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 | Allergies | 3.5 yr old son behavior changes (moody, aggressive, sleepless nights, hyper-active, emotional, lack of attention/focus, defiant) | 3.5 yr old son was taking for allergies and post-nasal drainage. It helped well with the allergies and drainage. We didn't realize there was anything wrong, we thought a lot of the behavior issues and defiance was his age. We noticed the biggest change after he started Pre-K this past fall. We started getting more and more reports from his teachers of his uncontrollable activity and behaviors as well of his lack of attention. They requested that we speake with the Pediatrician regarding possible ADHD. The problem was, I wasn't seeing it at home much. He took it at night before bed (every night since it was recommended). I am thinking that he was the worst at school because by the time he was home the side-effects were starting to wear off and they were the strongest in the morning. After evaluations were done with the teachers and my family, the doctor agreed it wasn't ADHD. But looking back, after about 1-2 weeks of being on it Zyrtec our sitter stated she noticed his behavior changing and it had gotten progressively worse. For her, he bit a child...that is out of character for him, was hyper active, wouldn't nap, sassy, defiant, ignored her, etc. At school he got to where he was poking other kids, kicked his teacher, hyper, defiant, wouldn't focus, etc). We took him off the Zyrtec and he began changing within the first 2 days he started being more in control, more obedient, less hyper, more sincere and loving. He is slowly getting better each day. Stopped use. | M | 3.5 | 11 months 1/2 tsp 1X day | 3/11/2010 | 1 | Allergies | Heart palpitations, muscle weakness, extreme lethargia, violent mood swings/anger problems, itchy hives, dehydrated feeling, overall poor health and sick feeling all the time. | I have taken this product for a long time. I have used 3 different antihistimines for my allergies over the past 4 years. Its great not to have a runny, sneezy nose 24/7, but over the past few months I have noticed my health declining. The heart problems and muscle weakness are the scariest. I have avoided going to a doctor thinking it must be diet, so I stopped drinking soda and started eating healthier. After a month, I do not see an improvement. Someone told me that it could be the allergy meds and after seeing this site, I am certain of it. I stopped taking the pill yesterday and I should see an improvement in about a month. I will update then. Beware, these side effects are not listed on the bottle people! I feel awful and am very dissappointed. | F | 31 | 10mg 1X day | 3/10/2010 Patient History | 3 | allergies, runny nose, itchy eyes | I took it before bed (I'm allergic to dust and I wake up in the morning congested). I think it worked, but I was so sleepy I couldn't walk a straight line in the morning. I felt like I was hit by a sandbag. | It made me sleepier than benadryl. And even just half a pill made me tired. My daughter takes it sometimes and does not get sleepy. But for me? I became non-functioning. | F | 38 | 2 days 10 mg 1X day | 3/3/2010 | 5 | Hives | No noticeable side effects | My daughter had a horrible outbreak of hives when she was just a little over a year old. It happened over the weekend and the ER doctors didn't know what it was. We took her to a dermatologist the next Monday morning, he diagnosed hives. My daughter was taking Zyrtec, Xantac and Benadryl for several weeks to quell the outbreak. She was then put on 1/2 teaspoon of liquid Zyrtec a day to prevent further outbreaks. After a few months we stopped giving it to her, soon after she broke out again. She is now 2 and a half years old and is back on Zyrtec daily, she is doing just fine. She takes it at bedtime. I see no difference in her sleeping pattern or behavior on or off the medication. From the looks of what I have been reading about other children on Zyrtec, I now feel that we have been very fortunate with our daughter. If she would have had adverse effects I would definitely have stopped it. Though, I am concerned about the long term effects of prolonged usage, effects that may not be visible at this time. | F | 2 | 1.5 years 1X day | 2/28/2010 | 3 | sinus headaches | Graphic and disturbing dreams; some sluggishness | I started taking Zyrtec at night because I was waking up with sinus headaches every morning. It worked well for that, so I have rated it 3. It completely knocks me out, especially if I have had any alcohol at all, even a single glass of wine at dinner, and it takes me a while to get moving in the morning. I have constant, vivid, disturbing dreams almost every night. My husband told me I woke up after an hour last night saying, "Scared, scared" over and over. I have no memory of that. I am going to stop taking this, or at least cut the dosage in half. If you do take it, follow the label warnings - no alcohol. | F | 56 | 30 days 10mg 1X day | 2/20/2010 | 2 | severe allergies | My son's pediatrician and allergist recommended Zyrtec for his severe allergies (certain trees and grasses, ragweed, cats). Soon after starting it his mood changed. He became violent and had uncontrollable tantrums. He began hitting and throwing and throwing fits about the smallest thing. I never related the behavior to the Zyrtec until he became sick and I stopped the Zyrtec in order to give him cough medicine. He almost immediately returned to the caring loving little man that he always was. | Please pay careful attention to your children if you give them this medicine. I feel so bad that I did not relate my son's behavior to the medicine. | F | 25 | 1 years 5 ML 1X day | 2/17/2010 | 1 | Allergies | Worked ok for allergies but get excruciating itching when try to stop (most definitely NOT a return of allergies as I never had itching). Found a step down withdrawal method on another website and has been working until now. Currently down to 2.5/mg daily and when I took the next step down of alternating one day on / one day off the itching started again! So will try 2.5/1.25 and then step down again from there. Cutting the pills is a hassle but getting the itching is even worse! | I never would've started this drug if I knew how terrible the withdrawal could be. Doctors and the FDA should warn people about this! | F | 51 | 10 years 10MG 1X day | 2/17/2010 | 1 | Sinus issues | dark urine, major itching, chills, red eyes, dry mouth | I was told by my ENT to take Zyrtec for my chronic sinus issues. It helped with my pain. But then I was having wired side effects. I did not know why I had major itching, dark urine. It was not until I ran out of Zyrtec that I relized it was the drug! I was off the Zyrtec for a week and my urine improved a bit, the itchy rash was getting better. Do not take this drug it not worth the side effects!! I am going to find a better way to relieve my chronic sinus pain, like accupunchure. Chronic means Always. :( | F | 37 | 1 years 1X day | 2/16/2010 | 5 | Allergies | I think zyrtec is a wonderful drug. It keeps me symptomless when I am on it. A doctor told me once that it is too strong and can cause bacterial infections in the sinuses. So I sometimes only take it every other day. I have been very happy with the results, especially since loratidine and allegra do not work at all. | F | 55 | 10 1X day | 2/11/2010 | 2 | 2 year olds ear infections | My 2 year old son was put on zyrtec for recurrent ear infections. He had a major bahavioral change take place. Uncontrolled temper tantrums for something as simple as taking off shoes. Thought it was just normal 2-year-old changes in behavior, but after stopping the medicine, his behavior has returned back to normal. | Be careful when giving this drug to your children! | F | 2 | 5 weeks 2.5 mg 1X day | 2/10/2010 | 1 | Allergies | IRRATIONAL ANGER, constant irritability, mood swings, depression, brain fog, crying jags, "thought disorder", lethargy, weight gain, poor nights sleep, swelling around stomach, blurry eyes, lack of motivation.... I use to take this medication before going to sleep, so I didn't make the connection between Zyrtec and the side effects. I also took Claritin on and off for a year prior to Zyrtec which I now see was the beginning of my symptoms. I Googled Zyrtec and weight gain (because I've gained 20+ lbs since starting the med which I can't lose no matter what diet or how much exercise) and found this site. I was shocked by all the posts about the effects this medication had on people's thinking and moods, especially irrational feelings of anger and extreme emotional lability (eg crying over the simplest things.) | I stopped taking Zyrtec over a week ago and immediately noticed a difference in my thinking and mood. It was like a dark cloud lifted and the simmering anger I felt inside me all the time GONE. No more negative, obsessive thinking, or crying jags either. All my life, I have always been a positive, easy going, happy person. But over the past 2+ years I was slowly turning into an irrationally angry and over emotional disaster. Friends and family thought I was either having a nervous breakdown or symptoms of menopause. I have even seen a counselor to discover what *issues* were effecting my life, lol. Who'd of thunk that an ANTIHISTAMINE could cause such havoc! I had been attributing my change in mood and personality to the stress in my marriage, fighting, and divorce issues. I see now that Zyrtec has been THE ISSUE. In researching histamines, I discovered that they have to do with neurotransmitter and hormone regulation. Who knows what is going one when they are blocked by an antihistamine. No wonder there are so many psychiatric adverse effects being listed, rather like antidepressants. The children are the canaries in the mine. If so many kids are having such SEVERE emotional and mental reactions, you have to figure this med is TOXIC to ones brain. This med should NOT be OTC. I predict we will see black box warnings on this med pretty soon, maybe even see it be withdrawn from the market. One can hope. | F | 46 | 2 years 10 MG 1X day | 2/10/2010 | 1 | seasonal allergies | Our high energy 5.5 yrs old son became irritable, moody and clumsy. We are used to his high level of energy but his normal "ready to learn" behavior at pre-school radically changed 2 weeks after he started the medication. For the first time his teacher complaint about my son not listening, ignoring her and taking one bad choice after another. Behavior at home was not much better, since he's always been so active and he has a little brother, it took me a while to realize how out of control was his behavior. I can't believe our DR would prescribe this med without a warning. I am thankful for all the entries, it is important to share this kind of information. | M | 5 | 3 weeks 5ml 1X day | 2/10/2010 | 1 | Allergies | My 7yr. old son had been taking this for his allergies. He has been very hard to deal with. Very angry, hateful wanting to hurt himself, trying to hurt others. He has said he wants to kill himself a few times over the last month. Lots of crying every day over nothing. I did not know that it was this drug doing this to him. He has been off it for three months now and is doing wonderful. He came to me and said he does not feel mean anymore. Mom, I'm back to my old self again. I was so happy to hear this. He has not had any crying, mornings have been great. He does take Advair 115/21 still now I'm wondering if this is doing something to him also. | M | 7 | 8 months 10mg 1X day | 2/10/2010 | 1 | Allergies | No side effects but terrible withdrawals. I have been taking Zyrtec for 3 years BECAUSE I have been getting hives which were caused by the drug. I just figured this out 6 days ago. I stopped immediately and have not stopped itching since day 2 of being off of it. I heard that you can not take anything to offset the itchiness, other than heavily moisturizing. I also heard the itching can last up to 6 weeks! That is torture! | M | 37 | 3 years 10mg 4X W | 2/8/2010 | 1 | i had hives | I had fogginess in my head. That shit belongs in the dumpster! | I rather have hives than take this crap. | F | 46 | 3 weeks 10 mg 1X day | 2/7/2010 | 1 | Chronic sinusitis | Extreme lethargy, to the point that I had trouble keeping my eyes open at work and I only took it at night. It made my head feel foggy and like I was in a stupor. THEN, despite feeling absolutely exhausted, I had trouble falling asleep AND staying asleep! I also felt grumpy, although whether that was from the medicine or lack of sleep, I couldn't tell you. In any case, it made me feel completely out of it! | I would not recommend this to anyone, unless you are having really severe allergy problems and nothing else will work. The side effects are just not worth it! | F | 31 | 2 days | 1/29/2010 | 1 | eczema & itching | Our son (age 5) was put on Zyrtec to control his itching, which would improve his eczema. We saw amazing results the first week and were very pleased with it. After that week, he developed a severe cough, sore throat & severe headaches. Has miss school several days due to the headaches. We skipped the medicine for a few days and he is back to himself. Won't be giving it to him anymore. | 5 | 20 days | 1/27/2010 | 3 | allergies | Severe itching and irritability when trying to stop taking it | I started taking zyrtec on occasion for seasonal or pet allergies, and quickly found myself itching, angry and moody when I don't take it. It worked relatively well on my allergies, but after 10 years of being on daily pill I started getting sudden severe allergic reaction to unknown allergen in my house, that is not controlled by zyrtec at all. | F | 40 | 10 years | 1/25/2010 | 4 | allergies | none | Did not work as well as Claritin for clearing my sinuses, but at least it didn't have the side effects that Claritin did. Although I was pleased, I stopped taking Zyrtec after reading numerous accounts of people suffering from itching fits when trying to get off the drug. I'm now taking chlorpheniramine maleate because I know it won't give me side effects or withdrawals (10 year history), and it works just as well as Zyrtec for me. | F | 25 | 15 days | 1/12/2010 | 4 | Year round allergies | Racing heart,headaches, mood swings, weight gain, sleepiness, coughing, dry mouth, always hungry and being in a complete daze. | I am so glad I found this site. I have been suffering from tons of side effects and I couldn't figure out why. I started researching after My headaches and my mood swings have been getting progressively worse. Sometimes my head hurts so bad that I have to run to the ER to get shots in my arm to stop the pain. Several times I have attempted to stop taking Zyrtec and I would break out in this itch all over my skin that is just unbearable to deal with. I always thought it was my allergies that was causing this itch but I guess it just might be the medication. | F | 32 | 8 years | 1/12/2010 |