Precautions and Warnings With Levocetirizine

Prior to taking levocetirizine, precautions and warnings for the drug should be reviewed. For example, the medication may interfere with your ability to concentrate or drive a car, and it can interact with certain other drugs. Also, women who are breastfeeding should consider the precautions and warnings with levocetirizine, because the medication can pass through breast milk.

 

Levocetirizine: What Should I Tell My Healthcare Provider?

You should talk with your healthcare provider prior to taking levocetirizine dihydrochloride (Xyzal®) if you have:
 
  • Kidney disease, such as kidney failure (renal failure)
  • Any allergies, including allergies to food, dyes, or preservatives.
     
Also, let your healthcare provider know if you are:
 
  • Pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant
  • Breastfeeding.
     
Make sure to tell your healthcare provider about any other medicines you are taking, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
 

Specific Precautions and Warnings With Levocetirizine

Warnings and precautions to be aware of prior to taking levocetirizine include the following:
 
  • If you have kidney disease, your body may not handle levocetirizine as well as it should (because the kidneys remove the medication from the blood). Check with your healthcare provider before taking it, as you may need a lower dosage.
     
  • The medication can cause drowsiness, fatigue, and weakness, which may interfere with your ability to concentrate or operate heavy machinery. Be sure to see how levocetirizine affects you before doing anything that requires concentration and focus. Taking it in the evening (instead of in the morning) usually helps decrease drowsiness.
     
  • Levocetirizine can potentially interact with a few other medications (see Drug Interactions With Levocetirizine).
     
  • Levocetirizine is considered a pregnancy Category B medication. This means that it is probably safe for use during pregnancy, although the full risks are not currently known (see Xyzal and Pregnancy).
     
  • The medication passes through breast milk in humans. Therefore, if you are breastfeeding or plan to start, discuss this with your healthcare provider prior to taking the levocetirizine (see Xyzal and Breastfeeding).
     
(Precautions and Warnings With Levocetirizine Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;