Antihistamine symptoms and conditions

I am an intensive care physician , one day we got a 75 year old male patient for acute allergic skin manifestation and general body swelling , the patient has been taking Lamictal tablets for seizures control after brain surgery few months before his presentation the patient was put on i.v steroid therapy along with antihistamine, on the second day we noticed that his skin is peeling off and his breathing got embarrassed , the case was diagnosed as( TOXIC EPIDERMAL NECROLYSIS) which is the most severe form of drug allergic reactions as a side effect of Lamictal administration , one week later the patient died due to acute respiratory failure (ARDS) however he was on mechanical ventilation support.

My whole torso, stomach area and sides along with upper and lower arms broke out in an extreme rash which was painful, oozing, welts, open sores and some bleeding. This lasted from @ mid July 2009 to present, Nov. 2009. Using A&D ointment, oatmeal baths, many vitamins and plenty of water it is just now settling down to symptoms of pink(raw) skin and not so severe pain with still some itching and flakey skin.

I was prescribed a 10-day regimen of 500 mg capsules, 3 times/day for a tooth infection. First dose at 9:00 pm last night (Friday). Woke up seven hours later with intense itching back of the neck and inner part of both elbows. No other symptoms. Spreading across shoulders and stomach. I'm taking generic antihistamine and applying calamine lotion. No really relieving the symptoms but I'm hoping they will subside my 9:00 am this morning. I'm glad I don't have to try to work in this condition. No plans to take a second dose.

Okay I need some help from all you people. I have been on Zyrtc and Singulair for about 10+ years. This past Monday was my last pill for both. Tues and Wed did pretty well. Thursday and Friday not so much. I can handle the sneezing and watery eyes what I can not handle is the ITCHING!!! Driving me crazy. That started about 3 this afternoon. My doctor does not want me to take any antihistamine. How long is the withdrawal take from these meds? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated

Hi, I'm a 35 year old, who is now on day 4 without the Mirena. I woke up on Monday morning with what I believe to be the dreaded "Mirena rash". I called my OB immediately and requested it be removed, much to my dismay, he was very rude about my suggesting that I was having these problems because of a silly little IUD. I told him that a friend of mine had led me to this website and he basically told me not to believe everything I read, even after I explained to him that thousands of women, experiencing the same side effects, with only one common denominator could not be wrong. He sarcastically said that he hoped removing my "little" Mirena would solve all of the worlds problems.

So, in response to my complaint about this rash, he prescribed me Hydroxyzine which is an antihistamine. I take it religiously 4x a day. Mind you this was Monday, yesterday I ended up in the ER because I just couldn't stand the itch, and it was spreading. They put me on Prednisone, and still no relief.

Does anyone have any ideas for me? This thing is like the plague. I work in a hospital and cannot go in looking the way I do with this rash all over my face and neck... If anyone has successfully treated this, please email me...******

Thank you ! F.

I have BOOP and was put on Prednisone. I was told this is the only treatment to control BOOP. Soon as I got on it I would pour sweat from my head so bad I was dripping all down my face. I had the shakes so bad in my hands I could not even hold a cup to drink. Before the Prednisone I had a night cough but not too bad. After being on the Prednisone I felt like I was drowning and coughed all night and couldn't sleep.I found out that if I took a antihistamine every 4 hours at night I could get some relief from the non stop coughing. My heart would race when I would lay back down after I would get up to got to the bathroom. I also felt more short of breath then before the prednisone. I had leg cramps so bad I would scream in pain. I never get headaches but did on the Prednisone. also blurred vision. I called my Dr. and still haven't been squeezed in for an appointment. I have weaned myself off the Prednisone and I will die before I take it again. I really felt it was killing me. I have NEVER been so miserable.I can only hope that when I can FINALLY see my Dr. that they will come up with ANY other treatment. Prednisone made me feel much worse the what it was suppose to treat. Anyone on it that wants off beware that you HAVE to taper off and it takes time or you will damage your adrenal gland beyond repair and you could die!! Please be careful!!

I was given Levaquin on February 14, 2001 for a sinus infection. I had taken a Claritin ready tab before I took the Levaquin. Within 5 minutes of taking Levaquin, I literally felt as if ants were crawling all over the inside of my skin. I was in the bathroom when this happened and I remember that I started to sneeze non-stop. It got to the point that every time I sneezed, I could feel my throat closing and blood would come out of my nose. I knew I was in trouble. I didn't have time to wait for an ambulance and my mom, who has epilepsy and doesn't drive went with me to the ER. By the time I got there, 5 min drive away from my house, I was covered in huge hives. My hands, feet and face were also blue and I couldn't speak! I had gotten there just in time. I got 3 shots of antihistamine (benadryl) and 3 of hydro cortisone. My doctor was in disbelief when I went to see him the next day to tell him what had happened. Apparently my reaction was "rare", but by the other stories on this page-I don't think it is. It was a horrible experience going into Anaphylaxis shock. I now watch everything that is an RX and ask a lot of questions. I found out a few years later that I was also allergic to sulfa based drugs, almost the same reaction (not as severe) but I was ready and I knew what to do. Thank God for Benadryl!!!

Our daughter is now 5 1/2 and has been taking singulair since she was two, when she was diagnosed with asthma. She also has a slew of food and environmental allergies. It was not until she started taking Advair that her asthma became controlled. Her allergies still seem to bother her occasionally. I feel since her asthma is under control why take two meds? I did not refill her Rx and we are on day two of no Singulair. She's had headaches for two days and feels lousy. After reading the side effects of this drug I may now have answers to the headaches she'd get often and the moodiness and the sleepless nights and the deep dark circles under her eyes and the diarrhea. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks, although I agree that dose of antihistamine now and then is much better than all this other nonsense!

I've been on Singulair 10mg tablets for only 4 days to alleviate seasonal allergies and have been suffering from very bad cramping in my feet, legs, hands, arms and upper body. Additionally I have experienced what feels like bloating and a hardening of the stomach area. On top of all this I've had the craziest dreams!

The upside is my allergies have been relieved somewhat, but these side effects are certainly not worth this additional pain and anxiety I've been suffering. Further reading on Singulair, including this forum, Wikipedia, and other places has left me convinced that this is not a safe medication to be taking (look up churg-strauss syndrome for example) and I will be discontinuing it immediately.

I'm quite angry that doctors are prescribing such a thing when a simple antihistamine would suffice. This also cost me €60 for a 28 day supply.

Allergy, not side effect.
62 yr. old male. diagnosed with lung infection associated with smoking and was prescribed 5 x 500 mg Levaquin. I took one with water in the parking lot of the pharmacy. With-in 20 minutes I started getting burning, tingling feelings in my throat and mouth. I drove home , by that time I had huge hives on my back and buttocks. I went back to the doctor immediately.
Other than a rapid heartbeat, the only symptom seems to be the hives which were huge and covered my whole body.The Dr. stated that the episode occurred too soon after I took the pill to be an allergic reaction to the pill, however, I had not eaten or drank any thing that morning other than coffee. I also did not eat anything exotic the day before. I was given a steroid injection at the Dr. office and was prescribed a steroid med pak and an antihistamine. With-in 3 hrs. all the hives were gone. It is now 11 hrs later and I am ok except I am drowsy. If I do not recover well, I will post again to advise.

The studies published to date demonstrate that leukotriene receptor antagonists are sometimes more effective than placebo, are no more effective than nonsedating antihistamines, and are less effective than intranasal corticosteroids in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. The combination of a leukotriene receptor antagonist and an antihistamine has not been proven to be more effective than either agent alone. This review reveals several inconsistencies that require resolution. First, whereas leukotriene receptor antagonists are predicted on the basis of their mechanism of action to improve nasal congestion significantly, clinical studies reveal leukotriene receptor antagonists to be no better than antihistamines at improving congestion. Second, leukotriene receptor antagonists would not be expected on the basis of their putative mechanism of action or nasal challenge data to improve significantly sneezing, nasal itching, or drainage. However, some studies show improvement in these symptoms during treatment with leukotriene receptor antagonists. Considered in aggregate, the data available to date do not clearly support a unique role of leukotriene receptor antagonists in the treatment of allergic rhinitis whether or not it is accompanied by asthma.

I wish I had found this site a year ago. My 9 year old son was prescribed Zyrtec for his nasal allergies. He took it each day for over 6 months. He began to have problems in school - withdrawing from class participation, moody behavior at home, depression, lethargy, anxiety, worry, feelings of despair, told me that he would be better off dead! I started to panic but never associated the Zyrtec with his mental state. Took him to a counselor who said that he seemed like a normal, well-adjusted little boy who was sensitive. Realized that the Zyrtec was not really fully controlling his nasal allergies so decided to stop taking it for a while. Not much change in the allergies but the emotional change was amazing! I had my little boy back in only a few days after stopping the Zyrtec. First thing I noticed was that he was no longer mopey and lethargic and wondered if the Zyrtec had been making him tired. Then when the rest of his emotional issues disappeared magically I began to suspect the Zyrtec but the ped. dismissed my fears. A few months later he began to have bad allergies again so again tried an anithistimine for him. Zombie-like state returned right away. For some reason he is hyper-sensitive to all anithistimines and we avoid them all with him. What I learned from this is that doctors are not open to admitting that these drugs they so casually prescribe have serious side-effects.

could anyone tell me if claritin is the same as singulair or what i could give my child that would help with the allergies/stuffy nose she was on singulair and was taken off

my 6yr old daughter was put on singulair at the age of 4 she had a reaction to nuts and had the allergy testing she was put on singulair and claritin and nasacort .(so she has been on the medication now for 14 months) about 3and 1/2 weeks ago she quit eating we had her to the dr several times they said it was all in her head that she could eat if she wanted to.she was then put in the hospital for 4 days they did the scope down the stomach found nothing i took her off all her meds because i didn't want her taking them with no food in her. she came home from the hospital and i put her back on the meds as the doctor requested and within 2 days she was crying non stop hitting me and telling me that she wanted to kill herself and everyone around her.she was putting her fists in everyines face and was very angry.she would cry and tell us that she didn't know why she was so angry.we took her back off of the meds because we were treating her for the stomach acid from not eating and within 4 days she was like a new kid.she is now eating ..happy ..and doing good in school..this is the 3rd time this yr on this med that she has quit eating we were told that it was all in her head .after reading everyones comments on here i called her doctor today and he said it could be the medication but they would have to put her back on it to check and i refused.no more singulair or clairitin for my children

Singular has been recommended to my 3 1/2 year old son. I didn't feel good about it, so I declined and decided to look up possible side effects. Wow! I will NOT be giving it to him!
I have always been cautious on giving him antihistamines because prior bad side effects (which I never heard anyone else complain about).
When he was a few months old, he had cold like symptoms (runny nose, congestion, etc.) and was really suffering. I gave him the over-counter Pediacare and he could breathe better but he became something out of a horror film. He screamed constantly for over 48 hours and did NOT sleep a wink! Like a "crack baby" or something. (I assure you I am not exaggerating). I too became sleep deprived and crazed by his constant screaming, it took me some time to realize it was the meds. When I quit giving it to him, he became normal again. I decided I had to deal with the symptoms and not give him meds.
A year later, different medicine, I tried again. Same results.
When he was 2 1/2 we took a road trip from KY to KS. I thought I would try Benedryl, he had 2 older syblings that it benefited. NOT for him. He became "crazy" and screamed to the top of his lungs for the entire 12 hour drive. I vowed never again (for him or his family).
I have had success with Claritin in less than normal dosing. With no side effects. I have been assured, however, that Singular would work better for the symptoms. No thanks.
I feel really bad everyone this has effected negatively. I understand the side effects first hand.
I too have heard of the "antihistamine blocker" but don't know if it works.
I plan on trying a "nettie pot" (natural alternative) and have heard great allergy success stories. You can get them for about $5 at Walmart.
Hang in there parents! Do what you have to do for your child. Trust your instinks even over the Peditrician. I love Docs but YOU know your child. :)

My son is now 31/2 years old and has been on Singulair since he was about 1 Yr. old. His pediatrician recommended this due to his allergies and runny nose. He has had fluid on his ears since age 1, at least that we had confirmed, and she thought that the Singulair combined with another type of antihistamine could dry up the dripping nose and clear up the ears. It did not clear up the ears, but it does stop the drip. He had tubes placed in his ears a year ago in May of 2007 and is looking now at his second set coming up in Mid-October of 2008. He has been taking this medication all but one summer of his short life. My husband and I have both had children, he a boy and I a girl, both 14 years old now. In comparison to the other two, our little one has been so completely different to raise. I've always seen children of "other parents" that have discipline problems with their children and wondered what might cause that type of action in such a small child. Now we have this beautiful little boy, but all we've ever known is how difficult he is to handle and how is anger, temper tantrums and stubborness have always put a damper on outings and even casual days at home. Due to the fluid on his ears, his speach was delayed and he has now really began to speak like a normal 3 year old. I have noticed within the last 2 weeks how he has really started saying things that I have not approved of, but have fluffed it off thinking that he has heard other children in his pre-school say these things, or heard it on a superhero show. Something happened today that really made me stop and think. I picked him up at pre-school like normal after work and he would not come to me. He looked slightly glazed in the eyes, totally not like himself at all. He talked very little on our 30 minute commute home, which was not like him. He said, "I hate you and you don't like me". I told him I do love him and he said, "NO". He said, "I'm bad for you and I have a dangerous heart". He then told me, "I kill you". This was so disturbing that I told my mother what he had said. She told me that it sounds so much like what she had heard on the news that I should check it out. This is how I've come to find this site. We have stopped giving this medication to our son and I am curious to see if there will be any change in his personality. Tubes will probably be placed in his ears again despite whether his nose drips again, so that is a mute issue at this point. When we voiced our concerns to his pediatrician when the information first surfaced several months ago regarding adult behavior and side effects of Singulair, she fluffed it off and told us she has many young patients on this medication with no adverse side effects. He is taking Pediox every 12 hours. I am worried that we may need a substitute med, but we have tried so many that haven't worked. He has Albuterol Inhaler and Xopenex Inhaler when his Asthma symptoms kick in, when his allergies are at his worst. He has had pnumonia 2 times, or one like run of it I should say. It's important to keep his allergies under control so he doesn't get something like this again, but his overall mental health and stability cannot be jeopardized. Since his brain has been developing on this medication for 2 and a half years, does anyone know if this has lasting effects? He is very active and has a very short attention span. He can however sit through an entire movie if it is something that he likes and he has nothing better he wants to do at home. I do not believe he is hyperactive or ADHD in the sense that he needs medication for that symptom. He can be a very loving child and he is very polite and knows his manners. He comes from a very loving home with loving siblings. We have wondered for so long how he could possibly have turned out this way, and I am truly scared to think that this medication could be the cause of so much turmoil in our lives. I will be monitoring his results.

I was prescribed Prednisone along with an H2 Blocker and an Antihistamine for a severe chemical reaction to using old lotion in a tanning bed. I only laid 2x, but I am severely paying for it now. I was only prescribed Prednisone for a 9 day treatment. By the 3rd day I had the acne. I suffered with Acne all of my life until I was 18 (I am 27 now) ... and haven't looked back at that terrible part of my life since... well, now I am faced to stare right back at it. Literally. I have only been off of the prednisone for 2 days, but I can not WAIT to get my life back. If I could take back the last 2 weeks over something so stupid and cosmetic as tanning, I certainly would. I have never had any previous problems with any of this, and this is the first time I have really had an allergic reaction to anything.... typically, Benadryl would have cured me. Although this time incurable with Benadryl and Cortisone, I regret the Prednisone. Severely. I hope this goes away within at least three weeks.. as my husband is coming home from Iraq and that is not the welcome home I want him to have (even if he is much less superficial about it then I am). Sigh.

SINGULAIR AND ZYRTEC SAME MEDICATION made by different companies. Be careful!

Took Yaz for one week and on the 7th day, started to develop a hot hive skin reaction. I've never been allergic to anything and was unsure what was happening. As I didn't think it was Yaz, I took an additional dose that Sunday evening. I woke up the next morning with hives covering 50% of my body (first day on the new job, no less). I went to the physician and got prednisone to help with the inflammation, but by the next day, the concentration of Yaz in my system kept rising and I ended up in the ER with two IV treatments of an antihistamine complex and an increased dose of steroids. It took me over a week on the prednisone to finally overcome the symptoms and not have flare-ups at night.

I've tried looking online and haven't found any other reports for Yaz allergies. Since I've been on the same pill for 9 years, I was curious as to what the cause may have been. Has anyone else heard of Drospirenone alleriges? It's the progestin that's in Yaz... the only BC that has this formulation.

Went to the doc's with a bad deep cough had for about a week. I was prescribed an antibiotic, eye drop, and an antihistamine. Went to local drug store found out insurance would not pay for antihistamine because it was the same thing as OTC Zyrtec and that the drug store had a generic brand which was cheaper. Started taking it on a fri. night all went well until the following Thur. night at work. Arrived at work normal time then roughly one hour into my shift I notice sweating, dizzy, and not aware of my surroundings, when suddenly I found myself passed out on a hard concrete floor flopping like a fish out of water. Taken to ER were they performed CAT scan, MRI, and very painful spinal tap.
All came back clear. After a stay in the hospital fri I was looking forward to being discharged sat morning when all of sudden it happen once again. In fact it happen three times sat. What was it you ask? My heart had STOPPED first time 5 seconds, second time 11 seconds, and the third time with my Wife watching my heart stopped for a full 18 seconds. Awoke to the sights of several Nurse's with difb in hand ready to shock me back. Rushed to ICU my heart than began racing to 170 – 180 beats a min. had to get med’s. to slow it down. Was schd for a pace maker. Final diagnosis ZYRTEC! The hospital Doc., Cardiologist as well as my PCP agreed.

I think the hardest part - for me - was even to concieve the idea that Zyrtec has all of these side effects.

I've been taking Zyrtec on a daily basis for about 90- 110 days a year due to really bad allergies. We live in the NY area which produce alergans most of the year.

After trying almost every antihistamine, Zyrtec seemed at the time as the best drug since it handled the allergy while eliminating the drowsiness almost completely for me. Being happy that I was able to maintain normal life during allergy periods was almost a new concept for me and I was really grateful for finding this drug.

Unfortunately, being almost blinded by the allergy-fighting success, I neglected the attention to the side effects. I guess I'm falling into the unlucky 2%. I had almost every side effect: Irritation, mood swings, gaining weight, dry mouth - just name it.

Recently, my wife did some research because we got to the point where I would fight with her over anything. I can testify that my tolerance level hit the ground. Anyway, she got my attention for her research results which turned a red flag for me. In addition, this year my body seemed to not respond anymore to the drug and doing my own little research revealed that it is very likely that you need to rotate different drugs every few months.

So I decided to get off Zyrtec and switched to Benadryl Allergy which I take every 4-6 hours. Yes, it does make me drowsy for about 15-20 minutes but it works. What's more interesting is, I've been about 10 days off Zyrtec and I am shocked to realize that I'm slowly getting rid of all the side effects associated with Zyrtec.

That being said, I would like to emphasize that this was my own individual experience and it may not be the same for someone else. But it is pretty disappointing for me that i cannot use this drug anymore on a regular basis.

I started using Zyrtec recently after my niece received it from her doctor as the solution to her allergies. (We bought it at the drug store). My allergies are skin related where i walk and feel a deep itch in my thighs and anywhere else i have tight clothing. Also when i work out - i have itch deep skin. This is under the surface and very uncomfortable especially when you are walking/working out. Leads to confusion etc. I had never used any allergy medicine before but decided just to see if i would feel any different.

Anyhow, I started using Zyrtec the other day and almost immediately, I started fighting with my boyfriend - everything i was angry with him about came out. It was helpful but also i was very mean in my approach. I also started getting back pains around the spine area - not in the spine but around it and could not sleep until i took an ibuprofen. Today i experienced left shoulder and back pain. That was it for me and whats funny is that i took the lowest possible doze. So i am not touching that medicine again. I am a 36 year old woman. Its a strong medicine and something is strange with it (changes moods etc). I will have to change the medication for my niece before she goes through the side effects.

I am trying to get off Zyrtec after having taken it for the last four months. I am having a hard time doing so. I've taken Zyrtec every spring for about 10 years. Every time I go off of it I develop terrible insomnia. It takes about three months to get over the insomnia. BUT this time around, I have developed a terrible itching. The itching goes away if I take one-half of a Zyrtec pill. It comes back if I don't take another pill within 24 hours. Come to think of it, I have developed this itching before when I went off Zyrtec and used hydrocortisone cream to stop it, but I never before contributed the itching to the Zyrtec. It is definitely some type of withdrawal symptom.
Also, my husband has noticed that I get terribly moody, depressed, cry a lot, and become critical of everyone when I am on Zyrtec -- and go back to my normal self when I am off of it.
AND I have begun to notice that my appetite goes wild while on Zyrtec. When I go off Zyrtec, my appetite goes back to normal. I have gained almost 50 lbs since I was introduced to Zyrtec.
I would like to say that I will never take it again, but it is the only antihistamine that completely controls my springtime allergic asthma. I need to be able to breathe.

I am on my first pack of Loestrin 24 Fe. I was doing okay except for constant breakthrough bleeding. This past weekend I was at a rehearsal dinner and wedding where I did a fair amount of drinking. On Monday I started feeling weird. By Monday night I was so weak and tired feeling that I couldn't lift my head. I've been laying on the couch for 24 hours and I still feel like the life has drained out of me. I"ve also had a stuffed nose and post-nasal drip since I started the pill. I went to the doctor this morning and they decided I needed iron pills to counteract the bleeding and an antihistamine and singlulair for the nasal symptoms. I'm now totally afraid of this pill!

I have to say this after reviewing two major areas:

1. the brain
2. mast cell homeostasis

I desperately wanted to be POLITICALLY CORRECT and say that side effects can be confined to the minority. God, how do you fight Merck?

In this case, it would seem that the real benefit of this drug is to those with the extreme type immune responses whose body chemistry has been altered by being hyper-sensitive to some type of "invader. Extreme can be defined as just not the average or beyond that.

So, if the truth comes out that essentially normal immune systems don't need Singular at all, then I have come clean. I certainly have doubts whether essentially normal systems need this at all.