Zyrtec Allergy Medicine Review

Overall 4.13 of 5 view all 117 reviews

wildcatkatie
Chicago, IL

Zyrtec is cheap and pretty effective. I'll take it.

mild asthma, always congested, an allergy sufferer

Pros

controls symptoms well, relatively inexpensive, Pill=Very Small, Easy To Swallow

Cons

doesn't completely clear my sinuses

MAR

2009

I've suffered from allergies and exercise-induced asthma for approximately 8 years. My medical expenses were covered 100% throughout college because I was a varsity athlete, so it was no surprise that Northwestern doctors prescribed top-notch medication to combat my allergies and asthma. I took Allegra-D, Rhinocort Aqua, Singulair, Albuterol and Flovent daily for almost four years!

Well, athletic retirement was quickly upon me my senior year and I realized that I could not keep up with my expensive prescription medications. I needed a subtitute. Enter: Zyrtec. My college doctor recommended I try Zyrtec because it's prescription strength for over-the-counter prices. I couldn't argue with a deal like that.

I'm allergic to dust, mold and grass. Zyrtec has worked really well for me. I definitely notice if I've forgotten to take my daily dose because I itch like crazy all over my body. By the end of the day, I do notice that some of the medication has worn off. My eyes are itchy and my nose is running. It's not overwhelming though, and I'm also always suffering from sinus troubles, so that is also part of the problem. I have suffered no side effects from Zyrtec - even when drinking alcohol (the packaging recommends avoiding alcoholic consumption while taking Zyrtec... sorry, but I enjoy a good beer at a baseball game in the summer).

Unfortunately, original Zyrtec does not have pseudoephedrine in it; however, Zyrtec-D does. If you have chronic sinusitis like I do and suffer from severe sinus pressure and headaches, pseudoephredrine is a God send. That's why Allegra-D worked so well for me.

The only reason I have not tried Zyrtec-D is because (a) Zyrtec in combination with my allergy nasal spray works well enough that I don't whine about my allergies and (b) it is not sold in mass quantities at Costco. You can get 75 pills of original Zyrtec for $32.99! It's not possible with Zyrtec-D (as far as I have seen). Boo.

I give Zyrtec four stars. It fights my allergies and keeps me going... and that says a lot for someone that's allergic to GRASS. (How pathetic.) If Zyrtec-D were sold in larger quantities at an affordable price like regular Zyrtec is, it'd be all five stars for me!

Last edited on Mar 02, 2009

Zyrtec Allergy Medicine is recommended by wildcatkatie

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Comments about wildcatkatie’s Review

In response to TunefulGal's comment from Apr 24, 2009 at 9:31PM:

Ugh, unfortunately I have to use Zyrtec and the CVS decongestant simultaneously to get any allergy relief! I also have an allergy eye drop and nasal spray. I'm seriously a walking pharmacy. Have you thought of getting a prescription for Allegra-D? That's what I was on before I gave it up for a cheaper OTC. Kind of wish I were back on it.... it worked like a charm!

Have you given this up in favor of the CVS product? Zyrtec knocks me out, but it does the job on everything else. I'm assured of that by people I know who say so and are still bright and shiny!