ZYRTEC - Is It Safe?

I personally use Zyrtec, and nothing else works for me. Only side effect I've had is sleepiness for the first few days. I did gain some weight after I first began using it; however, that could very well be due to the fact that my allergies were keeping me from eating well (all that yucky drainage stuff upset my stomach).

For my daughter, I use Claritin for her occasional allergies. You could always try that on your son first; it doesn't have the drowsiness aspect. Claritin was helpful when I tried it, but not to the same extent Zyrtec is.

My son was prescribed Zyrtec for his allergies and he took it for three days. It was awful. He turned into a little hellion. He had a melt down at the slightest thing, he had sleep issues and was just all around a different child altogether. I stopped giving it to him and called his pediatrician. She prescribed Nasonex. My nephews both take Zyrtec with no problems, but my son can't tolerate that medicine.

my daughter has been on it for about 3 years or so
she takes the tablets, it has been a god sent for her allergies and asthma she doesn't take it reg in the winter

J.

My son was on it for awhile. He was 6 at the time. It worked well for the allergies, but kept him awake, even though it's supposed to cause drowsiness( it did when I took it).

Good luck.

J. R.

I have used Zyrtec for my own allergies and for all of my children. None of us have had trouble with side-effects, it is very effective on our allergies, and I truly believe it has lowered our ear infection issues. My two youngest have had a lot of trouble with ear infections (including tubes for my daughter) which I truly believe was related to congestion from allergies and we have had no problems with ear infections since starting use of the Zyrtec. We have also used Claritin, which according to our doctor is approved for use in children 6 months of age and older, but the Zyrtec is more effective. Good luck!

My daughter now 11 has been on zyrtec since the age of 2! She has allergies and severe asthma. We have NOT seen any side effects. I do recommend it being taken at bedtime, as it does cause drowsiness.

D.

K.
My son takes zyrtec for about 6 yrs and has had no side affects. he has really bad allergies and this has really helped him. I to don't like taking meds or giving them to him but tis is the only way it helps, we have tried different allergy medicine and this is what works.
i really don't think you will have any problems., and your child will benefit greatly.You will see a huge change.
C.

My 5 year and 3 year both take Zyrtec chewables (10mg and 5mg)and have for a couple years. They both are doing well on it and I have seen no side effects. My kids have allergies and asthma so this helps along with other meds to control their allergies and asthma.

My son has taken this medication for asthma and allergies and it has been a great success. His allergies have literally disappeared and we have noticed zero side effects!

-B. K

My son has been on Zyrtec this summer and it has helped tremendously. Can you provide to the group what you have heard the "detrimental side effects" to be as this is a bold statement that could cause a lot of concern. Thanks.

our son used zyrtec liquid starting at 6 months for about a year. It knocked him out so we gave it at bedtime. For us however... we decided not to increase the dose as he grew and decided to see after a yr if taking him off did anything and it didn't, so we stopped it. Not sure what major side effects you are speaking of?

My son was on Zyrtec for a few months, but what little benefit he got from it was not worth the nasty side effect. He would get very runny poop and he couldn't tell when it was coming so he had a few embarrassing accidents. Now we just use OTC meds and they don't completely solve the allergy problem, but at least they don't cause any additional problems!

I had all four of my children on Zyrtec at one time, when it was prescription only and a terrible tasting liquid. My triplets were 2 or 3 and took 5mg. and my oldest was 5 or 6 (can't remember the exact age)and took 10 mg. They were all suffering from recurring sinus problems/seasonal allergies. We suffered no noticable side effects and did definitely help. Just over a year ago I took them off to see how they did and now use it when needed. Hope this helps.

My 2 year old daughter is taking Zyrtec on a daily basis. She has a rare disease called Mastocytosis and is subject to anaphylaxis for unknown reasons. I know of MANY parents who are giving this to their children for the same reason as I am... and some of their kids are as young as 6 months old. I also hate medicating my kids but risk vs benefit! I have not heard of any detrimental side effects besides the dry nose and mouth but it beats being in the ER for anaphylactic episodes! Also, if you do notice his nose or eyes becoming dry and irritated consider a saline nose spray and an eye wash.... we have not noticed this problem but were warned by her Derm. that it may happen.

Good luck and many blessings to you!
- T.

"Spots Are Beautiful"
Support Understanding and Research of Pediatric Mastocytosis
www.mastokids.org

My 6 year-old takes Zyrtec and has had no side effects at all. There is no decongestant in children's Zyrtec, and that is what was just outlawed for children. It has really helped reduce my son's sneezing and post-nasal drip.

A.

What detrimental side effects are you talking about, other mom's are asking as well.

Pls. post them, my son is on it as needed for mosquito allergy and I just started him on this.

Thanks much

Dear K.,
My 10r. old is on Zytec & the only problem she had was an upset stomach the first couple of days until her body adjusted it. It has helped her a lot. Hope it helps your son's allergies. Carolyn had such terrible sinus drainage that she was coughing a lot really hard. People thought she was sick. She sounds a lot better now. I don't like the idea of her being on meds but she needs them. They help. Good luck.
L. W.
A SAHM of 4 ages 10, 9, 5 & 3 Part-time sitter of 2 boys ages 7 & almost 3

My children have never used Zyrtec, but I use it myself. The only side effect that I have ever noticed is that it does make me a little tired. I started taking it right before I go to bed and it actually works better. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Hi K.

When my daughter was younger, she was also given a prescription for Zyrtec and it made her worse..... I then started looking into something more natural and found out that the common household cleaning products had a lot to do with her allergies. Once we switched those products out of our house she had no problems.

This is the site that I found: www.FindTotalWellness.org

J. T.

We're currently using Children's Zyrtec for our 5 year old son with great results! We had tried Benedryl and then Claritan with no results, but the Zyrtec seems to have really helped him. He used to wake up in the middle of the night for an hour or so with a runny nose and having lots of problems but he's been only waking up once to blow his nose and then goes right back to sleep. I'd highly recommend it to anyone.

D.

I have two children who take Zyrtec daily (ages 12 and 9) with no side effects. It just has to be taken consistently, not as needed b/c it needs to remain in the system to work effectively. I found it much more effective than other allergy meds by the way.

I'm only going to mention about Zyrtec D. I took it for allergies and it gave me an extremely rapid heartbeat because of the "D" = the decongestant ingredient can do that to some people. If it is just Zyrtec, I would not be as worried, but would caution you to be careful anytime they want you to use an allergy medicine with a decongestant in it.

My son is 5 and has been taking Zyrtec for about 4 months. It was to help with some drainage issues that he was having, but also to help him sleep, as he was diagnosed with a sleep disorder. He has experienced no side effects such as dry mouth, etc. and it has helped him a lot. He takes the liquid form.