Virlix Side Effects

Like all medicines, Cetirizine (Virlix) can cause side effects, but not everybody gets them.
Conditions the patient needs to look out for: Severe allergic reactions: Signs include: raised and itchy rash (hives); swelling, sometimes of the face or mouth (angioedema), causing difficulty in swallowing or breathing; collapse or loss of consciousness.
Urinary retention: Signs include: pain when passing urine or inability to pass urine.
Suicidal thoughts: Some people had suicidal thoughts when taking Cetirizine (Virlix).
Contact a doctor immediately if the patient gets these symptoms. Stop taking Cetirizine (Virlix).
Common side effects: These may affect up to 1 in 10 people: Somnolence (sleepiness); dizziness, headache; pharyngitis, rhinitis (in children); diarrhoea (in children), nausea, dry mouth; fatigue.
Uncommon side effects: These may affect up to 1 in 100 people: Agitation; paraesthesia (tingling or numbness of the hands or feet); diarrhoea; stomach pain; pruritus (itching), rash; asthenia (unusual weakness), malaise.
Rare side effects: These may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people: Hypersensitivity; aggression, confusion, depression, hallucination, insomnia (sleeplessness); convulsions; tachycardia (fast heart beat); liver function abnormal (reflected in the blood tests); urticaria; oedema (swelling); increased weight.
Very rare side effects: These may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people: Thrombocytopenia (low blood platelet count); anaphylactic shock (see 'Severe allergic reactions' as previously mentioned); tics (uncontrolled body movements); dysgeusia (taste disturbance or loss of taste), dyskinesia (uncontrollable movements), dystonia (uncontrolled circular movements); accommodation disorder (difficulty focusing), blurred vision, oculogyration (eyes having uncontrolled circular movements); angioedema (serious allergic reaction which causes swelling of the face or throat), fixed drug eruption; dysuria (pain when passing urine) (see 'Urinary retention' as previously mentioned), enuresis (bed wetting).
Other side effects: Have occurred but their exact frequency is unknown: Increased appetite; suicidal ideation (see 'Suicidal thoughts' as previously mentioned), nightmare; amnesia, memory impairment; vertigo (spinning sensation); inflammation of the liver; urinary retention (difficulty passing urine) (see 'Urinary retention' as previously mentioned); joint pain; rash with blisters containing pus; intense itching (pruritus) upon discontinuation.
Tell the doctor or pharmacist if any of the side effects listed becomes severe or troublesome, or if the patient notices side effects not listed in this monograph.