How Effective is Doxycycline & What are its Side Effects?

Other medicines or drugs may interact with doxycycline, such as over-the-counter type of medicine and prescribed ones, vitamin tablets and other herbal products. Irrespective of the type, you should tell about your healthcare providers regarding each medicine you use currently and any medicine, which you stop or start using. Therefore, by following simple steps, one could expect to receive plenty of benefits from the product.

Doxycycline belongs to the tetracycline group of medicines and it plays role as an antibiotic to treat varieties of infections.

Doxycycline refers to a tetracycline antibiotic, which fights with bacteria present in human body. Doxycycline effectively helps in the treatment of various bacterial infections, like urinary tract infections, acnes, intestinal infections, gonorrhea, eye infections, Periodontitis or gum disease, Chlamydia and various others. In addition, Doxycycline also effectively treats bumps, blemishes and lesions of acne caused usually from rosacea, while it few forms also helpful in prevention of malaria, treatment of anthrax and treatment of infections caused from line, ticks or mites.

Doxycycline allows treatment of various infections, particularly those, which take place in genitourinary areas, respiratory tracts, sinuses and on human skin.

The response and effectiveness of doxycycline is great. Patients may reach to peak concentrations within a period of only three hours they take the dose. However, the process may also take maximum 48 hours before abating of the symptoms related to the respective infection.

• Patients should avoid excessive exposure to sunlight or any other artificial ultraviolet light while they consume Doxycycline. In addition, patients should seek necessary medical advice in case they develop skin eruptions or skin redness. Moreover, if sunlight exposure is unavoidable, you should opt to wear sun protective clothes and look for SPF 50+ type of sun protection cream or lotion.
• You should consume the medicine according to the direction given by doctors and for the specified duration only.
• You should use the medicine only when a doctor prescribes you for treatment of infections caused from susceptible bacteria. Reason for this is that incorrect usage of the medicine boosts the risks or chances related to development of resistant bacteria.
• Patients should go for medical advice in case of suffering from diarrhea problem, particularly if the problem continues for many weeks after discontinuation of Doxycycline.

If your age ranges from 18 years to 60 years, while you do not take any other medication or go for any other medical condition, you would likely experience following side effects of doxycycline:

• Increase in sensitivity to sunlight that would result in exacerbation of sunburn
• Reactions, like diarrhea, nausea and rash on your skin
• It may cause permanent discoloration of your teeth, like stains of brown, gray or yellow if you opt to use it frequently at the time of tooth development (in case of child up to 8 years) or last half months of your pregnancy or gestation period. Hence, doctors said to avoid Doxycycline among children up to 8 years age and pregnant women until and unless they face exceptional circumstances.
• Similar to any other antibiotic medicine, this may rarely results in serious diarrhea. However, you should immediately seek medical advice if you face such problems.

• If you have allergies to any of the antibiotics belonging to tetracycline family, you should never go for Doxycycline antibiotic.
• Children less than 8 years of age should take this medicine only during severity or in life-threatening conditions, as the medicine may result in permanent graying or yellowing of teeth in young children.
• Usage of Doxycycline at the time of pregnancy may cause harm to the unborn baby or may even cause tooth discoloration permanently in the life of a baby.

• You should never intake any multivitamin, iron supplement, calcium supplement, laxative or antacid within a period of 2 hours after or before you take doxycycline.
• You should avoid taking any other type of antibiotic medicine in combination with doxycycline until and unless you discuss with your doctor about it.
• You should avoid exposure to any tanning bed or direct sunlight, as Doxycycline may cause sunburn. In addition, you should use sunscreen of more than 30 SPF and wear protective clothes when you travel outdoors.
• You should avoid consumption of antibiotic medicines, which may cause diarrhea, as it indicates a sign of new infection. If you suffer from bloody or watery diarrhea, you should stop intake of this medicine and consult with your doctor. You should never use anti-diarrhea type of medicine until and unless your doctor recommends about it.

Doxycycline is a highly effective antibiotic medicine to treat varieties of infections. However, doctors usually do not recommend it for children of less than eight years and to pregnant women during her last half months of the pregnancy.