton. The only side-effect I've ever had is drowsiness. BTW, I attribute the biggest improvement in my own allergies (shots since age 5) to nasal spray (Rhinocort). None of the new antihistamines do as well as the classic old ones (Benedryl and Chlor Trimeton) but most of the new ones don't make one drowsy. | M | 8 | 3 weeks | 8/16/2007 | 2 | allergies- tree poll, grass,ragweed | My 4 year old son who is normally very sweet natured, quiet, and cooperative turned into an aggressive, angry, and irritable boy. He would have fits of rage that were very out of character, developed a low frustration tolerence and would often cry easily, and engaged in "mean" verbal and physical behavior to his siblings and parents. | Zyrtec appeared to work well in gettig rid of my son's allergy symptoms (tree pollen, ragweed, grass), however, the behavioral side effects do not seem to be worth it. | M | 4 | 8 weeks | 8/2/2007 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies | Nightmares, daytime hallucinations, hyper activity at times, lethargic at other, anti social behavior, depression, voices. | My son took this drug for 6 months when he was 8 years old. It did help his sneezing, coughing. But the side effects were bizarre. He talked about seeing a 'devil boy' inside a 'ghost boy' who sat in his class in his place while he watched. He talked about hearing voices in his head telling him to do bad things. He talked about having dreams during class. And the nightmares were very vivid. My son always has been such a happy go lucky kid, his sudden dark mood swings and aggressive behavior were really out of character. If he were older I would have been looking for some sort of substance abuse issue. As it is, the 'substance' might have been actually provided for him by us unwittingly. Once we took him off the med he is doing much better at home. His nightmares are gone and he is 'singing' around the house again. Unfortunately his cough and sneezing are back, BUT we'll take that over the nightmare the family went through | M | 8 | 6 months | 7/25/2007 | 1 | Eczema, Asthma | Mood swings, temper tantrums, violent outbursts, crying about little things, irritable. | My son has suffered from eczema and asthma since he was born. He has been diagnosed and misdiagnosed many times. He was prescribed many different things from steroid creams to antihistamines of all sorts. Nothing has worked in the medical world, but zyrtec was the biggest mistake of all. My sweet little boy turns into a demon in front of my eyes and at a drop of a hat. All children have there bad days but let me tell you that this poison makes our kids into different children. My heart breaks that I had no warning from his doctor or on the label. Its not fair that these poor babies suffer not only with the aliment they are cursed with, but with extra symptoms caused by something meant to help them. They are little people with no voice. These drug companies should be ashamed!! Parents if you are here its to late you have given your kid this drug. Please stop ASAP! | M | 3 | 2 months | 7/11/2007 | 1 | seasonal allergies | stomach pain w/upsetting bm's, restlessness, unusual tantrums, nightmare's, crying, mood & personality changes | After not having much success with Benedryl or Clariton for my 5 year old's allergies, my pediatrician reccomended Zyrtec. Initially the stomach aches started. Each night my son would wake up and come into my bed complaining of nightmares, something he had not done in years. Witihn 3 days I noticed his inability to sit still, which became significantly worse each day! By day 5 he was out of control, a totally different child!! And, as one other parent wrote, non-compliant, desrcribes it well, way beyond what is normal for a 5 year old boy, and very unlike any behavior he's exhibited in the past. By the evening, he had a full blown tantrum of which the likes he has not exhibited since a toddler. I decided to check this Zyrtec out and boy am I glad. He will never take another pill. I am outraged that my pediatrician never mentioned this, nor were these side effects listed on the information sheet provided with the prescription. | M | 5 | 5 days | 7/11/2007 | 1 | Allergies | Inconsolability, mood swings, nightmares, sleeplessness, aggressive behavior, anxiety, resistance to following directions, dazed behavior, hyper sensitivity, fatigue. | My 6 year old son came off this medicine after 3.5 years after I read these reviews here. In less than 2 days, he became a changed child. He no longer has the negative behavior traits that has been plaguing him for YEARS. No med. professional could get a grip on why my child was behaving the way he was. I'm so glad to have my sweet little boy back. You can just tell he feels SO much better being off of Zyrtec and his behavior shows it. I can't believe how quickly he changed coming off of this. He will NEVER take this medicine again. | M | 6 | 3.5 years | 7/10/2007 | 1 | allergies | HELP!!! My 8-year old son completely changed during the 9 months he took this drug. First his handwriting completely disintegrated until it was completely illegible, then he gradually became more and more hyper, reclusive, stopped playing with friends, couldn't pay attention in school. During the last few months he took it, he became increasingly irritable, until by the end he would frequently erupt into violent rages, during which he would say crazy things about dying, say he hated everyone, etc. He couldn't handle the smallest disappointment. Also, his hyperactivity escalated until it was off the charts. We had to pull him out of the gifted program at school. He really has become a totally different child; he used to be happy, sweet, sunny, with tons of friends, calm and gentle-natured. We've stopped the drug as of two weeks, ago, but he's still not recovered. Can someone tell me PLEASE HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE HIM TO RETURN TO NORMAL. | Please e-mail me if your child has experienced anything similar. He's acting like a crazy person, but I can't believe any type of mental illness would just suddenly appear like this. His irritability and temper when he doesn't get his way are making our lives very difficult. Any information would be appreciated. | M | 8 | 9 months | 6/24/2007 | 1 | Hayfever | Bad behaviour! More than usual! | My son has special needs and his behaviour is not great as it is! He has been taking this medicine for 2 days and I've noticed a huge decline in his behaviour. | M | 5 | 2 days | 6/13/2007 | 1 | Allergies | My 4 year old son was prescribed Zyrtec and Singulair last fall. Shortly after beginning, I noticed severe behavioral changes. He become very irritable, aggressive, and non-compliant. He had taken Zyrtec before, and I didn't really notice any changes, so I attributed the behavioral changes to the Singulair. I took him off of both meds and things went back to normal. We started back on Zyrtec a week ago. Five days in, he is exhibiting the same behavioral changes as last fall. I stopped giving it to him today. | I really wish that pediatricians and pharmacists would warn parents to watch for these changes in behavior when prescribing Zyrtec. These little guys are at our mercy and don't deserve to have to feel like this. | M | 4 | 6 days | 6/4/2007 | 1 | mild allergies | hallucinations, trouble urinating, facial twitches, nightmares,insomnia,flushing,visual spotting,headaches,loss of appetite, staring in space,loss of reality,extreme fright,loss of social skills,not making sense when he talks, crying, negative behavior,psychotic | It has been four weeks since his last dose of Zyrtec and he is still not back. I am sick with worry and am afraid that this is permanent damage. He went from being a super star at preschool to jumping on tables and crying and screaming. He had a ct scan and eeg both were normal. Pediatric neurologist said that it was a toxic reaction to zyrtec and it would wear off. How long does it take to wear off? If anyone has any insight to calm down a distraught mother please e-mail me. I have been crying every day and I am so afraid he won't come back. | M | 5 | 3 weeks | 6/1/2007 | 1 | Eczema | agressive behavior, can't focus, can't remember anything, can't sit still, can't pay attention and follow teacher's instruction. nose breeding. always tired | Teacher kept complaining about my 8-year-old son behavior, she even force me to put him as a ADD kid, after I found out this website, I did two things: 1. Reduced the medicine little by little (it took me two months to quit the whole medicine). 2. Transfer my son to another teacher's class. Now four months pass, I just got his report card, he got straight 'A' and citizenship marked as "Excellent".He is still in ADD status but he did not take any ADD medicine, I knew his behavior problem was caused by Zyrtec and Singular (he took two medicines everyday). My suggestion is: Quit those drugs as soon as possible, my son is under the treament of Chinese herb and there is no side effect. you may make a research and find another better way to treat your kid. Good Luck!! | M | 9 | 2 years | 5/26/2007 | 1 | Allergies | My almost 3 yr old daughter has been taking Zyrtec for about 3.5 months. We were told to take it (by a Ear,Nose,Throat Specialist no less) to "dry her head up" after a severe earache that would not go away. It worked, no more severe drainage for DAYS. HOWEVER: Over these last few months my happy child has been aggressive, short tempered, occasional catatonic like stares, prone to tantrums and will fall apart at the drop of a hat, as if possessed / bi-polar ! She also would say occasionally that her tummy hurt, her "pookie" (vaginal area) itched/hurt and she was drinking tons of water, had a few headaches and sore throats along with runny stools constantly. We NEVER connected the two (med and behavior) due to her being 2.5 , a new baby brother and being in play school. We blamed everything else. My husband found this site and as of this morning she is OFF Zyrtec and I hope by daughter will be back soon. Thank you !!!! | The doctors need to tell parents the REAL side effects and let the parents choose if the cure is worth the poison. If we had been informed of the TRUE side effects, not what the label says, we NEVER would have put her on the drug ! | F | 3 | 3 months | 5/25/2007 | 2 | allergies | Became anxious, bit withdrawn, obssessed over irrational worries.No matter how much we tried to disprove worries did not believe us. Said his brain would not stop worring even though he knew they were silly. Would melt down,cry,kick thought he was going to get into trouble.Symptoms of OCD and general anxiety dissorder. | Worked for nasal problem. Unfortunately when he was on 5mg(1 week) I did not pay attention to small amount of anxiety and dosage was increased to 10mg(1 week). This intensified anxiety,irrationality and worries. When zyrtec was stopped behavior calmed down. Now we are left with residual effect. I though something happened and he was now crazy.Feel helpless that I did not see this in beginning and must now suffer through effects and seek psychological help . | M | 6 | 1 weeks | 5/23/2007 | 1 | allergies | Became anxious,bit withdrawn, had irrational thoughts and worries. Nothing we did could stop the worries or disprove his thoughts. He said his brain would not stop even thought he knew thoughts were silly.Would melt down crying about worries.Would obsess over worries (Symptons of OCD.) | Worked on nasal problem.Unfortunaly did not notice small changes when he was on 5mg1 week and was increased to 10 mg for 1 week.This sent him over the edged. When medicine stopped behavior improved.But now left with phsycological effect. Feeling frustrated and helpless as a parent to see your child go through this and think they are crazy. | M | 6 | 1 weeks | 5/23/2007 | 1 | Allergies | Emotional, irratability, temper tantrums, agressive behavior, edgey, | My 5 year old son has been on zyrtec of and on for 2 years. He recently had his dose increased to 10cc from 5cc. He has been irrated, emotional, and agressive since we increased his dose two months ago. I have gotten calls from preschool, family members, and friends about his change in attitude. I was really concerned something happened to him. Something did happen...zyrtec. I am taking him off immediately. I have spent too many sleepless nights, and punished him too much for something that a doctor should have told us. | M | 5 | 2 months | 5/16/2007 | 3 | Seasonal Allergies | Helped with seasonal allergies but terrible behavior problems as a result. Like so many parents on this site, we never put 2 and 2 together. His teacher pulled me aside today for the 2nd time in 2 weeks to discuss increasing behavior problems and even aggressive behavior. We all think our kids are the best but this one really is a kind natured kid, NEVER before have I been told he is hitting other kids. The teacher felt like he just can’t help himself and was concerned. This site has totally freaked me out. I feel terrible, all the discipline and frustration and it’s a side affect. Increased appetite is something we saw a long time ago. I’m VERY disappointed with the doctors for not having us be on the lookout for this. | Pick your poison, allergy symptoms or behavioral problems. STAY AWAY from this drug, seek alternatives and monitor changes of any kind. | M | 4 | 60 days | 5/10/2007 | 2 | Allergies/Asthma | Tried this drug with my 3 year old daughter to help control her asthma attacks (well, to control her allergies which her doctor thought were aggravating her asthma). She was on it for two days and I immediately saw fatigue and very aggressive moodiness. She gets very upset over the smallest things where she is ordinarily very laid back and easy going. We're taking her off after reading this site. | F | 3 | 2 days | 5/9/2007 | 3 | Seasonal Allergies | My 6yr old daughter had problems last spring with vaginal irritation and discomfort when urinating. We took her to the pediatrician 3 x's and a Gyn and they came up with nothing. This spring, same problem - went online and found this site stating some females had similar problems w/Claritan. I called Pfizer this morning and they told me that skin irritation is side effect of med(which they included her problem as part of that side effect). Incidentally, 4 yr old son had strange rash on face after starting Zyrtec, maybe is related to med as well? | My daughter has terrible allergies, don't know what to do to relieve suffering - she missed several days of school last year due to vaginal irritation - not to mention Dr's asking her if anyone "touched" her. Terrible experience for parent! | F | 6 | 30 days | 4/25/2007 | 1 | allergies | My sons took this for allergies, ages 4 and 5, with bad dreams and restless sleep as a result. Also my 5 year old had daytime hallucinations, asked if he was dreaming, said he saw things that we didn't, it was really weird. | I would not give this to children unless their allergies were unbearable. I would rather treat with Vicks Vaporub at night than have a wigged out child. | M | 5 | 3 months | 4/20/2007 | 2 | Seasonal Allergies | My 4 year old son is allergic to almost everything under the sun having to do with outside and springtime. About a year and a half ago we took him to an allergist and he was tested and prescribed Zyrtec to treat his symptoms. He has been on and off of this since. About a 2 weeks ago he began to have allergy symptoms. So I administered the Zyrtec. About a week or so after that I noticed that he began to move his neck, clear his throat often, blink plenty and shrug his shoulders involuntarily. When I took him to his pediatrician she freaked me out by likening his symptom to a child with Tourettes said that they were repetitive tics and referred us to a neurologist. I lost my mind, but it wasn't until I began to read these ratings and came across one that talked about the involuntary tics that I made the connection and did some more research on the medication. | Do not let your pediatrician diagnose your child with a trumped up biased observation and call it "tourettes" when in actuality it may only be the medicine. This scared my husband and I to death. | M | 4 | 8 times | 4/18/2007 |