Reported Reactions

Drugs › Histamine-1 receptor antagonist

Generic name

Fexofenadine: adverse event reports filed with FDA

3,142 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2004–2026. Class: Histamine-1 receptor antagonist. Also reported as Fexofenadine 180mg, Fexofenadine Tablets 180mg, Fexofenadine 180 Mg 571.

3,142
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 140 a year
335
reports, 12 months to June 2026
260 in the 12 months before
62.5%
marked serious by the reporter
57.7% across the class
5.6%
record death among outcomes, as reported
177 reports · not verified by FDA

Between January 2004 and June 2026, 3,142 adverse event reports received by FDA list fexofenadine, a generic name as a suspect or interacting product. Reports that mention it only as a concomitant medication (13,493) are left out of every figure here.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 335 reports listed it, up 29% from 260 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 140 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 2.3% 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 MedDRA terms listed most often are drug ineffective (17.9%), off label use (7.7%) and drug administered to patient of inappropriate age (6.6%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 599 different terms appear across these reports. Drug ineffective is recorded in 17.9% of these reports, about the same share as in the median histamine-1 receptor antagonist drug (15.9%).

62.5% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (57.7% across the class); 5.6% record death among the outcomes and 11.7% record hospitalisation, as reported. 55.5% of the reports came from consumers, and the largest patient age group is 18 to 44 (23.9%). 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

02549Jul 2021: 31Aug 2021: 12Sep 2021: 8Oct 2021: 13Nov 2021: 14Dec 2021: 172022Jan 2022: 8Feb 2022: 7Mar 2022: 20Apr 2022: 12May 2022: 13Jun 2022: 7Jul 2022: 8Aug 2022: 8Sep 2022: 5Oct 2022: 1Nov 2022: 10Dec 2022: 82023Jan 2023: 9Feb 2023: 19Mar 2023: 9Apr 2023: 27May 2023: 15Jun 2023: 27Jul 2023: 16Aug 2023: 16Sep 2023: 14Oct 2023: 8Nov 2023: 20Dec 2023: 192024Jan 2024: 22Feb 2024: 12Mar 2024: 14Apr 2024: 10May 2024: 9Jun 2024: 25Jul 2024: 17Aug 2024: 19Sep 2024: 15Oct 2024: 22Nov 2024: 12Dec 2024: 262025Jan 2025: 18Feb 2025: 8Mar 2025: 20Apr 2025: 33May 2025: 29Jun 2025: 41Jul 2025: 41Aug 2025: 21Sep 2025: 19Oct 2025: 16Nov 2025: 32Dec 2025: 292026Jan 2026: 19Feb 2026: 21Mar 2026: 23Apr 2026: 28May 2026: 49Jun 2026: 37

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

01543072004: 220042006: 182007: 162008: 3420082009: 362010: 412011: 2820112012: 442013: 592014: 13120142015: 2502016: 2282017: 27020172018: 2882019: 2512020: 24120202021: 2122022: 1072023: 19920232024: 2032025: 3072026: 1772026

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

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

  1. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected17.9%561
  2. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label7.7%242
  3. Dizzinesslight-headedness or unsteadiness5%157
  4. Urticariahives4.8%150
  5. Headachehead pain4.3%135
  6. Completed suicidedeath by suicide4%126
  7. Insomniadifficulty sleeping4%126
  8. Fatiguetiredness3.7%115
  9. Pruritusitching3.6%112
  10. Nauseafeeling sick3.4%107
  11. Rashskin rash3.4%107
  12. Somnolencedrowsiness3.3%103
  13. Condition aggravatedthe condition being treated got worse3.2%102
  14. Dyspnoeashortness of breath3.2%102
  15. Angioedemadeep swelling of skin or mucous membranes3%95
  16. Anxietyanxiety2.8%89
  17. Palpitationsawareness of the heartbeat2.6%83
  18. Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools2.5%80
  19. Hypersensitivityan allergic-type reaction2.1%67
  20. Expired product administeredthe product was used past its expiry date1.8%57
  21. Wrong technique in product usage processthe product was used in the wrong way1.7%54
  22. Malaisegeneral feeling of being unwell1.7%53
  23. Toxicity to various agentspoisoning or toxic effect of one or more substances1.7%53
  24. Lip swellingswollen lips1.7%52
  25. Abdominal pain upperupper stomach pain1.5%48
  26. Feeling abnormalfeeling odd or not right1.5%48
  27. Swelling facea swollen face1.5%46

Top 30 of 599 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

Death5.6%177
Life-threatening3.1%96
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)11.7%367
Disability4.2%131
Congenital anomaly1.1%33
Other serious48.2%1,516
Not serious37.5%1,178

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%7
2 to 110.9%28
12 to 172.3%73
18 to 4423.9%752
45 to 6420%628
65 to 7410.9%344
75 and over10.1%316
Age not given31.6%994

Patient sex

Female61%1,917
Male29.3%921
Not given9.7%304

Who reported

Physician18.6%585
Pharmacist6%189
Other health professional18.2%572
Lawyer0.1%3
Consumer or non-health professional55.5%1,743
Not given1.6%50

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 50.2% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Hypersensitivity36411.6%
Seasonal allergy33010.5%
Urticaria1274%
Chronic spontaneous urticaria842.7%
Ill-defined disorder812.6%
Rhinorrhoea622%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 3,142 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Drug (any role in the report)ReportsShare of Fexofenadine reports
Cetirizine3029.6%
Montelukast1775.6%
Omeprazole1655.3%
Prednisolone1444.6%
Loratadine1434.6%
Levothyroxine1384.4%
Hydroxyzine1223.9%
Famotidine1023.2%
Atorvastatin933%
Ibuprofen902.9%

Other products listed in reports where Fexofenadine 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

MeasureFexofenadineHistamine-1 receptor antagonistAll reports
Reports as suspect product3,142135,66620,646,523
Share of that pool—2.3%0%
Reports, latest 12 months335—1,332,454
Marked serious62.5%57.7%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports5619091
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports117203213
Consumer-filed share55.5%50.8%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsDrug ineffective 17.9%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%
Diphenhydramine hclgeneric2,741091%
Desloratadinegeneric2,69919093.6%
Azelastine hydrochloridegeneric2,5021515.7%
Aleve PMbrand1,877136.4%
Azelastinegeneric1,5484011.6%

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 reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Fexofenadine?

3,142 reports list Fexofenadine as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 335 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 13,493 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Fexofenadine reports?

drug ineffective (17.9%), off label use (7.7%), drug administered to patient of inappropriate age (6.6%), dizziness (5%) and urticaria (4.8%). 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 was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

62.5% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 5.6% of reports include death and 11.7% 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 (55.5%), physician (18.6%) and other health professional (18.2%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Fexofenadine rising?

335 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, up 29% from 260 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 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?

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 as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (13,493) 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.