<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hi Listmembers,

I received many responses to my post about the status of Claritin, some
of which just wanted to know what substitutes I found out were GF.

One was from a kind pharmacist who advised that Allegra, Allegra D and
Zyrtec are all GF.  Several other people also advised that Allegra and
Zyrtec are GF.  Also, the Clan Thompson GF Drug Database notes that
Allegra and Zyrtec are GF.   On the database, it says that the GF status
of Claritin is unknown.  (The phone number to check on Allegra is
800-362-7466 and for Zyrtec is 800-332-1240.)

One person advised that their daughter had been having some problems
since refilling her claritin prescription and they had not been able to
pinpoint the problem.  I heard from them again and since withholding the
claritin, she is getting better.  I know that this is not proof that
Claritin is the problem, but I thought I would share the info.

After Amy's post about the inactive ingredients in Claritin being corn
starch, I was concerned that maybe I had misunderstood the info I was
given by Schering and my pharmacy or maybe had been given incorrect
info, so I called their medical information division at 1-800-222-7579.
The pharmacist I spoke with did advise that the inactive ingredients
listed are corn starch.  I questioned, then, that if this is so, why was
the product not considered GF?  I asked if cross-contamination was the
problem.   The pharmacist said that they get their corn starch from
different suppliers and have no way of knowing about cross-contamination
issues.  Again, she stated that they do not consider any of their
products GF.  I asked if they ever change the formulas for their
inactive ingredients and she once again advised that they do not
consider any of their medications GF.  She seemed to be avoiding giving
me any other info.

For us personally, we would feel very uncomfortable using Claritin
because they cannot say it is GF.  We have requested a new prescription
from our doctor and she decided on Zyrtec.

I hope that this information helps.

Barbara in Illinois