Reported Reactions

Drugs › Histamine-1 receptor antagonist

Generic name

Fexofenadine hcl: adverse event reports filed with FDA

1,119 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2004–2023. Class: Histamine-1 receptor antagonist.

1,119
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 50 a year
0
reports, 12 months to June 2026
0 in the 12 months before
17.5%
marked serious by the reporter
57.7% across the class
2.1%
record death among outcomes, as reported
24 reports · not verified by FDA

Between January 2004 and March 2023, 1,119 adverse event reports received by FDA list fexofenadine hcl, a generic name as a suspect or interacting product. Reports that mention it only as a concomitant medication (1,769) are left out of every figure here.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 0 reports listed it, and none in the 12 months before. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases. Over its reporting history that is about 50 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 0.8% of the reports for the histamine-1 receptor antagonist class. How many people take it is not in the data, so a count is not a rate of occurrence.

The reactions recorded most often are drug ineffective (26.7%), product quality issue (26.2%) and extra dose administered (13.1%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 180 different terms appear across these reports. Drug ineffective is recorded in 26.7% of these reports, a larger share than in the median histamine-1 receptor antagonist drug (15.9%).

17.5% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (57.7% across the class); 2.1% record death among the outcomes and 4.4% record hospitalisation, as reported. 86.1% of the reports came from consumers, and the largest patient age group is 45 to 64 (16.7%). FDA states that "a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report" and that for any given report "there is no certainty that a suspected drug caused the event."

Reports by month, five years

0612Jul 2021: 4Aug 2021: 12Sep 2021: 8Oct 2021: 6Nov 2021: 4Dec 2021: 72022Jan 2022: 5Feb 2022: 5Mar 2022: 10Apr 2022: 12May 2022: 2Jun 2022: 1Jul 2022: 3Aug 2022: 2Sep 2022: 2Oct 2022: 4Nov 2022: 3Dec 2022: 42023Jan 2023: 3Feb 2023: 2Mar 2023: 4Apr 2023: 0May 2023: 0Jun 2023: 0Jul 2023: 0Aug 2023: 0Sep 2023: 0Oct 2023: 0Nov 2023: 0Dec 2023: 02024Jan 2024: 0Feb 2024: 0Mar 2024: 0Apr 2024: 0May 2024: 0Jun 2024: 0Jul 2024: 0Aug 2024: 0Sep 2024: 0Oct 2024: 0Nov 2024: 0Dec 2024: 02025Jan 2025: 0Feb 2025: 0Mar 2025: 0Apr 2025: 0May 2025: 0Jun 2025: 0Jul 2025: 0Aug 2025: 0Sep 2025: 0Oct 2025: 0Nov 2025: 0Dec 2025: 02026Jan 2026: 0Feb 2026: 0Mar 2026: 0Apr 2026: 0May 2026: 0Jun 2026: 0

Reports by the month FDA received them. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases.

By year received

0861712004: 2020042005: 162006: 1320062007: 92008: 1020082009: 82010: 2320102011: 522012: 1920122013: 22014: 420142015: 1712016: 14220162017: 1552018: 11120182019: 1322020: 9120202021: 792022: 5320222023: 9

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Fexofenadine hcl reports recording the termmedian drug in histamine-1 receptor antagonist

  1. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected26.7%299
  2. Product quality issuea problem with the product itself26.2%293
  3. No adverse eventno adverse event was reported9.7%109
  4. Overdosea dose above the recommended amount4.5%50
  5. Expired product administeredthe product was used past its expiry date4.4%49
  6. Dizzinesslight-headedness or unsteadiness4.2%47
  7. Somnolencedrowsiness3.5%39
  8. Wrong technique in product usage processthe product was used in the wrong way3.4%38
  9. Accidental overdosean accidental overdose2.8%31
  10. Insomniadifficulty sleeping2.1%23
  11. Feeling abnormalfeeling odd or not right1.8%20
  12. Headachehead pain1.7%19
  13. Nauseafeeling sick1.6%18
  14. Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools1.5%17
  15. Product administration errora mistake in giving the product1.5%17
  16. Dyspnoeashortness of breath1.4%16
  17. Fatiguetiredness1.3%15
  18. Malaisegeneral feeling of being unwell1.3%14
  19. Hypersensitivityan allergic-type reaction1.1%12
  20. Abdominal discomfortstomach discomfort1%11
  21. Hypertensionhigh blood pressure1%11
  22. Incorrect dose administeredthe wrong dose was given1%11
  23. Product use in unapproved indicationused for a purpose not on the label1%11
  24. Agitationrestlessness0.9%10
  25. Completed suicidedeath by suicide0.9%10
  26. Pruritusitching0.9%10
  27. Rashskin rash0.9%10
  28. Back painback pain0.8%9

Top 30 of 180 MedDRA preferred terms recorded across these reports, with a plain-language gloss where one is available. One report can record several terms. The hollow bar is the median share across the 34 drugs in the histamine-1 receptor antagonist class; it describes the reports, not the patients. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

Outcomes recorded

Death2.1%24
Life-threatening1.2%13
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)4.4%49
Disability0.9%10
Congenital anomaly0%0
Other serious11.2%125
Not serious82.5%923

Outcome flags as the reporter set them; a report can carry several, and "other serious" is FDA's own category for serious reports outside the named outcomes. Grey bar: all 135,666 reports in the class. FDA has not verified any outcome and states that the reports "cannot be used to estimate the incidence of these events."

Patients and reporters

Patient age

Under 20.2%2
2 to 110.6%7
12 to 172.1%24
18 to 4412.5%140
45 to 6416.7%187
65 to 7412.1%135
75 and over11.5%129
Age not given44.2%495

Patient sex

Female62%694
Male34.6%387
Not given3.4%38

Who reported

Physician3.8%43
Pharmacist1.4%16
Other health professional4.6%52
Lawyer0.4%4
Consumer or non-health professional86.1%963
Not given3.7%41

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 91.2% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Hypersensitivity42638.1%
Seasonal allergy887.9%
Rhinorrhoea322.9%
Urticaria181.6%
Pruritus131.2%
Nasopharyngitis60.5%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 1,119 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Drug (any role in the report)ReportsShare of Fexofenadine hcl reports
Lisinopril423.8%
Vitamin d282.5%
Aspirin262.3%
Calcium232.1%
Levothyroxine211.9%
Ibuprofen201.8%
Amlodipine191.7%
Losartan191.7%
Omeprazole191.7%
Simvastatin191.7%

Other products listed in reports where Fexofenadine hcl is a suspect product, whatever their own role. Co-listing means the two were recorded together; it says nothing about either product's part in the event. Only the 2,500 most-reported names are counted here.

In context

MeasureFexofenadine hclHistamine-1 receptor antagonistAll reports
Reports as suspect product1,119135,66620,646,523
Share of that pool—0.8%0%
Reports, latest 12 months0—1,332,454
Marked serious17.5%57.7%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports2119091
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports44203213
Consumer-filed share86.1%50.8%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsDrug ineffective 26.7%median 15.9%6.3%

Shares are of reports, not of patients treated. The number of people taking a product is not in the data, so none of these figures is a rate, and differences between columns reflect who takes a product, who reports and how long it has been sold. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

Other drugs in the histamine-1 receptor antagonist class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Zyrtecbrand20,34292916.7%
Cetirizine hydrochloridegeneric19,0922,04377.5%
Diphenhydraminegeneric15,3391,15796%
Cetirizinegeneric12,5221,54891.7%
Benadrylbrand9,61243266.6%
Allegra Allergybrand7,8683043.6%
Diphenhydramine hydrochloridegeneric5,55653894.6%
Xyzal Allergy 24HRbrand5,3021473.3%
Cetirizine hydrochloride, pseudoephedrine hydrochloridegeneric4,91490999.3%
Xyzalbrand3,82418144.6%
Fexofenadinegeneric3,14233562.5%
Diphenhydramine hclgeneric2,741091%
Desloratadinegeneric2,69919093.6%
Azelastine hydrochloridegeneric2,5021515.7%
Aleve PMbrand1,877136.4%

Ordered by report count for navigation only. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic." A brand and its generic are separate rows because reporters name them separately.

Questions about Fexofenadine hcl reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Fexofenadine hcl?

1,119 reports list Fexofenadine hcl as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 0 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 1,769 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Fexofenadine hcl reports?

drug ineffective (26.7%), product quality issue (26.2%), extra dose administered (13.1%), no adverse event (9.7%) and overdose (4.5%). These are MedDRA preferred terms coded from what the reporter described; a report can list several, and a term's presence is not a finding that Fexofenadine hcl was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

17.5% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 2.1% of reports include death and 4.4% include hospitalisation. FDA has not verified these outcomes and states that the reports "cannot be used to estimate the incidence" of the events.

Who files these reports?

consumer or non-health professional (86.1%), other health professional (4.6%) and physician (3.8%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Fexofenadine hcl rising?

0 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, and none in the 12 months before. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases. Counts also move with how many people take a product, its time on the market and publicity.

Do these reports show that Fexofenadine hcl was responsible for these reactions?

No. FDA states that "a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report" and that for any given report "there is no certainty that a suspected drug caused the event." The reaction may relate to the condition being treated, to other medicines, or to something else.

Is this a list of the side effects of Fexofenadine hcl?

No. It is a count of what was reported to FDA. The adverse reactions observed in clinical studies are printed on the FDA-approved label, which a pharmacist or clinician can go through with you.

How do I report an adverse event?

Consumers and health professionals can report to FDA through MedWatch (Form FDA 3500 online, or 1-800-FDA-1088), or to the manufacturer, which must pass reports on. See the guide on how to report.

Where this comes from. Counts are built from the openFDA Drug Adverse Event (FAERS) bulk export released 28 Sep 2026, which holds reports FDA received through 30 Jun 2026. Drug names are as reported, resolved to the brand or generic name on the FDA label where openFDA's harmonisation matched them; classes are the pharmacologic class (EPC) from the label and the National Drug Code Directory of 17 Sep 2026. A report counts here when it lists Fexofenadine hcl as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (1,769) are excluded. No report narrative, lot number, patient detail or reporter identity is published. See the methodology and sources; FDA's record is authoritative, and corrections are handled within five working days.

Drug data (FAERS) through 30 Jun 2026; device data (MAUDE) through 31 Aug 2026. Not medical advice.