Can cetirizine stop itching

Cetirizine - Brand names: Allacan, Benadryl Allergy, Piriteze Allergy, Zirtek Allergy

If you or your child have been prescribed cetirizine, follow your doctor's instructions about how and when to take it. If it is from a pharmacy or shop, follow the instructions that come with the packet.

Dosage and strength

Cetirizine comes as tablets and capsules (10mg) and as a liquid medicine (labelled either 5mg/5ml or 1mg/1ml).

The usual dose for adults is 10mg once a day.

Doses are usually lower for people with kidney problems.

Children

• For children between 6 to 11 years of age, the usual dose is 5mg, twice a day. Try to leave 10 to 12 hours between doses. So, one first thing in the morning, and one before bedtime.
• For children between 2 to 5 years of age, the dose is 2.5mg, twice a day.
• For children between 1 to 2 years of age, your doctor will use their weight or age to work out the right dose.

How to take it

You can take cetirizine with or without food, but always take the tablets or capsules with a drink of water, milk or squash. Swallow them whole. Do not chew them.

Cetirizine liquid may be easier for children to take than tablets. The liquid medicine will come with a plastic syringe or spoon to give the right dose. If you do not have a syringe or spoon, ask your pharmacist for one. Do not use a kitchen teaspoon as it will not measure out the right amount.

When to take it

You may only need to take cetirizine on a day you have symptoms for example, if you have been in contact with something that has triggered your allergy, like animal hair.

Or you may need to take it regularly to prevent symptoms for example, to stop hay fever during spring and summer.

What if I forget to take it?

Take your forgotten dose as soon as you remember, unless it's nearly time for your next dose. In this case, skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the usual time.

Do not take 2 doses to make up for a forgotten dose.

If you forget to give a dose to a child who is taking cetirizine twice a day, you can give the missed dose if it's within 4 hours of when they should have had it.

If you remember more than 4 hours after, do not give the missed dose. Instead, wait until the next dose and carry on as normal.

If you often forget doses, it may help to set an alarm to remind you. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to help you remember to take your medicine.

What if I take too much?

Cetirizine is generally very safe. Taking more than the usual dose is unlikely to harm you or your child.

If you take an extra dose, you might get some of the common side effects. If this happens or you're concerned, contact your doctor.

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What Is The Best Anthistamine For Itching?

Oct 05, 2017

Mildra asked

What is the best anti-histamine to take for bodily itchiness. I don't believe I have allergies but I believe histamine is released in areas on my body that I itch. I need something to calm those nerves down. Steroid ointments don't seem to work.

Answer

To answer this question, we must first note that if histamine is being released, it would be considered some sort of immune reaction to a foreign pathogen. In may not be what we consider "typical allergy symptoms" such as watery eyes and a runny nose, but it would nonetheless still be considered an allergy. As such, it is important to try and discern the cause of the allergy and eliminate the allergen if possible.

For your symptoms, looking towards an antihistamine medication is a good idea. There are many different histamine receptors in the body but Histamine-1 (H1) receptors typically cause allergy symptoms including body itchiness. As such, we will look at a few different anti-histamine-1 (H1 antagonist) medications.

Most antihistamine medications can be purchased over the counter (OTC), although one that we are going to recommend is by prescription only. To start, let's look at the OTC histamines we recommend.

Diphenhydramine, which is the active ingredient in Benadryl, is sold over the counter and helps to provide fast-acting itch relief. Diphenhydramine is a first generation antihistamine and works by stopping and reversing the action of histamine on a persons blood vessels, and can therefore help the symptoms of an allergic reaction, like a persistent itch.

While diphenhydramine is generally a safe medication for those under the age of 65, it does cause drowsiness because it crosses the blood brain barrier and affects the central nervous system. Therefore, it is difficult for some people to take this medication orally throughout the day; In fact, many people use diphenhydramine to help them sleep at night and it is marketed under different names as a sleep aid. So although we typically see the best results with diphenhydramine, many people can't tolerate it during the day.

The good news is Diphenhydramine comes in a topical cream which a person can use to help relieve their itchiness without the drowsiness but it may not be as effective as taking it by mouth.

Although diphenhydramine is considered the first line agent with proven effectiveness, there are some other OTC options that shouldn't sedate you as much. The other OTC options are Claritin (loratadine), Allegra (fexofenadine), Zyrtec (cetirizine), Xyzal (levocetirizine), Chlor-Trimeton (Chlorpheniramine) and Tavist (clemastine).

While any of the above options could work for you, studies indicate that Xyzal (levocetirizine) is the most effective over the counter antihistamine for itching and uticaria (hives). It is the newest antihistamine that has been made available OTC and is the one I would recommend for you based on its evidence.

In terms of prescription medication, I would recommend you ask your doctor about hydroxyzine. It is a histamine-1 antagonist medication that can be used to both stop itchiness due to histamine release as well as the anxiety that may come along with all of the itching. As hydroxyzine is also a first generation antihistamine, it too can make a person sleepy and is typically dosed 3 times daily. It's just another option if everything you have tried thus far has been ineffective.

Finally, we mentioned at the beginning of the article that H1 receptors are mainly responsible for allergy symptoms. There is however, much evidence that suggests taking the combination of a histamine-1 and histamine-2 blocker works better than taking a histamine-1 medication alone for bodily itching. We often see patients prescribed both together and it seems to be more effective in some cases. Some examples of H2 blockers are Pepcid and Zantac. This could be an option to bring up with your doctor as well!

Antihistamines

Page last reviewed: 16 May 2023 Next review due: 16 May 2026