Formulary
Levocetirizine hydrochloride: Indications, Dosing, Side Effects and Interactions
Levocetirizine hydrochloride clinical drug profile including indications, dosing, side effects, cautions and interactions.
MedNext Academy | 3 min read
Levocetirizine hydrochloride: Indications, Dosing, Side Effects and Interactions
Levocetirizine hydrochloride clinical drug profile including indications, dosing, side effects, cautions and interactions.
Indications and dose
**Symptomatic relief of allergy such as hay fever, urticaria**
- **Child** (By Mouth): 6-17 years 5 mg once daily.
- **Adult** (By Mouth): 5 mg once daily.
**Symptomatic relief of allergy such as hay fever, urticaria for levocetirizine hydrochloride**
- **Child 2-5 years** (By mouth): 1.25 mg twice daily.
- **Child 6-17 years** (By mouth): 5 mg once daily.
Contraindications
Avoid in Acute porphyrias
Side effects
Uncommon Abdominal pain; asthenia Frequency not known Aggression; agitation; angioedema; appetite increased; arthralgia; constipation (in children); depression; diarrhoea; dizziness; drowsiness; dyspnoea; hallucination; hepatitis; myalgia; nausea; oculogyration; oedema; palpitations; paraesthesia; seizure; skin reactions; sleep disorders; suicidal ideation; syncope; tachycardia; taste altered; tremor; urinary disorders; vertigo; vision disorders; vomiting; weight increased Side-effects, further information Pruritus New-onset pruritus has been reported after stopping long-term treatment with levocetirizine. Sedation and psychomotor impairment Non-sedating antihistamines such as levocetirizine cause less sedation and psychomotor impairment than the older antihistamines, but can still occur; sedation is generally minimal. This is because non-sedating antihistamines penetrate the blood brain barrier to a much lesser extent.
Pregnancy
Most manufacturers of antihistamines advise avoiding their use during pregnancy; however, there is no evidence of teratogenicity.
Breast feeding
Most antihistamines are present in breast milk in varying amounts; although not known to be harmful, most manufacturers advise avoiding their use in mothers who are breast-feeding.
Renal impairment
In adults: Avoid if eGFR less than 10 mL/minute/1.73 m 2 . In children: Avoid if estimated glomerular filtration rate less than 10 mL/minute/1.73 m 2 . Dose adjustments In adults: 5 mg on alternate days if eGFR 30-50 mL/minute/1.73 m 2 . 5 mg every 3 days if eGFR 10-30 mL/minute/1.73 m 2 . In children: Reduce dose frequency to alternate days if estimated glomerular filtration rate 30-50 mL/minute/1.73 m 2 . Reduce dose frequency to every 3 days if estimated glomerular filtration rate 10-30 mL/minute/1.73 m 2 .
Medicinal forms
Tablet,Solution
Clinical governance
**Author:** MedNext Clinical Team. **Clinical reviewer:** Dr Shameer Deen, MBBS, MS, MRCS. **Sources:** BNF, Indian Pharmacopoeia, CIMS India. **Correction:** Report errors at support@mednext.academy.
Inside MedNext for this topic
- 411 MedNext-authored chapters
- 80,000+ MCQ bank
- 15 study modes
- Growing visual cheat sheets
Study modes
- Notes
- MCQ
- Audio
- Video
- Visual
- 3D Anatomy
- Trace
- Flashcards
- Mnemonics
- Image Bank
- Clinical
- Microscopy
- Audio QBank
- Cadaver
- Book Match
Continue reading
Subject HubPharmacology Hub
All pharmacology resources in one place.
Drug SchedulesIndian Drug Schedules
Schedule H, H1, X and G classifications.
FormularyBrowse all drugs
Search 1,850+ drug profiles.
Study Levocetirizine hydrochloride in the MedNext app
Challenge yourself with targeted pharmacology MCQs on this drug class. Every explanation links back to the chapter that teaches the concept.
Start drug challengeExplore the full formulary

