Doxycycline

What is Doxycycline?

Doxycycline is a powerful antibiotic that fights bacterial acne and helps calm the underlying inflammation. It’s used to treat lots of infections, but it’s very effective against breakouts caused by bacterial acne.

It comes as a capsule and you take it every day. This means that it could be a good option for you if you have sensitive skin, or if creams or gels haven’t worked. It’s much stronger than a lot of topicals (creams or gels) and works across your whole system.

How does Doxycycline work for acne?

Doxycycline is a type of antibiotic called a tetracycline. It works by binding to structures that are responsible for building proteins in the bacteria that cause acne, stopping them from making new proteins. This kills off the bad bacteria and stops new bacteria from growing. So it’s an effective way of fighting bacterial acne.

Doxycycline also helps with acne by bringing down inflammation. It does this by stopping inflammatory cells from being made and released. Inflammation is a major cause of bacterial acne, so Doxycycline’s anti-inflammatory effects stop it at its source.^[1] This should help reduce redness and inflammation caused by acne breakouts.

What doses of Doxycycline are there?

The usual dose recommended for acne is 100mg of Doxycycline once a day. Always take the dose recommended by your clinician. Don’t stop taking the medication without first talking to your doctor, even if your acne has cleared up – and never change your dose without speaking to a clinician first.

If your current dose isn’t working for you, you might need a higher one. Our clinician can see if a larger dose might be right for you, or if you need a different treatment.

How to take Doxycycline

Your clinician will talk you through how to take Doxycycline before you start treatment. If you have any questions, just log into your account and message us.

• Try to take your capsule around the same time each day. If you’re worried you’ll forget, you could set an alarm or use a reminder app on your phone.
• Swallow the Doxycycline capsule whole, don’t crush them or chew them.
• Make sure you’re upright when you take the capsule, either sitting or standing.
• Drink a large glass of water when you take your capsule.
• Take Doxycycline with a meal. It helps you absorb the medicine and can help avoid your stomach from getting upset.
• Try to avoid eating or drinking dairy for a couple of hours before and after you take your capsule. Dairy affects the levels of doxycycline that are active in your system.
• Don’t lie down for 30 minutes after you take your Doxycycline. This stops the capsule from getting stuck in your throat, so they can move quickly into your stomach and get absorbed.

How long does it take Doxycycline to work?

Doxycycline is absorbed by the body quickly. It reaches peak levels in your blood just two to four hours after you take a capsule. So it starts fighting the bacteria and inflammation causing your symptoms pretty fast. But when you’re taking it for acne, it can take some time for the effects to start showing on your skin.

You’ll usually take it for 12 weeks, but treatment duration might depend on how severe your acne is. A lot of people see improvements after just a couple of weeks. But even when your skin starts looking better, you shouldn’t stop taking Doxycycline without talking to a clinician.

What should I do if I make a mistake while taking Doxycycline?

If you forget to take your Doxycycline at your usual time, just take it as soon as you remember. If it’s less than twelve hours before your next capsule, skip the missed dose and carry on with treatment as normal. Don’t take twice your normal dose to make up for missing a capsule.

If you take too much Doxycycline, seek medical attention straight away. Take the packaging of the medication with you so they can see what you’ve taken and how much. If you’ve only taken one extra capsule, it’s unlikely to cause you many problems. Even so, you should still make sure you seek help if you have any worrying symptoms.