A Product Review : Zyrtec, My Miracle Allergy Relief Medication

Like so many people, I suffer from severe reactions to cat dander, hay, grasses, household chemicals and detergents, softeners, certain flowers, plants, and cigarette smoke. Some hit me more drastically than others. I don't have ongoing seasonal allergies. Most of the time I am fine, and I'm certainly glad I don't have the month to month itching, sneezing, watery eyes and nose of seasonal allergy sufferers.

My variety of allergy, can be acute, with a quick onset and at times, can be much more dangerous for me. Once my allergies set in, it can affect my lungs and begin to congest and shut them down. That is when I have to have one product I can't live without.

Zyrtec is my favourite brand of antihistamine and has become a lifesaver for me in more ways than one.

When my allergies kick in, I often begin to itch severely, sometimes breaking out in itchy bumps which is extremely uncomfortable and can keep me awake at night. This I could live with if I had to, but when my lungs begin to congest and fill with fluid and I have to fight to get air, it is terrifying. When that happens, all I can think about is trying to breath. Inhalers help, but it is better to cut off the problem before it gets that severe and for me Zyrtec can often fill the bill. Zyrtec often wards off a more severe asthma attack or lessens them to a certain degree.

Zyrtec is fairly quick relief for the itching, hives or bumps that can break out in a matter of minutes.

Through the years I have tried many allergy remedies and for the last number of years have happily settled on Zyrtec. It is made by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals a company founded in Brooklyn, New York in 1849. This company is known for medications such as Zyrtec, Viagra and Zoloft.

The process of finding the right medication and treatment, took me through a number of prescription and over the counter medications. Sometimes I still have to use others when I can't get my Zyrtec prescription, but that is only out of desperation for any kind of relief.

Many of them, including Claritin, gave me bad side effects. They made me so tense, agitated , angry and irritable, that out of fairness to those around me, it got to the point where I would have to warn them ahead of time that I was about to take one, so they would know they were most likely going to be confronted with an oncoming angry mood swing. These could be quite intense and difficult to control. I'm normally a fairly mellow person, and the anger the other allergy medications caused, could be frightening.

They sometimes also set off panic attacks, which are even worse, and I often couldn't sleep, adding more stress to an already stressed system.

I have often told parents that have children on those other medications, what the side effects feel like from a users point of view. More than once my comments solved the source of strange behavior problems they were having with their children, by asking them what allergy medications their children were on and telling them about my symptoms and how it felt when the side effects hit me. Then I suggested to them to check with their doctors about possibly switching them to Zyrtec, after explaining the success I have had with it, to them.

The assumption with many people is that something as supposedly innocuous as an allergy remedy would be rather harmless, but that isn't necessarily so. If those other allergy antihistamines can affect a full grown adult as severely as they do me, imagine how a child of much smaller weight and proportion might react to an allergy medication that does not suit them.

The prescription of Zyrtec that I get, often causes drowsiness awhile after I take it, but I actually prefer it to do that. Zyrtec actually helps me get some rest after a particularly taxing and stressful allergic episode. When my allergies and asthma kick in, it is physically exhausting and the stress on my body can further agitate the allergic reaction, so for me, Zyrtec's drowsy side effects are a major plus. I often get a secondary drowsy attack the afternoon of the next day after taking one , which I do not get it I haven't had one. They keep me calm. The sleepiness does not hit everyone that takes Zyrtec.

One very strange side effect I get though, are bizarre dreams and often intense nightmares, which vary a great deal from the ones I get when on no medication. They can be quite unsettling, but I'll gladly deal with those, instead of the fluid filled and shut down lungs, fluid retention and severe itching all over.

Two other things I like about Zyrtec is both it's size and shape. I have a very difficult time swallowing pills and have had since I was a child. Zyrtec is small enough to go down easily, unlike other pills I have taken. It is also a different shape than any other pill, so I never get to confused with any other medication or vitamin and I can even get one in the dark, by feeling for the unique shape, if I have to.

I only have to take one Zyrtec during the day or night, and it lasts 24 hours, no problem, which is also a nice added extra . That way I'm not having to watch the clock, to make sure I'm dosing correctly. I don't like having to take any medication at all, but Zyrtec is one product I would have a hard time living without.