Brand Names: Zyrtec
Generic Name: Cetirizine
Zyrtec is a popular antihistamine taken by patients to get rid of their allergy symptoms, including itching and water eyes, sneezing, runny nose, itching, hives and others.
Basically, this medication works by blocking the histamine produced by the body naturally during specific allergic reactions, but its intake doesn’t prevent serious allergies, like anaphylaxis.
It’s necessary to take Zyrtec orally, regardless of whether you prefer chewable or fast-dissolved pills.
This medicine is also available in its liquid form, but it’s not allowed to increase doses or take it more often than needed. Patients need to inform their physicians if their allergy symptoms don’t improve and get immediate medical help if their health condition worsens.
Their correct dosage is always determined by physicians based on their overall health condition, age and other important criteria.
The use of Zyrtec may lead to experiencing certain adverse effects, such as the following:
The good news is that this medicine often doesn’t result in any side effects, so only a few patients may end up with such serious symptoms as:
Before you start taking Zyrtec, it’s necessary to tell your doctor if you have any allergies to its active components and such medical problems as kidney and liver diseases, difficulty urinating and others.
When patients decide to take this medicine to treat hives, they are required to tell their physicians when they start experiencing such unwanted symptoms as:
Besides, the use of Zyrtec can make people feel drowsy, so they shouldn’t drive or perform other activities that require their full attention to stay safe.
Patients also need to avoid drinking alcoholic beverages and any liquids that contain sugar, especially if they have diabetes. During breastfeeding or pregnancy the intake of Zyrtec is allowed only when it’s clearly needed.
It’s necessary to avoid certain drug interactions when using this medication because they change the way it works and increase the risk of developing unwanted and dangerous side effects.
That’s why all patients who want to start taking Zyrtec need to inform their physicians if they take any pills that lead to drowsiness, including other antihistamines and alcohol, medications for anxiety and sleep, narcotic pain relievers, muscle relaxants and some others.
That’s why they need to make a list of all pharmaceutic products that they’re using and discuss it with doctors. Finally, this treatment may also affect certain lab test results by causing false outcomes.