My 21 month old son started on Claritin 3 days ago, after I consulted with his allergist. It seems to be helping a little, but not as much as I'd hoped. I know it needs some more time to take full effect though.
The thing is, since starting it, he has practically STOPPED eating. He's not snacking at ALL (used to snack from morning to night) and is eating about 1/3 of what he used to at meals.
Does anyone know if decreased appetite is a Claritin side effect, or have you experienced it?
We were told that we could try Zyrtec if we prefer, or if we started w/ Claritin, if it didn't work we could try Zyrtec.
I'm beginning to want to put him on Zyrtec instead and see if we get the appetite back and/or can get his allergy symptoms better controlled.
My plan was to give the Claritin 5-7 days and if there wasn't significant improvement, switch to Zyrtec, as his allergist told me it was stronger and we may want to start there if his symptoms were severe. (I'd say they were moderate.)
WWYD? Would you go ahead and finish out the 5 day trial of Claritin and hope his appetite comes back, or go ahead and switch to Zyrtec? His nose is still running a lot, around his little eyes are red from being rubbed, he's still sneezing a lot, and has that cough you get from the annoying little tickle in your throat.
Quoting satin69:
with my previous experience i havent found zyrtec to make them as drowsy as claritin does...IMO of course
He's not drowsy, so I'm not really worried about that. Thanks though.
Amanda~Cloth Diapering, Non-Spanking, Attached Mommy to my little miracle, Landon Joel, born 6 weeks too soon, 6-21-07, former refluxer, multiple food allergies, coolest kid on the block!
Then Now
I didn't vote, but I know that with myself Claritan did nothing for me and Zyrtec works great.
For my daughter it is the opposite. As for the appetite, your little guy could have a lot of phlegm going down the back of this throat, this can cause your appetite to go away. You just feel kinda sick in your tummy. Check with your peditrician and let him/her know that about the appetite thing.
I take Zyrtec and I love it. I did not like claritin . I dont remember if it made me eat less though. I take Zyrtec every day. It helps my asthma too.
Oh and to see the full effect of an allergy medicine you must take it everyday for at least a week. Maybe his body is just getting used to it.
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Amanda~Cloth Diapering, Non-Spanking, Attached Mommy to my little miracle, Landon Joel, born 6 weeks too soon, 6-21-07, former refluxer, multiple food allergies, coolest kid on the block!
Then Now
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on Mar. 20, 2009 at 11:27 PM