People's Pharmacy

Claritin

Generic Name:loratadine

Other Brand Names: Claritin D

Revised:4/1/2000

Table of Contents

Overview

Claritin is the third of a new generation of allergy medicines called histamine H1 receptor antagonists.

These nonsedating antihistamines are changing the way doctors control allergy symptoms.

Until these drugs became available, virtually all oral allergy medicines caused some degree of sedation. This made driving or operating machinery dangerous.

Nonsedating antihistamines like Claritin now provide many people management of symptoms such as sneezing or hives without reducing alertness or coordination. And unlike other allergy medicine, Claritin does not appear to interact with sedatives.

In one popular prescription product, Claritin-D, loratadine is combined with the decongestant pseudoephedrine for quicker relief of congestion.