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The medicine will come with a plastic syringe or spoon to help you measure out the right dose.If you don't have a syringe or spoon, ask your pharmacist for one.If you or your child have been prescribed loratadine, follow your doctor's instructions about how and when to take it.

If you take an extra dose by mistake, you might get a headache, have a rapid heartbeat or feel sleepy.

Usually histamine is a useful substance but in an allergic reaction it causes unpleasant symptoms including itchy, watery eyes, running or blocked nose, sneezing and skin rashes.

Loratadine blocks the effects of histamine and so reduces these symptoms. You may only need to take loratadine for a short time or as a one-off dose.

One exception may be when you want the medicine to make you sleepy because you've got itchy skin that's keeping you awake.

Other non-drowsy antihistamines like cetirizine, desloratadine, fexofenadine and levocetirizine seem to work as well as loratadine.

It's usually safe to take loratadine if you're breastfeeding as only small amounts get into breast milk.