Such a thing as anti-histamine overdose?

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

@missouri65

I’ve been wondering about this for a while. We appear to have a couple of doctors knowledgeable about the issue here. Is there any danger in staggering Claritin, Zyrtec, and Allegra, the way staggering otc pain medications is sometimes recommended? I’ve found conflicting information on the safety, without any clarification beyond an increased risk of drowsiness. Most of the sites I saw said doubling up would be ineffective, but didn’t really address staggering. Would there even be any benefit?

I’d not stagger those meds, they’re waaaay too similar. Not really unsafe in low doses, but most folks have found it to be not beneficial, either. No point, really.

When one staggers pain meds, one is usually staggering NSAIDs and acetaminophen, which have different mechanisms of action and won’t stack up to an overdose from the staggering.

Having said that, I do have some allergy patients on the long-acting maintenance claritin or Zyrtec, one dose a day, and have them take a more sedating shorter acting antihistamine such as benadryl for breakthrough symptoms. This tends to relieve the symptoms much better than just stacking on more of the long-acting stuff.

[missouri65]

Thanks. I wasn’t sure how similar they were. It makes sense that a nighttime benadryl would be the better option.

FWIW to the OP, I’ve never had any luck with Claritin. I never exceeded the recommended dosage, though. I’ve had slightly better luck with Zyrtec and Allegra.