If you drink alcohol while you are on cetirizine, be aware of its effects on you and do not drink more than moderate amounts. Alcohol can increase the risk of side-effects from antihistamines. 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’re still not sure whether your hay fever medication can be taken with paracetamol or ibuprofen pain killers, speak to your doctor or Chemist 4 U pharmacist. Histamine is the thing that tells different parts of your body to react to irritants like pollen, making your nose run, your eyes itch, and causing coughs and sneezes. If antihistamines are taken together, you could also be at risk of more severe side effects caused by either medication, so this is no joke. Be smart, listen to your doctor and don’t take this decision into your own hands.

Cetirizine is known as a non-drowsy antihistamine. It's much less likely to make you feel sleepy than some other antihistamines. The steady - state peak plasma concentration is approximately 300 ng/ml and is achieved within 1.0 ± 0.5 h. The distribution of pharmacokinetic parameters such as peak plasma concentration (Cmax) and area under curve (AUC), is unimodal in human volunteers.Non-drowsy - non-drowsy antihistamines are less likely to make you feel sleepy – such as cetirizine, fexofenadine and loratadine. Own-brand or generic antihistamines are typically the cheapest option, often at least half the price of big-brand versions. After discontinuation of cetirizine, pruritus (intense itching) and/or urticaria have been reported.

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. One method that's suitable for some people is immunotherapy treatment. This involves gradually introducing you to small amounts of your particular allergen and monitoring your reaction in a controlled environment.

As this is a Pharmacy Medicine, we need to ask you a few questions. These will help our Pharmacist ensure the product is right for you.

You may wonder why you get hay fever. Hay fever happens when your immune system overreacts to things like pollen. Your immune system produces antibodies that bind to cells in your nose and eyes. When you encounter the allergen again, these cells release chemicals like histamine, causing symptoms such as sneezing, itching, and watery eyes. Hay fever symptoms are usually seasonal because they're triggered by specific allergens like tree or grass pollen. Most hay fever medication works best when you take it before the pollen is in the air and your symptoms develop. Some hay fever sufferers may even find that when they do find a hay fever medication that works, it doesn’t completely get rid of all of their annoying hay fever symptoms. have an allergy to peanuts or soya – some brands of cetirizine capsules (but not tablets) contain soya Instances of abnormal hepatic function with elevated hepatic enzymes accompanied by elevated bilirubin have been reported. Mostly this resolves upon discontinuation of the treatment with cetirizine dihydrochloride.