Reviews for ZYRTEC24 ratings: (age 13 or younger, side effects include depression sadness)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.) Page: 1 2 |
More on ZYRTEC: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ZYRTEC | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 1 | Dust mite allergy | Feelings of sadness without explanation. Once we stopped Zyrtec, this went away. | F | 7 | 30 days 5mg 1X day | 8/16/2023 | 1 | Before Zyrtec, my 2-year-old was polite, mentally advanced, fully fluent in English, and was learning Spanish & sign language. Her Pediatrician gave her this Zyrtec to treat allergies. Extreme Stutter, Vaginal Discomfort, Mental Health issues, hallucinations, nightmares, mood swings, violent hitting and biting, dry nose, OCD Anxiety, and more. The worst was the bouts of Sadness. When a 2-year-old sits down and says she is SAD and has a catatonic blank stare when she is usually the vibrant life of the party social butterfly, it is VERY disheartening. | Found information about Zyrtec breaking the Blood Brain Barrier causing drug-induced mental issues. Zyrtec had legal action against them years ago for this EXACT reason and changed the drug to one known to break the barrier with less frequency but it still does. This is just WRONG to put don't he shelves and ruin kids (and Adults) like this. I just stopped the drug and noticed a marked improvement in my baby girl. She still has a stutter, and what seems to be OCD issues. I am now scheduled to see a Neurologist. I wish I had more to share. I can only PRAY and provide any support possible with the HOPE that my kid returns to normal. DO NOT TAKE THIS PRODUCT!!!!! I will update this post with info or feel free to email me via the link below. | F | 2.4 | 3 weeks 2.5 mg 1X day | 8/15/2022 | 1 | Seasonal allergies | Extreme sadness, bouts of anger, inability to fall asleep. | I cannot believe I am just now making the connection between my sons sudden mood and behavior changes and Zyrtec. He told me tonight that he is scared he is going to be sad forever and he can’t figure out why. He cries even when he is doing the things that he normally loves. I can’t wait until this med is out of his system completely. | M | 9 | 4 months | 3/18/2020 | 1 | Allergies | Anxiety, depression, rage, dark thoughts, insecurity | I which I could give a negative rating for ZYRTEC. Zyrtec turned my daughter into a different child. Over the past three months she has changed from a typical 11 year old (with occasional drama but always good natured, kind and reasonable) into a girl that has intense irrational meltdowns several times a day. I am very sad to say that we initial brushed her behavior off as typical preteen drama but the intensity of her outburst made me believe that something else was going on with her. I finally made the connection this morning and began researching the side effects. I called my child's doctor and sadly they have never heard of any side effects like this from Zyrtec - wow- so scary! I encourage anyone who has had side-effects to log them here. I usually do not do this, but I am so scared for the kids that are taking this drug. If parents do not make the link between ZYRTEC and behavior these children could easily and unnecessarily get diagnosed with a mental health condition. | F | 11 | 3 months 1X day | 5/31/2013 | 1 | Allergies | Anxiety, depression, anger | My 5 year old son started taking otc zyrtec when he was 3 due to allergies per the doctor's suggestion. His allergies would lead to recurring sinus infections. While it seemed to help with itching and hives, it didn't help very much with the allergy/sinus symptoms. I would usually give the zyrtec to him as needed but the pediatrician said to start giving it to him daily. As soon as he was taking it daily, I started noticing changes in him such as irritabilty, crying over little things all the time, huge increase in separation anxiety, being scared of noises and darkness, and depression. I was getting concerned due to the comments he would make... "I hate my life." "I wish I didn't have a life". "I hate school". "Nobody likes me at school". "I hate my life". He also would start following me everywhere. Won't let me out of his sight because he says he's scared. Clings to be when I drop him at daycare when he was fine before. Although I am not 100% sure it is from the Zyrtec, I am taking him off immediately after reading all the posts about the bad side effects. I was not told to look for mood changes due to the zyrtec so had just chalked it up to him being a child and going through changes. I stopped the zyrtec yesterday so I'm hoping he will revert back to his happy and secure self. | F | 5 | 1.5 years 5 mg 1X day | 7/18/2012 | 1 | Hayfever, sinus allergies | My daughter (age 4 when she started Zyrtec, now age 6) over time has been exhibiting increasing anxiety and nervousness. She always says she has "bad thoughts." She has lots of fears. Cries because she does not want to go to school, constantly checks her pulse to make sure her heart is still beating, expresses fears that she'll stop breathing in her sleep. We took her to a counselor and in the first few minutes of our initial visit she informed us that Zyrtec can be a cause for anxiety and depression. We were shocked! | We have stopped her Zyrtec now and are hoping that her anxiety will begin to get better. It breaks my heart to see my baby like she is. Doctors should never prescribe this to children. They do not know how to cope with these side effects. | F | 6 | 2 years 1 tsp. 1X day | 1/17/2012 | 1 | seasonal allergies | depression, lack of concentration in school, panic attacks, fear and anxiety, anger. | My 9 yr old son was prescribed Zyrtec by his pediatrician. We noticed an immediate change in his attitude, behavior and grades. He was a very happy, motivated, straight A student. His personality completely changed. We thought his mood and behavior problems were just caused by his age and a new friend. We had no clue about the side effects of this drug until he stopped taking it just to see if his allergies were gone. After stoping the drug. It took about 10 days for the panic attacks to start(multiple times a day). He would just cry and shake and say his head felt funny. After taking him to his doctor, getting lab work done, EEG, EKG, referal to a pediatric psychologist I was told about the effects of this drug in children. I can't believe doctors are not talking to their patients about these severe side effects!!! Take your child off of this drug immediatly!!!!!!! | M | 9 | 5 months 10 MG 1X day | 6/23/2010 | 2 | Seasonal Allergies | My 4 yr old experienced severe depression (as I call it considering she is 4). She withdrew from her favorite activities, like singing and dancing, stopped eating her favorite foods, would constantly say she felt like crying or she was sad. Did not want to go to school, would wake up ALL night long with nightmares, said her sheets were bumpy, it was crazy and my family was going crazy. She was extremely clingy and weepy, she also would have outbursts of crying or whining for no apparent reason. Took her off the zyrtec and within two weeks, I had my joyful, loving, playful, full of life daughter back. | Never taking zyrtec again, especially for extended periods of time for children....NEVER! | F | 4.5 | 2 months 5 - 7.5mg 1X day | 6/15/2010 Patient History | 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 | 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 | 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 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies | Severe mood swings, sadness, anger, rage. | My 9 year old son has very bad seasonal allergies. I have tried everything from Singulair to Benadryl to this medicine. My son is one of the happiest children I have ever met...all of that changed when he began using this. At first it was subtle, but now it is full blown. He is so manic that it actually frightens me. He is very aggressive and violent. He will also cry for no reason. Then apologize for his behavior...and 2 minutes later start all over again. I really think the Zyrtec is causing this because the same thing happened on Singulair. He has stopped taking this and I will see if there is any improvment. | M | 9 | 2 months | 5/28/2009 | 1 | Seasonal Allergy | Depression, lack of attention span, confusion, and overall ability to make rational decisions | My son's grade dropped dramatically once on Zyrtec. His overall ability to function was impaired by Zyrtec. Now that he is no longer on the drug, he is feeling like his old (non zyrtec) self. | M | 12 | 20 days | 5/18/2009 | 1 | Chronic Allergy | irrational escalation over small issues turning into rage and tantrum, followed by anger at self about not being able to stop the conflict. Inability to stop chewing lip, Periodic (negative) obsession with looks, "heads too big, face too long", low self esteem, depression "I have no friends". Rage/tantrums stopped within 24 hours of stopping medication, depression/obsession within days, lip licking - may be unrelated - took about 30 days to cease. | The kids have been hapily OFF the prescription for about 90 days. Product does a good job of alleviating allergy, but in my opinion the manufacturer is criminally negligent in not disclosing the potential side-effects for smaller children. Does not seem to affect all kids the same, but when the side effects manifest themselves it's heart-breaking. Prescribed to both sons, 6 and 8. The 8 year old seemed to have no problem with the medication. The 6 year old went through a year of progressively more frequent and more irrational arguing and escalation. Then would feel angry at homself over not being able to control it. On an instinct we decided to stop medication to see if it helped. Impact was immediate. He is still a headstrong kid, but he is rational, feels good about himself, and feels in control of hios emotions. Kills me to think of how much confrontaion we could have avoided and the unneccessary emotional conflict it put on my 6 year old. I didn't find this site until after we had stopped the medication, was amazed at the fast impact, and was looking to see if this was a published side effect. Overnight, with cessation of the medication, the tantrum behavior that had built up to almost weekly clashes has been gone for the 90 days since we stopped the dosage. I can hardly find the words to describe my contempt for the manufacturer for not warning consumers to watch for this potential side effect. I hope someone sues them into bankruptcy. | M | 6 | 12 months | 5/6/2009 | 2 | seasonal allergies | My 5-year-old developed an extremely volatile mood tending toward tearfulness, depression, erratic sleep patterns. This occurred on the day I started giving him Children's Zyrtec and ended the day after he ceased to take it. | M | 5 | 5 days | 3/3/2009 | 1 | Allergies | Depression, temper-tantrums, mood swings. | This is like a body snatcher. I've been fine, then after the zyrtec, I want to kill myself. NO ONE TAKE THIS MEDICINE! | M | 12 | 3 months | 3/14/2008 | 1 | runny nose, allergic cough | Facial tics (squinting), aggression, night terrors, depression, overly emotional behavior, halucinations, totally zoned out at school | This medication almost ruined my daughter's life. I had no idea this drug was the cause of so much of our misery until I found this site and took her off of it (very slowly to avoid the horrible itching that always happened when we skipped a dose). Try to find an alternative to this drug. We use Nasalcrom with no problems so far. | F | 8 | 5 years | 2/12/2008 | 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 | Alergies | Our 7 year old son was having violent temper tantrums, throwing things, punching and hitting other family members. These tantrums would last up to an hour or more. He was unable to handle anything that didn't go his way. He was like a monster and we did not know what to do. I thought he was ADHD or ODD and we began threapy for him. THANK GOD I FOUND THIS WEBSITE! It never dawned us us it could be the Zyrtec. Neither his doctor or his therapist knew anything about the pschological side effects that Zyrtec can cause. After further research I found that the following pschological side effects were listed in Zyrtec's own studies *** ABNORMAL THINKING, AGITATION, AMNESIA, ANXIETY, LOWERED LIBITO, DEPERSONALIZATION, DEPRESSION, EMOTIONAL LABILITY, EUPHORIA, IMPAIRED CONCENTRATION, INSOMNIA, NERVOUSNESS, PARANOIA, SLEEP DISORDERS *** Amazingly, the doctor perscribed the medication and never warned us of this! Everyone should be aware of this and I can attest that children should not be taking | Needless to say we took our son off the Zyrtec as soon as I read the information on this website. It has been about three weeks and we have seen much improvement. I pray that there are no long term effects on our son. Any other parents' comments are welcome. Feel free to e-mail me. I would love to hear from you. | M | 7 | 1 years | 2/13/2006 | 1 | allergies | Irritable, sadness, poor impulse control, crying spells, insatiable appetite. | My son is 5 and began taking Zyrtec 2 weeks ago for allergies. The first two days I was giddy with happiness because my sneezy, itchy snotty, miserable son had started waking up bright eyed and bushy-tailed. Then I realized how much his behavior was changing. His teacher started saying that he couldn't seem to control himself in class. Couldn't make a decision during choice time...on and on. She said it "wasn't like him" and wanted to know what was going on different. He also started crying more often for no reason and having strange dreams. And last, but not least, he started chasing and scaring our cat who he used to be so gentle and kind with. When I asked the doctor about the side effects, she was very blasse' about it. After reading the other comments about Zyrtec and kids on this site...I will never give it to him again. DO NOT GIVE YOUR CHILDREN ZYRTEC. IT IS NOT WORTH IT!!!! | M | 5 | 2 weeks | 10/18/2005 |