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
October 25, 2007
Cons:
Makes me very nauseous if I don't drink at least 2 bottles of water and 2 pieces of bread with the pill. It is extremely important to drink and eat prior to and after taking the pill. Otherwise, watch out the stomach ache is intense.
If taken correctly, this medicine will eventually work and clear up stubborn acne; especially for adult acne. It is important NOT to go out in the sun without sunscreen protection. This medicine will cause your skin to burn extremely fast and has been known to cause blisters on toes and hands.
July 29, 2007
Pros:
Really cheap, works well, easy to find
Cons:
Dry skin, once you stop taking it your skin goes back to the way it was
I took it for about three months earlier this year and, besides having dry skin and lips (which is easily fixable), it worked really well to clear up the skin on my face and chest (though I still had a few pimples on my back.) When I moved, I had to go to a new pharmacist and it's been taking a while for them to get the prescription, so my skin has gone back to BAD. As long as you keep taking it daily with lots of water, your skin will clear up a lot :)
January 3, 2017
Cleared my skin (for a couple of months)
Cleared my skin completely.. to the point I had baby skin again.. unfortunately just like with any antibiotic, acne comes back after you stop taking it
October 27, 2016
No results yet
I have been on this a month and saw no results so far. My dermatologist has me on it for two months so I'll see what I happens.
December 19, 2017
Howd it go
October 16, 2016
Worked, and then relapse after a year
I took this for about 6 months after a severe cystic outbreak (this outbreak was a relapse after accutane). Definitely cleared up my skin like a miracle, results were almost instantaneous that even my doctor was surprised. No purge, all inflammation just went down and my face was smooth. I could see my skin and the contours of my face again. (NOTE: I simultaneously eliminated dairy and sugar, and took probiotics after the antibiotics gave me a yeast infection). Here I am, about a year after completing the 6-month course, with a relapse of cystic acne. Not as severe as before doxycycline, but still pretty bad. Even though it worked at that time, I'm never taking antibiotics again, just because I felt like I was poisoning my insides for 6 months. And seems to be a temporary solution for me because here we go again with another bout of breakouts.
January 1, 2015
Gave up during the second round.
After i tried everything that it's on the market and everything failed to give any results, the dermatologist put me on a 3 month doxycycline prescription. This happened in Europe.
It cleared everything in two weeks , no more breakouts, no side effects. I was happy.
After i finished the entire 3 months treatment, after only two weeks, the plague called acne came back. I went back to the dermatologist ( this time in US ) and i asked for doxy again thinking that maybe my body needs more antibiotics to kill the bacteria. I've seen no results after two weeks and our doxy is so different from the European one. It gives me some serious stomachache , kills my appetite and zero results. So i would not recommend you this.
July 27, 2013
Be pacient....
Pros:
Really work
Clean pimples
Im skiny.lost weigth
Cons:
Nervous
Stomach problems
Dry mouth
Im not really take this medication like the doctor tell me... Im just take 1 a day with meals...because it is strong medication and is bad for my stomach... Before i took 2 a day and i felt tired and felt stomachache...now fell better and I see my face clean but not really 100% ..but its ok for me I feel better now but still feel tired... :/... Just you see the result in a couple a months...
March 7, 2013
Pros:
Clears skin
Cons:
Headaches
Remembering to take at certain times of day - no interaction with calcium
Month 1 my skin got really bad - I nearly quit but don't, keep going. Month 2 my skin started to slowly improve. Month 3 was up and down but an overall improvement. Month 4 my skin was clear, no new spots and was just left with acne scarring. Month 5 my skin looks better than it ever has. Yes, there are some side effects and downsides but honestly keep perservering with this and you will ultimately get the results you want. I can't recommend it enough!
August 9, 2012
Pros:
Clears Acne Really Well.
Cons:
About 2-3 Weeks Into the process, It will make acne worse due to the fact the it kills all the acne bacteria and the bacteria has to get out somehow.
It works, just have to be willing to go through the first month.
July 1, 2012
Pros:
Clear skin!
Cons:
None so far,But have only been on less than a week.
Let me start by saying I had very clear skin. A people here and there maybe once a month, nothing to stress over. I was taking tri-sprintec which kept my face clear. I had to take the plan b and within 2 weeks my skin starting flaring up baddd! Like major, I'm talking cystic pimples. Overload of hormones, I guess. It was horrible! I dealt with it 5 months and it continued to get worse. Back and forth to the dermaltoligist. I was beginning to think there was no hope. Retin a helped somewhat but I was still breaking out. Then this last time I went to the dermatoligist she gave me monodox. I was very skeptical because I took doxy and it made it worse a couple months before but i tried it anyway. Within the first pill or two I could tell it was working. The cystic acne was shrinking. The ones that were stubborn and just wouldn't go away were gone in 3 days. My face was less oily. It's worth a shot. I haven't had any new breakouts at all since starting this pill. I have a little pimple by my eyebrow but ill take that over cystic acne anyday :D
Pros:
I've seen great improvements in my acne after taking about 80 pills over the last several months (2 per day). In fact, my back and face are now practically clear of acne. The redness in my face is also going away.