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 |
| 4 | dermetagraphism | a little drowsiness | great! it's helped me so much. i've been taking zyrtec for about 9 years. | F | 19 | 9 years | 1/5/2010 | 3 | Year-round allergies, asthma | Itching, Weight Gain, Night Terrors, Many sleeping problems | It does help me with my allergies a lot, but the withdrawal symptoms after (severe itching, rashes/bumps) are not so awesome. | F | 16 | 2 years | 1/5/2010 | 2 | Asthma & Allergies | Dry skin, EXTREME itching when stopped, some weight gain, sleeping problems, mood swings/emotional issues, "stupor"/confusion/"in a daze", | Does help allergies, but the side effects are sometimes severe. It actually had an adverse effect on me and instead of becoming drowsy, I became hyper, so I had to switch to taking this in the morning. This helped somewhat with sleeping problems, because the weird/graphic dreams stopped, but I would still give this a 2 b/c of the other side effects. It also did not help with excess throat mucus/throat clearing. | F | 0 | 3 years | 1/5/2010 | 1 | allergies | Our doctor recommended zyrtec for our 2 yr old daughter for a an extreme allergic reaction/hives(cause undetermined) we will never gives this drug to her again, never, extreme irrational temper tantrums, not a normal tantrum, aggressive odd behavior. we stopped taking giving her this drug after reviewing all these similar posts. extremely disappointed in doctor for not warning us of these possible side effects. | F | 2 | 7 days | 1/1/2010 | 4 | Allergies | Dry mouth, mild sedative effect, more hungry all the time, some weight gain. | Zyrtec works well, but I do sometimes feel foggy and more tired at times. Hunger and weight gain are the only other issues, but, compared to the Claritin, I'd rather do without the anxiety. | M | 38 | 5 years | 12/29/2009 | 1 | My young son- allergies | Our little boy had extremely negative and agressive behavior. He had uncontrollable temper tantrums at home and in public. He also displayed seemingly depressive behavior. This is just to name a few of the side effects he experienced while taking zyrtec. | Our son began taking zyrtec on a daily basis at 15 months old. It was suggested to us by our pediatrician to assist in our ongoing battle with ear infections and allergies. Initially, we contributed his behaviors to his age and "being a boy" although our first child, also a boy, had never experienced quite these same things. As he got older, we saw a significant increase in his physical agression as well as his extreme temper tantrums. His behavior would turn on a dime and was almost impossible to anticipate. As his primary caregiver during the day, I was beginning to feel like I was losing my mind. By the time my husband came home at night, I was often in tears. Finally, on a whim, I googled zyrtec/negative behaviors...I found a world of parents experiencing the same things as us. At this point, my little boy had been on the medication for over a year and a half. I felt like we had never seen his real personality. After that day, we never gave him Zyrtec again, EVER. His behavior,literally, changed overnight. He is now 4-1/2 and has never ever behaved again as he did while on that drug. Although not all children will react in such a negative way, for us, it was truly a nightmare. When we look back on that time, both my husband and I feel so sad about the fact that we were constantly giving him consequences for behavior that was truly out of his control. | F | 35 | 2 years | 12/29/2009 | 4 | pet and tree pollen allergies | None we are aware of yet | The Zyrtec has helped my daughter reduce red- ringed eyes. Before, people were constantly asking us what was wrong with her eyes. Also it has helped reduce her reactions around animals. I am worried about long term effects. The comments on this site about emotional reactions many have seen in their children cause me concern; I am going to monitor her behavior closely. | F | 5 | 1.5 months | 12/20/2009 | 5 | Asthma, respiratory issues | My 11 year old takes this medication. No side effects at all when she takes it at night. Some slight drowsiness when she takes it in the morning. | This medication has been a blessing. My daughter used to miss school all the time becuase of respiratory issues. Her asthma was getting worse and lasted longer. Our doctor first suggested inhaled steroids but we tried zyrtec first and it has been a miracle for her. NO asthma for 6 months so far. This is unheard of for us. I have seen no negative behavior changes. If anything her behavior, mood, and concentration have improved significantly. I can only attribute that to the better health this drug has given her. | F | 11 | 6 months | 12/17/2009 | 1 | sinus/allergies. | Clear signs of depression. Mood swings. Weight gain. | Please I strongly recommend that everyone look at the clear side effects BEFORE TAKING ZYRTEC. | M | 47 | 7 days | 12/10/2009 | 3 | allergy to cold air | irritable, very tired in the evenings | Worked fairly well for my allergy, but my family asked me to stop taking it since I was so grumpy! | F | 36 | 14 days | 12/9/2009 | 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 | 3 | Allergies/Asthma | Cant stay awake more than 3 hours at a time. No matter what I'm doing, watching tv, driving, typing, working, I just cant stay awake. I'm constantly in a fog. | Works great on my allergies though! lol | M | 43 | 2 months | 12/1/2009 | 2 | Nasal Allergies & Sinus Issues | fatigue, sluggishness, systemic body aches, depression, irritable, difficulty concentrating | I was started on Zyrtec some 3 yrs ago to help alleviate constant Sinus pressure and headaches do to allergies. The side effects were noticeable after about 3 months. Fatigue & irritability are the worst. I didn't mind to much at the time as I recognized it and living alone I was able to manage it. Now I have been trying to get off the drug for the last year and seems like every time I quit I go through a stage of feeling fine then I become extremely irritable and just bite every ones head off for the smallest of things. | M | 40 | 3 years | 11/30/2009 | 3 | uticaria / severe itching | severe fatigue, sluggishness, systemic body aches, depression, irritable, loss of interest, anxiety, weight gain, social withdrawl, difficulty concentrating | This drug had worked extremely well to treat my chronic uticaria (dermographism) and on most days completely eradicates the severe itching. However, the side effects that I experienced to this drug are simply not worth taking it. The most significant of these side effects would be fatigue. Since I've been taking cetirizine hcl (zyrtec generic), I have been able to sleep for hours and always wake up more tired than before. Throughout the day I constantly feel weak, unmotivated, and emotionally distraught causing me to have difficulty concentrating and doing well in school. I'm going to try switching to another antihistamine because I want to be able to enjoy life again. I recommend this drug for uticaria for people who don't care about the down side effects. | M | 19 | 5 months | 11/28/2009 | 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 | seasonal allergies | moodiness, unstable balance | my 3 yr old took zyrtec in the spring for allergies and didn't have a problem. now that fall is here he has been very moody and losing his balance easily. he fell off a chair by not doing anything and got a concussion. very scary! read about other children who had similar issues with this. | F | 28 | 1 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 | Asthma and Allergies | I've been taking this for 5 years. At first I thought it was amazing, my asthma didn't bother me anymore, and neither did my allergies. Last year, I've been experiencing drowsiness constantly, ticks (turrets), never clearly awake, head in a fog, couldn't focus, depression, either really happy good behavior, or really low depressed behavior. | Nothing good about this drug overtime you get more and more depressed and moody. | F | 16 | 5 years | 11/18/2009 |