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Hydroxyz HCL Uses

Hydroxyz HCL, more commonly called hydroxyzine, is produced under the commercial names of citrizine and levocetrizine. Hydroxyzine is an antihistamine used primarily to treat allergic reactions such as hives and seasonal allergic rhinitis. However, this pharmaceutical has also been shown to be effective as a treatment for generalized anxiety disorder.

  1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder

    • In the December 2010 issue of the "Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews," a study was included on the safety and efficacy of hydroxyzine for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD. Researchers cited several databases of medical literature for clinical studies and conducted interviews with professionals in the psychiatric field to determine the benefits of hydroxyzine treatment for GAD. They compiled 39 studies and found that some suggest that treatment with the pharmaceutical was more effective than placebo alone. However, there was not enough data to suggest that it was as beneficial as other commonly used treatments for anxiety, such as benzodiazepine and buspirone. The studies found that hydroxyzine had a greater incidence of causing drowsiness than the other drugs.

    Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis

    • An article appearing in the August 2010 issue of "Archives of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery" evaluated the efficacy of hydroxyzine, under the commercial name of levocetirizine dihydrochloride, for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis, or inflammation of the nasal sinuses during particular times of the year due to allergies. Researchers conducted a two-week study comparing the effectiveness of hydroxyzine to that of rupatadine fumarate, RAF, a commonly used pharmaceutical for the symptoms of seasonal allergies. Even though immune cell counts associated with allergic reactions were lowered by both drugs, the researchers concluded that RAF was the better choice.

    Chronic Urticaria

    • The August 2010 issue of the "Chinese Journal of Integrated Medicine" included an article that investigated the effect of hydroxyzine, in the form of the trade-name citirizine, for treating chronic urticaria, more commonly known as hives. The researchers recruited 120 patients and divided them into two randomized groups: a control group receiving a placebo and an experimental group receiving citirizine. The study found that treatment with this hydroxyzine homolog was effective in 73 percent of the participants compared with improved conditions of 48 percent in the control group.

    Grass Allergies

    • A March 2010 article appearing in the "Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology" evaluated the effects of hydroxyzine, in a drug by the trade-name of levocetirizine, in combating seasonal allergic rhinitis by conducting a randomized study with patients with allergies to grasses. The experimental group received a dosage of 5 mg of levocetirizine once a day, while the control group received a placebo. The results of the experiment showed that of the 287 patients taking the drug, a significant number of them had improvement in their symptoms, where only 14 percent complained of any side effects. The authors concluded that levocetirizine was substantially more effective than a placebo alone in treating symptoms, and was generally well-tolerated by the participants of the study.

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