Let me apologize in advance for how long this review is. I bought this medication just weeks prior to my son being diagnosed with asthma and even after the diagnosis have continued to use it off and on as needed. Because this product is intended for use to relieve allergy symptoms, as well as how my child’s allergy symptom’s can cause him to have an asthma attack, our experience with this medication has pretty much always involved both asthma and allergies. Therefore it’s hard for me to not go into detail about both in this review.

The story behind my buying this product

My husband and I have pretty much always known that our son had allergies. It was obvious to us shortly before he was 6 months of age. Both my husband and I have seasonal allergies, which, where we live is more like year round allergies. When our eyes were red, watery and itchy, so were our baby's. When our noses were stopped up and or running, our baby would have the same symptom. Our child's doctor at the time told us that it was impossible for a 6 month old to have allergies. Whatever.

Anyway, back in January of 2003 our son was having a terrible time. He simply could not get well and stay that way. At the age of 5 he had only ever been put on antibiotics once, but after his birthday in January 2003 he had his second round, quickly followed by his third and then fourth. He had a cough that wouldn’t go away, a cough that kept him and us up at night. His nose was somewhat congested half the time and some days he just didn’t seem to feel very well at all.

From January - May our son saw several different doctors in the hopes of finding someone or something to get him back to health. In May 2003 we finally saw someone who had half a clue. Her diagnosis was allergies with a cough caused by post nasal drip. She gave us a prescription for liquid Allegra which our insurance company would not fill until we first tried the newly available over the counter Children’s Claritin.

So I bought a bottle of Children's Claritin and really hoped that my child’s cough would go away. We all were desperate to get some sleep and even prescription cough medications with and without codeine hadn't done the trick.

Basic Product Information

Children’s Claritin is a fruit flavored syrup. It comes in a plastic 4 fl. Oz. bottle and comes with a dosage cup. Children’s Claritin is non drowsy and alcohol-free; it boasts that it provides 24 hour relief from runny nose, sneezing, itchy, watery eyes, and itching of the nose and throat.

This medication is recommended for children’s ages 2 and up and would also be a good alternative for adults or teens that may have problems taking medications that aren’t in liquid form.

The liquid is clear in color and has a really nice natural fruity scent. I tasted Children’s Claritin as my son complained it was “hot” coming from him that generally means minty. My own take on the flavor is – it really isn’t bad at all. It doesn’t taste delicious, but it’s tolerable and much more pleasing than any cough syrup I’ve ever tried. There is a slightly odd after taste that I can see could be interpreted as kind of minty (though it isn’t). Even though my son doesn’t love the taste, he does take this medication without any problem so long as I give him some water to wash it down.

Active Ingredient (per 5 mL): Loratadine 5 mg

Other Ingredients : citric acid, edetate disodium, flavor, glycerin, propylene glycol, sodium benzoate, sugar, water


Our Experience - How it worked for my son

For the first 10 days or so Children’s Claritin ended up working beautifully for my son. For the first time in literally months, he seemed to be well. For the first time in weeks both were all able to get a good night’s rest. I gave my son the recommended dose every afternoon and for a few weeks everything seemed ok. He was noticeably less congested; his eyes weren’t red or glassy looking.

Since Children’s Claritin is supposed to last for 24 hours so you’re only supposed to take one dose a day. I can’t honestly say we found Children’s Claritin to work for the entire 24 hours. Usually a few hours before it was time for the next dose, my son’s allergies symptoms were back; granted, not as bad as they would have been without Children's Claritin, but still obvious to where he seemed like he needed to take something for them. Overall, that’s really not too shabby for a 24 hour medication.

After the first 10 days or so my son’s nightly cough came back. It wasn’t as bad as it had been, but it got progressively worse. We saw yet another Dr. and this time got a diagnosis of asthma. At that point my son went off of Children’s Claritin as he was put on the prescription drug Singulair which was meant to help him with both his allergies and asthma.

For a few months everything was great, then one day my son started to have asthma attacks nightly. He was needing to use his alburerol inhaler daily and it was obvious to me that his allergies were at least partly to blame. He started back on Children’s Claritin (in addition to Singulair) and viola! He was doing better within 48 hours.

Now I keep a bottle of Children’s Claritin on hand for my son. It isn’t something he needs daily – even during the worst allergy months. But there are several times a year where he needs to be on it for a week here, two weeks there in order to keep his allergies in check so they don’t cause him to have an asthma attack.

To sum up my long winded story of usage….

Children’s Claritin did not take care of my child’s asthma completely, but that is not something it is supposed to do anyway. What it did do, and continues to do, is help control his allergies and the symptoms which come along with them which for him, include asthma attacks.

Children’s Claritin has served us well. To be blunt, it works; at least for my child, it works. It keeps him nearly allergy symptom free when he takes it; it doesn’t taste good, but also doesn’t taste horrid and it very nearly does last 24 hours.

The only real con to Children’s Claritin is, in my child’s mind – the flavor; and in my mind -- the cost. For an older child (6 and up) the daily dose is 2 teaspoonfuls. If used daily, one bottle of Children’s Claritin will last you a few weeks. At $10.99 a bottle, it gets expensive; worth it, but expensive. Thankfully for us, my son no longer needs it daily and only ends up taking it maybe 6 weeks out of the year at this point. Even so, I think pretty soon we'll be switching to Claritin RediTabs (melt in your mouth) since my child, though not yet six years old, is already taking the adult dosage (10 mg Loratadine, daily) due to his size.

bops_mom’s Recommendation

I do recommend Children’s Claritin for children who suffer from allergies. It really does help my son get through the worst weeks of the year without having to deal with his allergy symptoms getting out of control. Children's Claritin is a real life saver for us!


Thanks for reading!

~ Melissa :o)




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Note: all of the following information is taken right off the box. If you don't wish to read this part, feel free to skip it. However, being that I am not now, nor have I ever been a Doctor I am not comfortable with writing a medication review without including all of the given (rather common sense) warnings. Should you ever have any questions or concerns about a product, I urge you to contact a Medical Professional.


WARNINGS:

Do not use if you have ever had an allergic reaction to this product or any of its ingredients.

Ask a doctor before use if you have liver or kidney disease. Your doctor should determine if you need a different dose.

When using this product do not take more than directed. Taking more than directed may cause drowsiness.

Stop Use and ask a doctor if an allergic reaction to this product occurs. Seek medical help right away.

If pregnant or breast-feeding, ask a health professional before use.

Keep out of reach of children. In case of overdose get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.

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Recommended: Yes