Loratadine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands

Uses temporarily relieves these symptoms due to hay fever or other upper respiratory allergies: ●runny nose ●itchy, watery eyes ●sneezing ●itching of the nose or throat

The elimination half-life of loratadine is about 8 hours (mean 8.4 hours; range 3 to 20 hours in normal adults) — that is how long the body takes to clear half of a dose. Loratadine is metabolized to an active metabolite, descarboethoxyloratadine (also known as desloratadine), which greatly outlasts the parent drug: its mean elimination half-life is about 28 hours (range 8.8 to 92 hours), which is why once-daily dosing is effective. The half-life lengthens with age (mean ~18 hours for loratadine in healthy elderly subjects) and in liver disease (about 24 hours in chronic alcoholic liver disease, increasing with severity). Renal impairment and hemodialysis do not substantially change the half-life. Loratadine is not a prodrug — both it and its metabolite are pharmacologically active. Half-life is not the same as how long a drug test can detect the drug, and it varies with age, kidney and liver function.

It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run loratadine against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.

We track 7 loratadine-containing products in the U.S.: Children's Claritin, Claritin, Claritin Hives Relief, Claritin Hives Relief Reditab, Claritin Reditabs, Alavert and Loratadine. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.

Across the brands we track, loratadine is currently marketed as kit, tablet, chewable, tablet, tablet, orally disintegrating, capsule and solution, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.

Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic loratadine product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.

Other medicines: we hold source-cited interaction answers for Can you take Benadryl with Claritin?, Can you take Claritin with Tylenol?, Can you take Zyrtec and Claritin together? and Can you drink alcohol on Claritin? and more. This is what the FDA label and our cited sources say — it is not a complete list. Your pharmacist can check your own combination.

Not at the labeled dose for most people — loratadine is the non-drowsy antihistamine — but the Drug Facts label is explicit that taking more than directed may cause drowsiness. Doubling up because one tablet did not seem to work is exactly what converts a non-sedating antihistamine into a sedating one. Answers here are for the 10 mg over-the-counter tablet, which is what people mean by loratadine.

Do not use it if you have ever had an allergic reaction to loratadine or to any ingredient in the product — that is the label's outright do-not-use. Separately, ask a doctor before use if you have liver or kidney disease, because the label says your doctor should determine whether you need a different dose. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, ask a health professional before use. Those are label instructions, not general caution.

One 10 mg tablet daily, and not more than one tablet in 24 hours, for adults and children 6 years and over. For children under 6 years, the label says ask a doctor — do not estimate a smaller dose from an adult tablet. There is no labeled dose for taking two tablets a day, and the label warns that exceeding directions may cause drowsiness.

No boxed warning. Loratadine is an over-the-counter product sold under a Drug Facts label, which has no boxed warning section at all. Its restrictions are the do-not-use for prior allergic reaction to the product, the ask-a-doctor-first instruction for liver or kidney disease and for pregnancy or breastfeeding, and the one-tablet-per-24-hours limit.

Stop use and ask a doctor if an allergic reaction to the product occurs, and seek medical help right away — that is the label's own wording. An antihistamine causing an allergic reaction sounds contradictory but is a recognized event and is the label's designated stop signal. Also keep it out of reach of children: in case of overdose, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.