Singulair Side Effects in Adults and Children

No matter what your medical condition or the treatment prescribed it is important to know the side effects that the treatment may cause in both your physical and emotional well-being. Singulair is a popular medication prescribed by doctors for the treatment of symptoms related to indoor and outdoor allergies and asthma and may be prescribed for adults and children as young as 12 months old. While most people use Singulair Oral, Tablets or Granules successfully to provide relief from their allergy symptoms other can experience from mild and moderate to severe side effects. What side effects to this popular allergy medication should you be aware of?

The most common side effects to both children and adults as reported by the makers of Singulair , eMDTV , and Drugs.com includes: flu like symptoms, upper respiratory infections, fever, headache, sore throat, cough, stomach pain, runny nose, sinus infections, ear infections diarrhea and runny nose.

Others have experienced the following side effects when using Singulair according to their package information and website include: "increased bleeding tendency, allergic reactions (including swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and/or throat [which may cause trouble breathing or swallowing], hives, dizziness, drowsiness, pins and needles/numbness, seizures (convulsions or fits), palpitations. nosebleed, stuffy nose, diarrhea, heartburn, indigestion, inflammation of the pancreas, nausea, stomach or intestinal upset, vomiting, hepatitis, bruising, rash, joint pain, muscle aches, muscle cramps, tiredness, and swelling."

Should you experience any of these side effects, you should seek immediate medical assistance.

Children may experience any of the same side effects as adults; however, there are additional warnings of the side effects of "drowsiness, irritability, agitation including aggressive behavior, restlessness, and insomnia." Parent of children with phenylketonuria should note that the cherry chewable tablets contain phenylalanine, a component of aspartame.

Severe emotional and physical side effects that may occur in adults or children that use any type of Singulair products according to Singulair , WebMD and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) include neuropsychiatric events such as: "mental/mood changes (such as agitation, aggression, anxiety, trouble sleeping, abnormal dreams, sleep-walking, depression, hallucinations, thoughts of harming yourself/suicide), numbness/tingling/shooting pain in the arms or legs, muscle weakness."

Unfortunately too many children have experienced many of these side effects particularly agitation, aggression, panic attacks, without their parents having knowledge of the possible side effects. In some cases the children have been thought to be autistic, hyper active or attention deficit. Make sure to report any medications that your child has been taking so that your pediatrician and specialist can quickly and efficiently diagnose the problem and provide them with the care they need.

If you or your child are experiencing any side effect whether common, mild, moderate or severe you should report it immediately to your physician. You may have to discontinue use of this medication. The FDA also offers a MEDWATCH program where users of medications that experience severe side effects can report their experiences and where you can find others who have reported their experience with side effects.

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