Cetirizine Child Dosage Chart: Weight-Based Dosing for Parents

By Kurt Hansen, MD · Emergency Physician

Cetirizine is a once-daily, second-generation antihistamine used for allergy relief, including sneezing, runny nose, itchy or watery eyes, and itchy skin from hives. It is less sedating than older antihistamines for many children and is intended to cover a full 24-hour dosing window. Generic cetirizine is for children 12 months and older; younger infants should not be given it without direct guidance from a clinician.

Pediatric cetirizine dosing is calculated from your child's current weight, not from an age band on the package. The standard dose is 0.25 mg per kilogram of body weight, with a 10 mg maximum and no more than one dose every 24 hours. This page covers the generic cetirizine 5 mg / 5 mL liquid and returns the exact mL for the formulation in front of you. Check the active ingredient and concentration on your bottle, use an oral syringe or the supplied measuring device, and do not combine cetirizine products unless a clinician tells you to.

Do not use a calculator for an emergency. Call a clinician if you are unsure whether cetirizine is appropriate, and seek urgent help for wheezing, trouble breathing, swelling of the lips or tongue, hives with other concerning symptoms, or a suspected overdose. Call 911 or local emergency services for severe symptoms.

Calculate your child's cetirizine dose

How Perfect Dose calculates doses — FAQ

Looking for the brand-name equivalent? See our Zyrtec Child Dosage Chart.

Loratadine is another once-daily allergy-relief option; see our Loratadine Child Dosage Chart.

About the Author

Kurt Hansen, MD, is an Emergency Physician and the founder of Perfect Dose App. He has counseled thousands of parents on pediatric medication dosing during more than a decade of emergency medicine practice.