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
August 22, 2011
Cons:
Nausea
Stomach Ache
I never really broke out in high school, until my senior year. 2 months after winter break I began to break out (c/o 09) I went from having nothing to moderate-sever acne. I used over the counter products for a year and some seemed to work and then going into my sophomore year of college I decided (Fall 2010) I decided to use pro-active. It worked wonders, but then I decided to stop using it and my skin went from mild acne to moderately sever. My mom took me to a dermatologist, and prescribed doxycycline 100mg and clindamycin topical gel. I recently began in mid June and I've been happy with the results. I feel that doxycycline has worked for me, I finally have hope again! I'm very social again and my acne has gone away. I do that occasional pimple because I do stress out. But It has stopped my breakouts and my scars are fading away. My face looks clear again and I have confidence again. Despite the nausea it causes due to the side-effects. So anyone out there with acne, give it a try it works! It's worth a shot. :)
August 18, 2011
Pros:
Cleared up acne
No new breakouts
Cons:
Stopped working after 6 months
This really did work for the first 6 months but I think my body became immune to it. I recommend it to anyone who hasn't tried it yet, as it might continue to work for you.
August 17, 2011
Pros:
Cleared up my acne after about a month and a half, cleared up my back and chest acne as well.
Cons:
Diarrhea, yeast infection, burn if in sun too long, acne came back after stop of use.
I was also using Epiduo gel with this and after about a month I only had about 5 zits. The Epiduo causes a lot burning and irritation (so painful I almost cried) but after about 2 weeks the symptoms were gone and I was religious about taking this antibiotic twice a day. I was very impressed and so happy that my acne was finally gone. I went back to the dermatologist around April, and since the weather was getting nicer he told me that my skin looked great and I can discontinue the use of this antibiotic, but still use the cream. It is now August, and my acne is now back ): It is not as bad as it was, but still pretty bad on my face, none of my chest like there was before, and a little on my back. I'm wondering if it's just because it is hot out and i'm sweating more. I would still recomemd this product, because I'm sure it just wasn't strong enough for me to kill all the bacteria for it to not come back.
August 17, 2011
Pros:
-seems to be clearing acne somewhat
-cheap
Cons:
-severe nausea and upset stomach
this is the first antibiotic iv'e ever been on for acne and it is doing okay in treating my acne, definitely no miracle. DO NOT take a hot shower after taking this pill on an empty stomach you will black out and more likely than not puke.
August 14, 2011
Pros:
cheap cheap cheap
Cons:
didn't do ANYTHING
gave me stomach aches
I tried this after getting off of the ery tab (ery. was giving me awful, awful stomach aches, but it worked). I used this a couple of weeks after ery, so I had a few pimples. This did NOTHING for them. I was ticked.
August 14, 2011
Pros:
skin appears less oily from first day.
acne scars seems to be fading.
reduces redness and size of pimple were they look like a micro zit =)
Cons:
initiated a bad break out on right temple, but healing up quick. nausea the first time, but fine after. hearing seems to go out every now and then, seeing shadows from nothing causing the shadow (like an acid trip)
I was acne free all through out high school( c/o '08), just the occasional zit every few months. My 1st year (2009) at UNF I started breaking out, wasn't bad but never had this many pimples, I ordered pro active, got it 2-3 days later and the first week it seemed to work, that following day my face was covered with zits/pimples. I quit that, tried Clearasel 30 day kit, got worse, tried Murad, skin was flackey and broke out more, by the end of the year I became anti social. I couldn't make eye contact with anyone cause I would think there just looking at this horrible acne on my face. Summer came ('10) and my parents thought it was a prank.. It was horrible, my mom took me to the dermatologist and I got prescribed minocycline (50mg) 1 morning/1 night with Aczone cream gel. 2 months into it my acne was still bad, started to get hyper pigmentation on both high cheek bones were it looked like I had 2 big bruises, my eye color (dark brown) seemed to be atleast 5 shades lighter, I told my derm and she told me to stop taking it. I was then just hopeless and didn't re enroll that fall cause I just felt horrible. I continued to wash my face just with basic face wash and it was helping a little. After months of hiding my mom took me to the Derm again and she prescribed me Doxycycline 100mg 1morn empty stomach/1night empty stomach. I just started bout a week and a half ago and it has made a HUGE change already, from having bout 30 zits/pimples all over my face, I have maybe 3 tiny ones recovering on my temple. The scaring is drastically going down and all my friends and family have noticed my skin clearing and confidence coming back up, heres my regime CeraVe face wash morning, wait 30 min, Duac Gel/CeraVe moisturizing lotion spf30, night CeraVe face wash, 30 min CeraVe moisturizing cream, Tazorac Gel 0.1%! Everything works different on everyone, worth a shot, just have high hopes and never let acne take control of your life.
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
August 4, 2011
Pros:
Cheap with insurance.
Cons:
Vomiting, nausea and no results.
I wanted Accutane or Spironalacton and instead got this hot mess. I would always vomit or get nausea after I took this dreadful pill and I would not recommend this for someone with moderately severe/severe acne.
August 4, 2011
Cons:
Did not work. Made my skin VERY sensitive to sunlight. I could not even walk around the block without feeling like I had needles sticking my skin everywhere. This medication also may also effect the liver.
Do not waste your money. I had insurance, so I only wasted money on my co pay.
August 3, 2011
Pros:
smoother skin
barely any new pimples
Cons:
nausea
My acne is very mild-moderate. I'd get that one acne bump which would take a while to die down - then once that's gone..another would pop up. I was only prescribed this for about a month (4 weeks) and although I don't think there was a huge improvement...I did notice that my skin got a lot smoother. I still broke out with that one pimple every time but I think the main difference was the texture of my skin. This was probably noticeable from the 5-14 day mark. I was then prescribed to a different antibiotic, but it would have been great to see if my skin dramatically improved if I used doxy for longer than 4 weeks. One thing that you do need to be careful with is how you take doxy. I tried very hard to take it on an empty stomach... but found that to prevent nausea I had to take food after 1 hour (2 hours max). It really depends on you..if you feel sick / that you need to vomit...I'd definitely eat food to 'cure' it.
Pros:
Cleared up acne