Acne.org Products
Oral Antibiotic
Efficacy
56%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Note: Should never be used on its own and for a maximum of 3 months.
Oral Antibiotic
Acne.org’s Real World Take
Antibiotics should be used for a maximum of 3 months, provide only moderate benefit and only to some people, and may lead to side effects and strains of resistant bacteria. Studies do show doxycycline can reduce severe acne in the short term, and as far as oral antibiotics are concerned, it’s usually the go-to, but approach with caution and stay your own advocate.
Oral Antibiotic
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist? Make an appointment to get this medication. Don't have a dermatologist? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find one.
Used Doxycycline? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
November 26, 2011
Cons:
Mild nausea
May lose effectiveness
Can't take forever
I was put on a regimen of doxy, benzaclin, and tretinoin and it's worked very well. The idea behind the doxy is not to take it forever, but to mitigate the initial breakout which results from using the tretinoin. Being an antibiotic, the longer you take it, the larger the population of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on your skin (and in your body) will dominate, because you are selecting for their growth (by constantly eliminating non-resistant bacteria). This always results in the drug eventually not working. I don't think many dermatologists prescribe this drug by itself anymore because it's not really a long-term option; they do it to buy you some time. You do get some nausea with this drug. I would say I have a pretty strong stomach, but even I'm reluctant to take this on an empty stomach. But I can't really complain about the results because IT DOES WORK (at least for me). Eventually your dosing will be reduced from twice a day to once a day, and maybe once every other day. The dermatologist doesn't want you on this for a long time because it makes you susceptible to stuff like pneumonia, or if you need antibiotics to treat illnesses in the future.
November 20, 2011
Pros:
Clears skin pretty quick.
Very Cheap
Cons:
Yeast Infection
Neausea
READ THE DIRECTIONS ON THE PACKET GIVEN TO YOU BY THE PHARMIST BEFORE YOU TAKE THIS MEDICAN!! It says do NOT take it with anything dairy. If it makes you sick when you take it on an empty stomach, eat with it [remember, nothing with any dairy]. Make sure to drink A LOT of water. And also DON'T lie down for 30 minutes after you take it. Wait 2 hours after taking doxy before you take any antacids, vitamins, or calcium products. This is a good drug for acne but no one is taking it correctly and it's getting bad reviews. Take the full prescription until your doctor says so, because if you stop, the infection can come back and you can become immune to the antibiotic. Basically, Doxy worked for me, and I had very sever foliculicus.
October 26, 2011
Pros:
Clears skin
Cons:
Haven't had any at all
Cleared up my pimples within 10-14 days and break-outs have stopped coming back. I have 2 months left on my prescription so I hope when i've finished it doesn't come back...
Overall, great pill and haven't had any side affects as I take it with my lunch sitting up.
Alot cheaper in Aus too.. Only $10 per month!
September 9, 2011
Pros:
None
Cons:
Horrible yeast infections
It didn't clear my acne at all and caused yeast infections that i had to fight for at least 6 months. The worst time of my life. Maybe it does help somebody, but I would never ever recommend it to anyone. Bactrim, in contrast, cleared my acne overnight. But unfortunately, it's also an antibiotic.
August 7, 2011
Pros:
clears up persistent acne
Cons:
f**ks up your system in the long run, probably the same extent as accutane
try it out. you will purge for a week and half or so but it will clear up. if you don't have the money to go see a derm EVERY DAMN MONTH, go to a travel clinic, tell them you already got all the vaccinations for Nepal, and that you just lost the prescription for malaria pills that the "previous" doctor gave you. tell them you will be gone for half a year. voila. you have a half a year's worth. work the system. otherwise, you'll be paying a sh*t ton if you dont have insurance. its what i do.. :D just got my new prescription last thursday
July 21, 2011
Pros:
actually worked really well, easy to use, helps a lot with deep painful pimples, clears face 98%.
Cons:
doesn't work forever, body becomes immune to drug, causes nausea if taken on empty stomach, doesn't work if taken with milk before and after 1 hour.
basically I have had acne for a very long time. I've tried a lot of things to at least tame my acne. nothing really worked. I finally decided to seek help from a doctor. I wanted to go onto accutane but my doctor wouldn't let me since my acne wasn't severe enough. he prescribed me doxyclyine. it worked amazingly! I was so happy. my acne was finally under control. it worked all throughout my final year of high school but right around july it started to come back. I recently found out that I've most likely become immune to the drug. very sad! so overall great drug, but not a forever thing which is disappointing to say the least. I am going to try a different antiobiotic and I'm hoping I will have the same results. if not, accutane here I come!
July 6, 2011
Pros:
none
Cons:
it didn't have any effect on my acne
I've been on doxycycline for a month, and my skin is still breaking out. I took it everyday, used a benzoyl peroxide wash and a moisturizer, and still NOTHING. I really wanted it to work, but sadly it didn't.
March 9, 2011
Pros:
Clearing up my Acne
Cons:
Nothing yet (only the 5th day so far)
I am 29 years old and i haven't had the best skin in my days. But i will have t say it has been nothing like what i've been going through the past year. I started getting these little tiny bumps under the skin first. And then the cystic ones started popping up around my jaw line. It has been horrible. I haven't wanted to go anywhere or do anything. It has really put a damper on my self esteem.I am hoping this medicine will work. I need to get out of this funk i'm in. I have three kids that need their mommy to be active. The only prblem is now i feel like i'm gaining weight. I have been on this medication for 5 days so far. I have gained 6 pounds since i started. I'm not positive if its the medicine but i do workout and I don't understand why i haven't lost anything. Is anyone else having this problem?
If this medication gets better and I start to notice more improvements and lose these love handles i'll rate higher.
December 10, 2010
Pros:
Kept Me Clear for about 4 Months
Cons:
Natural resistance after a period of time, and then acne came back worse than EVER
I began taking this August of 2009. By September, my light/moderate acne was clearing up. During October, my skin was a dream for the most part, minus one or two persistant blemishes.
November, fine again.
Then December rolls around. I notice my skin forming small break-out "areas." Not worrying, I kept taking my Doxycycline religiously.
It all went downhill from there.
I either needed to up my dosage because my acne bacteria had "morphed" and conquered this particular anti-biotic or I had to switch to something stronger.
It wasn't until March, after my skin was now covered in SEVERE acne that I stopped taking it, and out of desparation, went to go see a dermatologist and a gynocologist.
It has taken me one full year to get my skin back to clarity.
I will never treat my acne with antibiotics again.
April 25, 2010
Pros:
Cleared up my milia
Cons:
acne comes back slowly
I didn't' take this antibiotic for acne but for something else but while i was taking this for a week, i did notice that my forehead acne (milia) was going away. I have acne on my cheeks and my forehead but since my cheek acne was already under control by benzoyl peroxide I was not able to know if it was clearing my cheek acne as well. However i think this was definately affective for my acne. Took this morning and night for a week.
Pros:
Clears skin
Low cost