Zyrtec-D (Cetirizine, Pseudoephedrine) Drug Information: Overdosage and Contraindications

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May 27, 2012

Zyrtec-D

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Allergy facts

Allergy involves an exaggerated response of the immune system.
The immune system is the body's organized defense mechanism against foreign invaders, particularly infections.
Allergens are substances that are foreign to the body and can cause an allergic reaction.
IgE is the allergy antibody.
Allergies can develop at any age.
Your risk of developing allergies is related to your parents' allergy history.

Introduction

In this review you will learn how allergy relates to the immune system. You will begin understanding how and why certain people become allergic. The most common allergic diseases are discussed briefly in this article.

What does an allergy mean?

An allergy refers to an exaggerated reaction by our immune system in response to bodily contact with certain foreign substances. It is exaggerated because these f...

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OVERDOSE

Information regarding acute overdosage is limited to experience with cetirizine alone and the marketing history of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride.

Overdosage has been reported with cetirizine. In one adult patient who took 150 mg of cetirizine, the patient was somnolent but did not display any other clinical signs or abnormal blood chemistry or hematology results. In an 18-month-old pediatric patient who took an overdose of cetirizine (approximately 180 mg), restlessness and irritability were observed initially; this was followed by drowsiness. Should overdose occur, treatment should be symptomatic or supportive, taking into account any concomitantly ingested medications. There is no known specific antidote to cetirizine. Cetirizine is not effectively removed by dialysis, and dialysis will be ineffective unless a dialyzable agent has been concomitantly ingested. The acute minimal lethal oral doses in mice and rats were 237 and 562 mg/kg, respectively (approximately 95 and 460 times the maximum recommended daily dose in adults on a mg/m² basis). In rodents, the target of acute toxicity was the central nervous system, and the target of multiple-dose toxicity was the liver.

In large doses, sympathomimetics may give rise to giddiness, headache, nausea, vomiting, sweating, thirst, tachycardia, precordial pain, palpitations, difficulty in micturition, muscular weakness and tenseness, anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia. Many patients can present a toxic psychosis with delusions and hallucinations. Some may develop cardiac arrhythmias, circulatory collapse, convulsions, coma and respiratory failure.

CONTRAINDICATIONS

ZYRTEC-D (cetirizine, pseudoephedrine) Tablets are contraindicated in patients with a known hypersensitivity to any of its ingredients or to hydroxyzine.

Due to its pseudoephedrine component, ZYRTEC-D (cetirizine, pseudoephedrine) Tablets are contraindicated in patients with narrow-angle glaucoma or urinary retention, and in patients receiving monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor therapy or within fourteen (14) days of stopping such treatment (see PRECAUTIONS, Drug Interactions section). It is also contraindicated in patients with severe hypertension, or severe coronary artery disease, and in those who have shown hypersensitivity or idiosyncrasy to its components, to adrenergic agents, or to other drugs of similar chemical structures. Manifestations of patient idiosyncrasy to adrenergic agents include insomnia, dizziness, weakness, tremor, or arrhythmias.

Last reviewed on RxList: 4/29/2008
This monograph has been modified to include the generic and brand name in many instances.