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 |
| 1 | SON 2-3 yr old for allergies multip | Irratable Violent mood swings anxiety stubborn. Horrible side effects | please if your child is small. MONITOR THERE BEHAVIOR WHEN ON NEW MEDS. | M | 3 | 6 months | 12/5/2009 | 1 | Indoor allergies (cats and dust) | extreme mood swings/ irritable, axiety, lack of concentration/ focus, sluggishness, constant complainging of body aches and stomach ache | My 5 year old daughter began taking Zyrtec 3 months ago and I noticed some immediate (within a week of beginning Zyrtec) changes. The slightest conflict produces crying and tantrums that I have never before seen in her. She constantly complains that her legs ache and stomach hurts. She worries about ridiculous things she never was concerned with before, and her grandmother has even gone so far as to call her paranoid. Again, this has all started only since I began giving her the medicine and this site has been eye opening for me. The worst part- she is still having allergy symptoms. She took her last dose of Zyrtec last night and she is scheduled to see an ENT doctor to see if her allergy symptoms are not an anatomical issue. | F | 5 | 3 months | 12/4/2009 | 1 | asthma/allergies (dust, mold, etc.) | uncontrolable behavior, angry outbursts, hitting, biting, extreme mood swings | My son has been taking Zyrtec and Singulair for about a 1 1/2 years and Claritin before that. He was such a good baby, very laid back and happy. We discovered his exstensive allergies after his first birthday. That's about the time we started meds. I never made the connection with his wild behavior until reading these postings. I feel so guilty for thinking he was a bad child when he couldn't control it. We are stopping the Zyrtec and are going to try Allegra. I can't believe none of his doctors ever made the connection! | M | 3 | 1.5 years | 12/2/2009 | 2 | asthma/allergies | Moody, cranky, emotional highs and lows, sleeplessness, aggression | 8 months ago the doctor prescribed 1tsp a day for my 4 year old who has asthma that is triggered by common allergies. It wasn't until he transitioned from childcare to school that a red flag was raised concerning his moodiness, behavior issues, sleeplessness, etc. I thought it was a phase, but he really wasn't himself. I spoke to his teachers, counselors, the doctor and everyone said he was just having transition issues. I didn't buy it and at my mother's suggestion, started to research all of the medications he was taking for the asthma. Low and behold, Zyrtec has all of these crazy side effects. Who knew?! Why would you prescribe that for a child?! I took him off of it 2 weeks ago and he's done a 180. He's a happy go lucky kid who's back to being himself. | M | 4 | 8 months | 11/18/2009 | 1 | allergic asthma/hives | My poor baby was on zyrtec AND pulmicort (inhaled steroid) for about 3 years (from 2 1/2 until age 6) and we had such worries about his behavior. He had been a happy, easy baby and, after starting preschool (and having his first allergic/asthmatic problem, resulting in us starting these meds), he CHANGED. We never associated the meds with the problem...went to child therapist even....and we noticed some improvement in behavior as he grew (and we understand now, as his body got bigger and the dosage stayed the same...making the side effects a bit less potent). Finally, the Dr. suggested taking a "summer off" the meds to see what would happen (medically not behaviorally) since he had not had any asthma issues in a while. So, the summer when he was six, we weaned him off. We didn't make the connection yet but, he gradually became such a delight....we attributed it to maturity..and he started first grade like a new boy! THEN, he got a cold and had some mild asthmatic compl | I cried when I put all the pieces together...and had a talk with the Dr. who denied that what I was describing was possible. We consulted with antoher DR. (our pediatrician) who supported our decision to keep him OFF the zyrtec completely (we use low dose of benadryl for the hives...hassle to dose every 4 to 6 hours but, he does not react to 1 t. and it does the job!) and the inhaled steroid only when he is sick (and we know to expect some behavior changes). | M | 6 | 3 years | 11/18/2009 | 1 | allergies | My children took this. My son turns into another person..no reasoning, hyper, mean, whining, clingy, waking up at night...He took it from the day he turned 2 until around the middle of the summer. I was at my wits end..I stopped zyrtec...new person? My daughter becomes clingy, emotional, has anxiety, emotional mess...no more, no more. Nordic Naturals ProEFA fish oil (369)literally stopped his allergies/eczema in its tracks...maybe another option for some of you out there..Never again..A runny nose for a few days is a whole lot better than this. My children are 2 and 5. | F | 5 | 6 months | 11/10/2009 | 1 | HIVES/ALLERGIES | My son has been taking this for 2 yrs. and yesterday I decided to research the side effects and I came to this website and I was reading all the different reports I was frozen like a turkey. My son is super hyperactive, has leg cramps, nervouseness, is getting white stops in his face many symptoms that other users said they had. Omg! I've gone to bed crying so many nights and wondering what I was doing wrong. Only a few people really now my son and understand me, now I wonder if it's the medicine, he was only 1yr when he started to take it and from dawn to dusk he is a wild child :( My husband & I decided to stop giving him Zyrtex and it's been 1 day so far and hope and pray that it was that but at the same time I hope that the medicine did not do more harm. Now I'm just watching him closely for any changes. I will post at a later time the outcome. I just pray it's for the best and that my little guy gets better and undercontrol. I love Him so much :) | I give it a 5 because since he's been taking it, the Hives have not come back. But I give it a 1 if it's the cause for his abnormal behavior that we had to live with for 2 yrs. | M | 3 | 2 years | 11/6/2009 | 1 | possible allergies/asthma | This drug affected my 4 year old son's sleeping and waking hours. He had five or six night terrors that he could not wake from every night. His behavior changed during the day, from a sweet mild mannered boy to a hyper, manic, agressive and angry preschooler. I came here and read all of the same side effects that other children were having and I stopped giving him Zyrtec. This upset our family so much that I wrote a blog about it: http://raisingcalifornia.blogspot.com/2009/10/zyrtec-is-evil.html | Don't give this to your children! | M | 4 | 6 weeks | 10/21/2009 | 3 | Seasonal Allergies/ Skin issues | Our 4 year old son has been on and off Zyrtec for two years. We are just now connecting behavior, mood, and aggression to Zyrtec. We thought that his behavior was due to being 3 (an age we have found to be very difficult in boys). Our son has had sleep issues since he has been out of a crib and severe behavioral issues for the last year and a half. I have actually talked to the Pediatrician about his behavior and have even considered looking into therapy. Our son has been extremely tough to deal with, very strong-willed, emotional, and aggressive at times. We recently took him off Zyrtec for three weeks and noticed a definite change in behavior. Our "melancholy" kid was happy, fun, goofy, social, and a joy to be around. We didn't connect the Zyrtec and put him back on it after a visit with the Allergist. He has been on the full teaspoon for 2 weeks now and we have had rages, crying, out-of-control behavior. He will no longer be taking Zyrtec after tonight. He does | Don't put your kids on it! It's not worth it!!! | M | 4 | 2 years | 10/18/2009 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies | My 8-year old daughter took it for terrible allergy symptoms during July '09. She bacame anxious and said "I don't feel right in my body". She wouldn't sleep alone -- she made a "nest" on the floor in my room and wanted a big light on, not just a nightlight. | A friend at work told me about the side effects recently and that was when I realized my daughter had the personality problems during that period. Her behavior is back to what it was. | F | 8 | 15 days | 10/11/2009 | 3 | Allergies | OMG. My 10 year old son has had a complete personality change after 4 weeks on Zyrtec. I just googled "Zyrtec irritabiity" and found this site. Thank you. I ordered child behavior books this afternoon because his anger is through the roof. He will never take another one! | M | 10 | 4 weeks | 9/23/2009 | 1 | Allergies | My 8 yo daughter took Zyrtec once, ONCE and FAINTED at school the next day. A whole 5 mg of the stuff did it!! It was very unsettling to receive a call at work from the school nurse saying your daughter has fainted. She was eating cheese sticks for lunch and fell back as she lost consciousness. School staff were concerned she could have choked on food parts in her mouth or throat. The sad part of it all (as if the fainting was not enough) is the only reason we gave her Zyrtec was because the local pharmacy didn't have Benadryl strips when I went out on Sunday night to buy some. I'm back w/Benadryl. And will look into natural remedies as well. | Am now further convinced the FDA is really not on the ball, big pharma is out for profits ONLY. | F | 8 | 1 days | 9/16/2009 | 1 | environmental allergies, ASTHMA | My son's behavior over the last 2 years have been worrisome to say the least...to the point that we have scheduled appts with child therapist. It is like he is constantly surrounded by a bubble of negative energy..moody, slight OCD, anxiety, facial ticks, etc. We constantly try to keep positive energy around him..He has had thoughts to hurt him self. A friend of mine who I totally respect and is very "science oriented" she would never rely on blogs..told me about her son who was on zyrtec and she took him off of it because of the behavioral changes he has experienced. it got me thinking. I was reading all of these blogs and felt like I could have written any of them. I plan to start to wean my son of Zyrtec immediately!!!! | M | 8 | 2 years | 9/7/2009 | 1 | seasonal allergies | heart racing, trouble breathing, severe anxiety, irrational thoughts, severe depression, low self esteem... | This is by far the most horrible drug EVER created!I'm so sad that I'm just now putting two and two together!My son has seasonal allergies so I've given him zyrtec for 2 weeks now. He approached me yesterday and told me that he needed to talk to me about something.I could see the concern in his eyes. He told me that he was afraid of me not loving him anymore if he told me these things. He told me that he was having very bad thoughts of hurting his family.I was needless to say shocked considering that he's the sweetest kid I know. He had also been complaining for several days about his "heart" hurting, and shallow breathing. he kept describing this weird feeling in his head,described it as a feeling of intense pressure. I spent the whole day with him trying to put possitive thoughts in his head. yesterday his allergies were bad,and just as I was about to reach for the zyrtec a little light went off. I looked up this drug and it's possible side effects. I'm so blessed that I found this website.I'm also so angry that so many of you had similar stories! The sad thing about this drug is that it is highly reccommended by so many Doctors!I would NEVER reccommend this to anyone! | M | 12 | 2 weeks | 9/5/2009 | 2 | Allergies and Asthma | My 12 year-old daughter has been taking zyrtec off and on for 6 months. She is a lovable, creative kid who gets along well with others. She was having some trouble with her asthma this summer and having a feeling that she was not getting enough air in. We've had two episodes this summer where her anxiety was so bad she was in an uncontrolable state of crying and fear. She felt like she was going to die and wanted to go to the hospital. She's experienced feelings of despair and anxiety that I can't help her come out of. She's become constantly afraid and worried about dying. Not her usual Shirley Temple self. I'm taking her off zyrtec forever. I think it has really produced all of her anxiety. Many thanks to all who have posted their stories. | F | 12 | 6 months | 8/22/2009 | 1 | itching/allergies | although the zyrtec did control the itching at night, my daughter complained about feeling 'not real', pretend like in a story. She said she felt like she had water in her ears; a stuffy feeling that comes & goes. She said it started around the time 1st grade began. I connected that was when she started taking zyrtec as prescribed by her PCP. | we stopped the zyrtec and after 3 days, she said she said she was feeling more real! I definitely believe it was the zyrtec, especially after reading this database. I was actually looking for a psychiatrist thinking she had a mental health issue. We're turning to homeopath treatments to relieve her allergies now. | F | 7 | 10 months | 8/16/2009 | 1 | 11 year old son taking it for hives | severe irritability, depression, and anger | the symptoms were pronounced when on the drug and went away shortly after stopping the drug. we had been advised to use zyrtec preventatively and on an ongoing basis. given our son's reaction, this would doom him to a life of mental health problems. he is fine since we stopped it. we will use benadryl in the future for short term relief. | M | 11 | 10 days | 8/13/2009 | 1 | pet allergy / seasonal congestion | Irritability, moodiness, anger, aggression, appetite changes, sleep problems, personality change | Our son was taking zyrtec on and off as needed for over a year. We thought he was just a high-maintenance strong-willed child. It wasn't until he started taking it daily for a couple weeks straight that he became completely unbearable. We would have honestly sworn the devil had possession over our child, that's the best way I can describe his behavior. It wasn't until I found this site that it made me think it was the medicine causing it. I stopped giving it to him, and within a couple days, he was a completely different child. Much easier to manage, more agreeable, and overall happy. I thank whoever created this site, and just wanted to post our story, so maybe someone else who experiences the same thing can learn from our misery! We have since tried Claritin, and it causes the same symptoms. Now we are on Allegra, time will tell how that fares... | M | 3 | 1 years | 8/13/2009 | 1 | Ear Infections | Agressive behaviour,hitting,biting,screaming,throwing things,temper tantrums and not sleeping | I thought my son had the terrible two's, till i read these comments, "possessed" is how some parents describe their children, i agree. I'm a single parent some nights i just sit and cry, he's already been kicked out of one daycare for biting. Stopped the Zyrtec 2 days ago and already see an improvement, pray that it keeps getting better, wish i'd known sooner. | M | 2.5 | 1 years | 7/23/2009 | 1 | Allergies | My 6 year old son changed into a completely different little boy. His allergies cleared up but he showed signs of aggression,anger,and sadness. | Once I found out his behavior at school had drastically changed I was determined to figure out the cause. Then I realized it all began when he started on Zyrtec. I am so thankful for this site because I realized my son wasn't the only one experiencing these side effects. Now he is back on Claritin which isn't as effective as Zyrtec in clearing up his allergies, but I don't have to worry about crazy side effects. If you plan on giving your child Zyrtec, please keep a close eye on them for any changes. | M | 6 | 20 days | 6/15/2009 |