Stop Using, Start Itching: FDA Flags Risk Tied to Popular Allergy Med Zyrtec

Two common anti-allergy medications can leave you feeling scratchier than ever. The Food and Drug Administration is warning that stopping long-term use of cetirizine and levocetirizine can, in rare cases, cause intense itchiness. The FDA issued its warning earlier this month. Over the past decade, the agency has received hundreds of reports of people experiencing severe—sometimes “debilitating”—itching after going off the medications. Though it appears to be a rare complication, the FDA is also requiring manufacturers to mention the side effect in the labeling of these drugs. “The underlying mechanism for this risk is unknown, but our evaluation supports a causal relationship between stopping cetirizine or levocetirizine and pruritus,” the FDA stated in its Drug Safety Communication about the products. Cetirizine and levocetirizine are both antihistamine drugs that have been around for a while. The former was first approved as the prescription drug Zyrtec in 1995, while levocetirizi ... Read full article.