It’s that time of year when people are suffering terribly from seasonal allergies. Parents are desperate to get their child on antihistamines so that there can be some relief. However many people don’t know that some antihistamine brands have been proven to have a negative effect on a child’s behavior.
Unfortunately doctors don’t warn their patients, some even deny this fact. I thankfully was able to pick up on my son’s change of behavior, but unfortunately there are many that don’t catch it right away and go out of their minds trying to figure out why their child is acting up.
I run the allergic2allergies website and whatsapp chat and I have heard too many horror stories where things got so bad that ultimately children needed therapy.
There are some brands that people should really be careful with. These include Singulair, Zyrtec, Allegra, and Symbicort. They can cause major behavioral issues, and some children have nightmares and hallucinations. I was just in touch with someone who’s child was on Zyrtec and his behavior was so out of hand that the parents were never able to leave his side in case he would have a tantrum that would cause him to be physical to others. It brought havoc in the house and bedtime was a nightmare. After stopping the meds for a few days she saw a tremendous difference in her child. It was a real life changer. He is calmer before bed and his meltdowns disappeared. Too many kids are suffering from behavior issues and it’s just the antihistamines causing it.
Of course no one should make any changes without speaking to a doctor but I did want to being awareness to the issue. Parents should keep this in mind and look out for any behavioral changes that may be coming from these allergy medicines. It could take a few weeks to come out but it’s something that needs to be watched out for.
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“There are some doctors who deny this” and he heard stories on a whatsapp chat.
Hmmmm, who should we trust?
you can go ahead and trust the same Dr’s that told you the shot was safe and effective. Since i get all my medical advice and info from whatsapp and telegram i didnt take the shot so tell me again who should we trust?
Lol and they were clearly right about that too, there hasn’t been a mass wave of deaths from the shot like some of you suggested
Do more research if you think there were no negative results from the vaccine. If you’re ok Thank H-Shem but don’t assume everyone is.
Fact check only 0.0018% of ppl who were vaccinated died. that doesn’t mean they died from the shot but still the # is so little.
source: VAERS
I’ve been taking various antihistamines for years they definitely make you very uptight edgy and irritable. I have been a child a very long time ago but I can imagine what it can do to a child’s behavior since they don’t have the same self-control adults have.
Oh one last thing don’t expect to see this reality on the container or in medical literature those days when medical advice was straightforward was a very long time ago……..
Thanks for this info.
As an adult, I had been on Zyrtec D and suffered terrible depression while on it. I couldn’t figure out why I was feeling so horrible. We thankfully found out that some people react to zyrtec and I immediately got off of it.
BH – I was fine as soon as it was out of my system! It was a frightening tekufa in my life and I’m glad someone had helped me make the connection.
what about children’s Claritin?
I used to take Benadryl at night once in a while to help me fall asleep.
The next day I was always in a bad mood. I stopped taking it. (I don’t think it was drowsiness).
This was years ago.
I guess this makes sense.
Though I didn’t notice this in my kids (not that they always behave/or rarely ever behave).
I certainly had one of my children was behavior was very much negativity affected when taking Benadryl. I was actually my pediatrician who alerted me that it could be that.
Seems you can’t go a week in this town euros some self important crackpot trying to sell you their conspiracy theory and how they had their eureka and discovered it all
I’ve used Zyrtec and singular for years the known side affect is drowsiness which I did experience. Switched to Claritin and have no issues
Wow. This is really useful information which can save parents a lot of aggravation.
Thanks!
True story. My kid was totally bent out of shape when he was on Xyzal. Our dr confirmed it can affect the mood.
I’ve had some of my kids on singulair for years without any side effects.
It does not say every child will for sure react negatively. It says it’s a possibility to look out for. Your child doesn’t have an issue, good for you. Doesn’t mean someone else’s won’t.
Singular is the absolute worst out there. When my son was 8, his dr put him on this medication. Within about a week of taking it, he was at my parents house when my mother heard him in pain making grunting noises. She said he was holding his chest almost like he was having a heart attack . We took him to Dr who sent us to a pediatrics cardiologist. They put him on a halter monitor for 2 days then did a cardio echo then determined it was the singular. They had me stop it instantly saying the medication was giving him anxiety and panic attacks
I do not understadn why people react so strongly when people post that medications have side affects. People also blame the doctor for not telling them all the side affects in the office. Patients need to educate themselves. (hint: read the fine print) Just as you would not eat something without a hechsher so too do not ingest or give to your children medication without asking the doctor what are the side benefits. As medication by definition has side affects do do due diligence!
Word of advice: Ask people in the Pharma business (even little pharma people) if everything is done in ethical ways. Many medication work with precedent based on old research.
Do research. Make informed decisions.
Who is the author of this article? Why isn’t a Dr or a medical journal quoted? Is this just a layman’s opinion?
Very good point. The ignorance of so many in our community about medical issues is mind boggling. For some reason many choose to show how brilliant they are that they know even better than those “horrible Doctors.” But when it comes to serious illness ch”v, they of course (I hope) run to the drs. I thank Hashem every day for the Covid vaccine which gave me a mild case of covid, while my friend passed away from Covid at the beginning of the pandemic. I don’t know anyone who passed away from the vaccine.
Having said that, some of the comments above do mention that doctors did make the association between antihistamines and behavior issues. So this is possibly a valid theory. The letter writer does say to consult with a doctor.
I haven’t seen anybody send anything about horrible doctors just the doctors might not make the association between antihistamines and behavior.(of course that’s not saying that there are no horrible doctors out there. I know that since my doctor told me so…. but that’s a whole other conversation for another day)
My son is 5. He has been uncontrollable since the start of the season. He’s on Allegra. This can definitely explain his change in behavior!
I had similar with symbicort. The docs kept telling me that my 5 year old’s dose can’t be what’s causing his behavior and he has behavioral issues. My son would come home with his sleeves chewed up. He was in some sort of distress and he would come home and explode. It got so bad that my son said he hates himself cuz he can’t stop doing bad things. We finally took him off the symbicort for a few days and the transformation was unreal
OK people, stop eating, stop drinking. This applies to everything in the world. Some people can only drink poland spring water or they have some kind of attack. No 2 people are the same. Read the material on everything. Most prescribed drugs and over the counter drugs list side affects that include, death and death like symptoms. Wonder why, because in some people it can happen. Know yourself and your children and monitor the effects things have on them. Oh, don’t forget to cut the snacks you give your children, they also have tremendous dangerous side effects.
My daughter had terrible side effects to abuteriol. Hallucinations, staring into space, highs ans lows. As a 2 yr old it was hard to pinpoint since it lasted a long time. We switched her to xopenex and she was a new kid. We had to have the dr fight insurance to pay for it since they only pay for abuteriol but bH it all worked out. Every kid reacts differently it doesn’t mean every kid would have a problem. The author is saying if you see a problem in your kid it may be this. Thanks for the awareness it can save heartache for some!
As a laymen who has dealt with and learned from numerous medical situations, I would like to add this. You know yourself and your child best. Letters like this are true. Doctors are amazing but don’t know everything and definitely don’t know the exact ins and outs of each of us. My child had nightmares when he took melatonin. He would fall asleep with it right away as it was intended to do and then be up for hours during the night frightened from his dreams. He has not had a dream since we stopped the melatonin. This letter is very well written and important to always be yours and your loved ones advocate.
“we has to have the dr fight insurance to pay for it. . .”
so dramatic.
It’s called a pre-authorization, not such a big deal.
Aha! I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Ever since I began taking allergy medication, I began doubting everything doctors told me, and I couldn’t figure out why. Now it all makes sense. The medication was going to my brain! It’s such a shame that doctors go to medical school for 8+ years only to get brainwashed by their professors.
Since I began using the internet and WhatsApp for all my medical questions, I’ve been so much healthier. It’s just so weird. When my cleaning lady collapsed in my kitchen, I looked up what to do on Google, and it said to crush garlic on her face, I did that for over an hour, but unfortunately, she didn’t make it. I think I should have called my chiropractor for advice.
To all the Know -it-alls – especially the OP.
I am a Medical Professional. The problem is you don’t use good medical care. Your doctor should inform you when she/he prescribes any med if there is any reaction to the meds, whether physical or phycological, she/he should be seen ASAP by him or her!
You can mock the allergy chat from here to tomorrow but I can tell you one thing:
If you read the string of messages of one mother after the next mentioning weird side effects and behaviors from one medication after the next (Sara, you should post a picture)… and allergies, as allergists and the moms on the chat know, are NOT a clear cut medical area, there are so many unknowns still, unfortunatly.
IF you would see the potential side effects people have had, you may not be so quick to pop your kids on these meds if they don’t badly badly need them.
And if you do, it is good to know to look out for side effects that may do more damage than good for your child.
THANK YoU Sara, for all that you do for the frum allergy community. You are truly a trailblazer in so many ways.
Thanks for this heads-up, if it helps one family, it is well worth it!