Levocetirizine 5mg Tablets

Hay fever Doctor Service

Levocetirizine is an antiallergic medication and it is a treatment for signs of illness (symptoms) associated with:

• allergic rhinitis (including persistent allergic rhinitis)
• nettle rash (urticaria).

These symptoms include sneezing, runny or itchy nose, itchy palate, and itchy, red or watery eyes. Levocetirizine Tablets are also used to relieve the symptoms associated with urticaria (a skin condition caused by an allergy). These symptoms include itching and hives.

Levocetirizine dihydrochloride is the active ingredient of Levocetirizine 5 mg film-coated tablets.

Suitable For Adults & Children Of 6 Years & Older.

You can order Levocetirizine online from our UK registered online pharmacy and doctor service. To see if you are suitable for this treatment, complete the online assessment and checkout. Our UK registered doctors will review the order and after approval pass the prescription to the Pharmacy team. We will then dispense and dispatch your order to your chosen address.

A good self care guide and information for hay fever is available on the NHS website.

NHS - Hay fever

Hay fever is usually worse between late March and September, especially when it's warm, humid and windy.

What Can You Do To Ease Your Symptoms When The Pollen Count Is High? This is when the pollen count is at its highest.

• Keep windows and doors shut as much as possible
• Wear wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting into your eyes
• Stay indoors whenever possible
• Put Vaseline around your nostrils to trap pollen
• Shower and change your clothes after you have been outside to wash pollen off
• Vacuum regularly and dust with a damp cloth
• Buy a pollen filter for the air vents in your car and a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter

Hay Fever

Pollen allergies, more commonly known as hay fever, are caused when trees and grasses release pollen into the air.

• Doctors often call hay fever allergic rhinitis. 

Different plants pollinate at different times of the year, so the months you get hay fever will depend on what sort of pollen you're allergic to.

Typically, people are affected during spring (trees) and summer (grasses).

To Help Keep Your Hay Fever Under Control, You Can:

• check weather reports for the pollen count and stay indoors when it's high, if possible
• avoid drying clothes and bedding outside when the pollen count is high
• wear wraparound sunglasses to protect your eyes
• keep doors and windows shut when possible
• shower and change your clothes after being outside
• avoid grassy areas, such as parks and fields, particularly in the early morning, evening or night, when the
• pollen count is highest
• if you have a lawn, try asking someone else to cut the grass for you.

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

Common: (may affect up to 1 in 10 people)

• dry mouth
• headache
• tiredness
• somnolence/drowsiness

Uncommon: (may affect up to 1 in 100 people)

• exhaustion
• abdominal pain

At the first signs of a hypersensitivity reaction, stop taking Levocetirizine 5mg film-coated tablets and
tell your doctor.

Hypersensitivity reaction symptoms may include: swelling of the mouth, tongue, face and/or throat, breathing or swallowing difficulties (chest tightness or wheezing), hives, sudden fall in blood pressure leading to collapse or shock, which may be fatal.

For a full list of side effects, please read the Patient Information Leaflet.

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, our Rightdose pharmacists or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet.

You can help to make medicines safer by reporting any side-effects to the Yellow Card Scheme at www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard.

Before taking any medication, it is important to read the Patient Information Leaflet. You can find information leaflets for your medicines by typing them into the search bar at medicines.org, or by contacting us.

Patient Information Leaflet Levocetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets

Other medicines and Levocetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other
medicines.

Levocetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets with food, drink and alcohol
Caution is advised if Levocetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets is taken at the same time as alcohol or other agents acting on the brain. In sensitive patients, the concurrent administration of Levocetirizine 5mg film-coated tablets and alcohol or other agents acting on the brain may cause additional reductions in alertness and impairment of performance.

Levocetirizine 5mg Film-coated tablets can be taken with or without food.

Pregnancy, breastfeeding and fertility
If you are pregnant or breast feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine.

Driving and using machines
Some patients being treated with Levocetirizine may experience somnolence/drowsiness, tiredness and exhaustion. Use caution when driving or operating machinery until you know how this medicine affects you. However, special tests have revealed no impairment of mental alertness, the ability to react or the ability to drive in healthy test persons after taking levocetirizine in the recommended dosage.

Levocetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets contains lactose
These tablets contain lactose, if you have been told by your doctor that you have an intolerance to some sugars you should contact your doctor before taking them.

How to store Levocetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets

• Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton and blister after Exp. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
• This medicinal product does not require any special storage conditions.
• Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.

Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.

Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor or pharmacist has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.

Do not give this medicine to children less than 6 years of age.

The recommended dose for adults and children aged 6 years and over is one tablet daily. Children under 6 years of age should not take this medicine.

Special dosage instructions for specific populations

Renal and hepatic impairment

Patients with impaired kidney function may be given a lower dose according to the severity of their kidney disease and children the dose will also be chosen on the basis of body weight; the dose will be determined by your doctor.

• Patients who have severe impairment of kidney function must not take this Levocetirizine 5mg Filmcoated tablets.
• Patients who only have impaired liver function should take the usual prescribed dose.
• Patients who have both impaired liver and kidney function may be given a lower dose depending on the severity of the kidney disease, and in children the dose will also be chosen on the basis of body weight; the dose will be determined by your doctor.

Elderly patients aged 65 years and above
No adaptation of the dose is necessary in elderly patients, provided their renal function is normal.

Use in Children
Levocetirizine 5mg Film-coated tablets are not recommended for children under 6 years of age.

How and when should you take Levecetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets

• For oral use only
• Levocetirizine 5mg film-coated tablets should be swallowed whole with water and may be taken with or without food.

How long should you take Levocetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets
The duration of use depends on the type, duration and course of your complaints and is determined by your physician.

If you take more Levocetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets than you should
If you take more Levocetirizine 5mg film-coated tablets than you should, somnolence can occur in adults. Children may initially show excitation and restlessness followed by somnolence. If you think you have taken an overdose of Levocetirizine, please tell your doctor who will then decide what action should be taken.

If you forget to take Levocetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets
If you forget to take Levocetirizine, or if you take a dose lower than that prescribed by your doctor, do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose. Take your next dose, at your normal time.

If you stop taking Levocetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets
Stopping treatment should have no negative effects. However, rarely pruritus (intense itching) may occur if you stop taking Levocetirizine 5mg film-coated tablets, even if those symptoms were not present before treatment initiation. The symptoms may resolve spontaneously. In some cases, the symptoms may be intense and may require treatment to be restarted. The symptoms should resolve when the treatment is restarted.

If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Do not take Levocetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets:

• If you are allergic to levocetirizine dihydrochloride, to cetirizine, to hydroxyzine or any of the other ingredients of this medicine.
• If you have a severe impairment of kidney function (severe renal failure with creatinine clearance below 10 ml/min)

Warnings and precautions
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Levocetirizine 5 mg film-coated tablets:

• If you are likely to be unable to empty your bladder (with conditions such as spinal cord injury or
  enlarged prostate), please ask your doctor for advice.
• If you suffer from epilepsy or are at risk of convulsions, please ask your doctor for advice as use of Levocetirizine 5mg film-coated tablets may cause seizure aggravation.
• If you are scheduled for allergy testing, ask your doctor if you should stop taking Levocetirizine 5mg film-coated tablets for several days before testing. This medicine may affect your allergy test results.

Children
The use of Levocetirizine is not recommended in children less than 6 years since the currently available film-coated tablets do not allow for dose adaptation.

What Levocetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets contains

The active substance is levocetirizine dihydrochloride. Each film-coated tablet contains 5 mg levocetirizine dihydrochloride.

The other ingredients are microcrystalline cellulose, lactose monohydrate, colloidal anhydrous silica, magnesium stearate, hypromellose (E464), titanium dioxide (E171), and macrogol 400.

What Levocetirizine 5 mg Film-coated Tablets looks like and contents of the pack
The 5mg film-coated tablets are white, oval, with a G breakline G on one side and the other side is plain. The tablet can be divided into equal doses.

The tablets are packed in either Aluminium/Aluminium blisters or PVC / PVdC – Aluminium blisters. Pack Sizes 7, 10, 20, 21, 28, 30, 50, 90 and 100 tablets. Not all pack sizes may be marketed.