Antihistamine medicine Hydroxyzine is an approved drug for anxiety treatment. Mostly, people use it for sleeping difficulties, nausea, vomiting, itching, allergies, and skin rash. People with anxiety symptoms are advised to take help from Hydroxyzine. However, do you want to know Hydroxyzine side effects? In this article, we will discuss the side effects, risks, precautions, and symptoms of overdose of Hydroxyzine, and so, if you are about to take this medicine and don’t know much of the risks involved with it, let us discuss it.
What Do You Know About Hydroxyzine?
This antihistamine medicine reduces the effects of the natural chemical histamine in the body. However, Histamine may produce symptoms like hives, itching, or others. Many times doctors suggest this drug treat some allergic skin reactions like hives. So, if you are suffering from these symptoms, you can seek dermatitis.
However, this medicine will reduce the activities in the central nervous system. So, you can take it for anxiety and tension. Many times you can use it with other drugs during and after anesthesia.
The Proper Way To Use Hydroxyzine and side effects:
In this article, we mainly focused on Hydroxyzine Side Effects. So, it is good to discuss a proper way to use it, or else, Side Effects may be noticed. You can take it with food or without. However, if your stomach is upset, you can take it with food.
You can take this medicine every day. It can have a fixed time or as suggested by doctors. Generally, healthcare providers will set a limit to taking this medication. It depends on the body’s response and other factors, and the medical expert will prescribe the dose and the method to take this medicine. You can not change the way he suggests.
While taking medicine daily, you should have a calendar handy. Also, remember the time at which you take the medicine. If possible, you should ask family members or friends t remind you about the time to take Hydroxyzine.
What If Dose Was Missed?
If you regularly take Hydroxyzine and sometimes miss the dose, you must immediately take it when you remember. But it’s only in the case if the next dose is not closer. You must always take care and do not double the dose of this antihistamine medicine.
If you take a double dose or reduce the time between two doses, you will likely face severe and worst side effects of this medicine.
Precautions Before Taking Hydroxyzine:
There are some things you should consider before taking Hydroxyzine. Here are those.
Avoid the consumption of alcohol and do not use any illegal drugs. They can minify the benefits of Hydroxyzine. Moreover, if you continue using these illegal drugs and alcohol, they can increase the risks. And cause possible adverse effects of this antihistamine medicine.
Why Avoid Double Dose?
You should avoid overdosing to keep yourself safe against the risks and Hydroxyzine side effects. If you take an overdose or double dose, you may spontaneously need emergency medical care. However, if it happens, you can call poison control centers.
Overdosing this drug has some symptoms. It includes drowsiness, dry mouth, headache, difficulty urinating, decreased awareness and responsiveness, confusion, severe sleepiness, vomiting rapid heartbeats, slow reflexes, seizures, impaired coordination, or even coma. These are all side-effects of this antihistamine medicine.
What Are Possible Hydroxyzine Side Effects?
Taking antihistamine medicine may have some common side effects as under;
- Fatigue
- Dry mouth
- Dizziness
- Urinary retention
- Blurred vision
- Confusion
- Irritability
- Headache
- Drowsiness
- Chest pain & discomfort
- Cough
- Swallowing difficulties
- Fainting
- Skin rashes, hives, itching
- Slow or irregular heart rate
- Short breath
- Chest tightness
- Weakness or tiredness
- Swelling of eyelids or around eyes.
If you notice any of these symptoms, you must seek emergency medical help.
Some of the rare but noticeable side effects of Hydroxyzine medicine include the following.
- Some allergic reactions like breathing problems, hives, and swelling lips, tongue, or face are possible.
- It may leave increased heart rate, irregular heartbeat, confusion, and hallucination.
- Males may face priapism issues (where an erection won’t go away after 4 hours).
- Some acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP) skin rashes are possible.
Possible Risks Of Taking Hydroxyzine For Long:
Similar to Hydroxyzine side effects, if you take this antihistamine medicine for a long, you may have to face some risks involved in it. So, only take this medicine under professional prescription for prescribed periods. Some risks are there with long-term mediational use that causes adverse effects. So, periodically, you have to consult a physician and take advice.
There is no doubt doctors prescribe Hydroxyzine to take its benefits and positive effects. Still, like any other medication, this one also has some side effects. But you must know that any person will not face all these side effects. However, it is a list of side effects noticed by patients taking Hydroxyzine medicine. So, if you notice these side effects, you must consult your medical expert immediately.
Normal Side-effects Of Hydroxyzine:
It is not mandatory that you will notice only severe side effects. Some normal Hydroxyzine side effects don’t need you to seek emergency medical help. During the treatment, your body adjusts to the medicine. And the Side-effects go away.
Moreover, the healthcare professional will explain to you how to deal with some symptoms and overcome them. So, if the following usual symptoms are noticed frequently while taking antihistamine medicine, you can ask your physician.
- The shakiness of legs, hands, arms, and feet
- Shaking or trembling of hands or feet
- Dry mouth
- Headache
What To Do When You Face Side-effects?
You have understood the side effects and risks of Hydroxyzine. We also discussed the possible symptoms of overdose. You might be wondering what you can do immediately to deal with these side effects before meeting your medical healthcare expert.
Before reaching to physician, you should use some home remedies to deal with it. For example, if you have a dry mouth, you can suck hard candy or ice cubes. Moreover, chewing gum, drinking water, or a saliva substitute is best to keep your mouth hydrated.
You use this medication to treat your conditions. So, without any doubt, it offers some benefits to you. And these benefits are more than the risks involved in it. So, you can use them up to certain limits, and therefore, you should not exceed the limits of Hydroxyzine medicine usage. Otherwise, the risks are more and so side-effects.
Hence, if there are severe symptoms of adverse effects, you need medical help to protect your body against this medicine’s Side-effects.
It is too rare to observe the worst allergic reactions because of this medicine. But some minor symptoms are possible. So, if you think the side effects are not usual, consult an expert.
Warnings To Those Who Use Hydroxyzine Medicine:
If you are a pregnant woman, you should ask your doctor before using antihistamine medicine. It may cause some Birth Defects. Moreover, if you’re breastfeeding, you should ask if you can take this medicine or not.
It can cause some heart problems. It is in a case if you have been taking some other medicines with Hydroxyzine, you may likely face adverse heart effects. So, seek an expert’s advice, and they will ask to stop or continue other drugs.
If you have noticed any severe side effects, you have to stop using this drug immediately and run to the doctor. Otherwise, you may have to face even worsen situations.
- Do not drink alcohol along with this medicine. It will cause different Side-effects.
- Do you have a long QT syndrome history? Do not use this medication.
- Do you have an allergy to cetirizine (Zyrtec), levocetirizine, or anything else? Do not consume this medication.
Who Can Use Hydroxyzine?
To avoid Hydroxyzine side effects, you need to ensure you are an ideal candidate for this medicine, and so, you have to tell your doctor if you have any of the following.
- Blockage of the digestive tract (intestine or stomach)
- Heart diseases or irregular heartbeat
- Family or personal history of QT syndrome
- Recent heart attack
- Bladder obstruction) urination problems
Frequently Asked Questions:
How Long Can You Take Hydroxyzine Medicine?
It depends on the symptoms of your anxiety or insomnia. If it improves within hours of the first dose, you can limit the consumption of antihistamine medicine.
Will I Face Most Of The Symptoms?
Probably not! However, facing symptoms depends on the type and health of your body. So, if you have poor health, you may experience some symptoms at mild or moderate severity. But if you face adverse effects and see your condition worsen, seek medical help.
Wrapping Up:
Have you understood Hydroxyzine side effects? We started with a primary introduction to antihistamine medicine, why to use it, and how to avoid double doses. Moreover, we also discussed the adverse effects of this drug. You can observe some mild symptoms or severe symptoms of Hydroxyzine medicine side effects. If you are a pregnant woman or breastfeeding, you should consult a physician before using antihistamine medicine to avoid any adverse effects.