Cetirizine (Zyrtec) Overdose, 2x the usual amount, one this morning, one now.

[space-time]

miscommunication...

Son (almost 10 year old) ended up with 2 dozes of Cetirizine, 10 mg this morning and 10 mg now.

I am googling right now. found this:

http://www.rxlist.com/zyrtec-drug/overdo...ations.htm

Overdosage has been reported with ZYRTEC (cetirizine) . In one adult patient who took 150 mg of ZYRTEC (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 ZYRTEC (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 ZYRTEC (cetirizine) . ZYRTEC (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 were 237 mg/kg in mice (approximately 95 times the maximum recommended daily oral dose in adults on a mg/m2 basis, or approximately 40 times the maximum recommended daily oral dose in infants on a mg/m2 basis) and 562 mg/kg in rats (approximately 460 times the maximum recommended daily oral dose in adults on a mg/m2 basis, or approximately 190 times the maximum recommended daily oral dose in infants 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.

what to do? any reason to panic and call doctor? or just wait and see?

[rgG]

That is far enough apart and the dose is low enough that I doubt he will notice any symptoms.
I took two Claritins one morning, at almost the same time. I felt a little jittery, but was fine otherwise.
If you have any doubt, call the nurses hotline from your insurance, if you have one, or even poison control, but I really doubt it will be a problem.

[space-time]

yeah, the more I read about it, the more it seems it is not that a big deal. The overdoses reported in some of these cases are 15x, and probably taken all at once, but 1x in the morning and 1x evening... probably not an emergency. we will change some rules so this does not happen again.

[rgG]

space-time wrote:
yeah, the more I read about it, the more it seems it is not that a big deal. The overdoses reported in some of these cases are 15x, and probably taken all at once, but 1x in the morning and 1x evening... probably not an emergency. we will change some rules so this does not happen again.

It happens. Most OTC drugs have a pretty wide margin of error.

[C(-)ris]

I'd just call a nurse line if you have one and ask. The only stupid question is one you don't ask.

[Racer X]

Pshaw. Not to dismiss your concern, but my youngest step-son's doc PRESCRIBED one in the morning, and one in the evening.

[stephen]

Probably some rather dried out sinuses. Maybe have some saline spray on hand for comfort.

[mattkime]

Step 1

Panic

Step 2

Realize that you panicked over nothing.

[mrbigstuff]

whatever one is concerned worried about, research it on the internet. that always calms one down.

[p8712]

It happens. Most OTC drugs have a pretty wide margin of error.

Yep. If a common mistake like this weren't built into dosing, more people would have problems. Call your medical professional of choice and relax.