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
September 9, 2014
Definitely helpful with reducing acne
My journey has been quite different than most I know. I've never had bad acne in my life. I've never had perfect skin though. It's more on the dry side which complicates things when it comes to acne. I've had rashes, dry patches and occasional pimples throughout my life. Nothing major or too bad. I am now 37 and for the first time in my life, have full on acne. Had big pimples on my cheek bone area, jaw, chin, a little on my neck. I know antibiotics can be controversial and some of the posts written about antibiotics just sound plain scary! Fortunate enough for me, I am surrounded by individuals with an extreme amount of intelligence and information about our body and how it functions. (my father's a physician and sister is a dietitian!) There is nothing scary about antibiotic if used correctly. I wouldn't rely on antibiotics solely to help with your acne. My acne has improved drastically because I am undergoing an elimination diet and exploring what is causing this issue. The most asked question - The antibiotics really started helping after 3-4 weeks. I started seeing an improvement within 2 weeks but nothing too significant. But you can not stay on these antibiotics forever. I was taking 2 - 100 mg pills a day, for 2 months. Now I am taking 1 pill - 100mg a day. That will be reduced to 50mg next month and then my treatment will be over. But I do notice that when I eat certain foods, I will get a pimple. (dairy for sure, some meats) So I make a conscious effort to not eat those foods and I take probiotics to regulate my 'good' bacteria. It's a huge learning lesson and I have so much research and lessons learned that I am starting a blog/community for adults that may share my concerns, challenges, and just want to share stories and methods. Good luck to everyone! Do try doxy, it's worth it.
August 8, 2014
its alright if you know what it is and you know how to use it
Well I've taken it for sometime and have used it for about a month along with tretinoin and it did make my acne a bit worse before it started getting better and then I stopped doxy. and started using accutane and so far (day9) haven't had any initial breakout (fingers cross)
January 21, 2014
Cleared up Acne but it came back
Cons:
acne comes back
causes nausea
I've had severe acne from the time I was 16. I took doxcycline (2x a day first month) around the beginning of my junior year in high school along with two topical creams benzoyl peroxide (in the morning) and adapalene (at night) (I don't remember the concentration of either of them. Within 2 and 1/2 months my skin with clear. So I, being young and dumb and hate taking my med, cut my prescription by a month and a half. I was suppose to be taking doxy for a total of four months. Within 3 months of getting off it my acne came back, but just moderately.
Six months off doxycycline my acne became moderately severe. It's been about two years and I'm starting doxcycline again along with epiduo. Hopefully the good results will happen again.
My best advice is to used it directly as prescribed and do definitely take it with food.
October 28, 2013
Somewhat helpful
Pros:
Easy to take, once a day
Cons:
Extreme nausea if taken on an empty stomach
Stomach cramps that make you feel like dying
Moodiness / Depression
I've been using Apo-Doxy 100 mg in conjunction with Aczone topical gel, and together they've helped somewhat clear my skin. I do still break out, but my breakouts don't last as long; i'd start off with a bump and then (after spot-applying) Aczone, usually the pimple would disappear by the next morning. The acne on my back and chest have appeared to disappear (I don't use Aczone on those areas), so the pills are helping for bodily acne. But again, my facial acne hasn't completely disappeared. Update: I used this treatment for 3 months. I have now completed my treatment and I can say that I break out a lot less, but I still have a few acne scars. I also noticed that I was a lot more moody while I was on the medication, and felt depressed some days. Another important thing is the stomach pain that comes with it. About 2 months into my treatment, I would get really bad stomach pains -- almost ulcer-like. I was then given some Prevacid pills to take 30 minutes before the Apo-Doxy. The Prevacid helped a lot. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this treatment because my skin didn't really improve as much, which makes the suffering worthless.
September 12, 2013
Doxycycline
Pros:
Works great for body acne
easy to take
clears you right up!
Cons:
initial breakout
sickness if taken on an empty stomach
takes time
Doxycycline first of all is different for everyone. I was on this antibiotic before at 100mg a day for a month and my acne literally DISAPPEARED! But as soon as i ended the treatment the acne came back. I've been suffering from acne since i was 14, now 19 I've tried everything from accutane, to naturals, to differin, tetracycline, EVERYTHING. Now i'm on it again and I've been experiencing an initial breakout. It's been 3 weeks back on it and my acne is the worst its ever been, but i heard higher doses can do that for you. I'm on 200mg a day now but i'm going to remain patient because it has worked for me before. I definitely would give it a try if you suffer from body acne as well because it has been clearing mine up tremendously. Oh. and my acne is moderately severe.
August 30, 2013
Good, but no long-term soloution
Pros:
Acne improved
Cons:
didn't completly clear skin
nausea
I used this in conjunction with Epiduo cream, so this is really a review of both together (I will also post under that product). I saw improvement in my skin in a week, although it took about 6-8 weeks to clear as best it could. I also went up a dose towards the end, which improved my skin further. My face is significantly better, however my back and shoulders are not improved at all (possible because I did not use epiduo on them and doxy is not effective on it's own). I am moving on to accutane, as my back still looks terrible, and I do not want to be on antibiodics long term (it has been about 5 months).
August 15, 2013
First thing that worked for me
Pros:
Cleared up skin fast
First antibiotic that worked on me
Cons:
Huge Pill
Have to take with food
Eventually stops working as well
I was prescribed Doryx 150 mg last summer after I went on ortho-tricyclen lo for which completely messed my skin up. This was the first thing that actually worked for me! I was 14 at the time and now I am 15. I started to see results with this antibiotic within days of taking it and I finally felt confident again. I was on it until December and my dermatologist brought me down to half the pill. I wasn't happy about it but with antibiotics you cannot stay on it for long since your body gets immune to it. My skin was clear but I started to get mild breakouts and eventually he brought me down to 1/3 of the pill and that's when I started to break out a lot more. It could clear up your skin really well but it won't last forever. Now I am still on the birth control and off the doryx and planning to go on accutane. I am taking ampicillin 500x mg, twice a day and my skin isn't doing bad.. also I have my last day tomorrow of red and blue light therapy. So, now I am just waiting to go on accutane & praying it will cure me. If you haven't tried an antibiotic that works for you, really consider this drug because it can help you but for only a certain period of time.
July 26, 2013
price jump
I started using this because my insurance wouldn't cover minocycline for acne anymore. The minocycline works better, but this drug works almost as well. The problem is that it was economical, but now the price is around $100 for 30, 50mg. pills. Since the price increase my insurance stopped covering this drug for acne as well.
June 9, 2013
Eh
Pros:
Does help a little
Cons:
Doesn't help severe or cystic acne
It does help control a little bit of my acne, although I still break out consistently. Especially with cystic acne.
April 23, 2013
Pros:
Easy to take since it's taken orally. Calmed down my acne pretty well and still use it to this day. Even better when combined with prescribed topicals. Noticed a very big positive difference in breakout sizes.
Cons:
Depending on where you are, this may or may not be expensive. Bad Side effects could hit you if you don't take it properly. I usually ended up bloating on some days. Really painful.
My recommendation should be the least of your concern because this medication is to be recommended and prescribed by your doctor or derm. For me it works great. Give it a try if you're offered the chance!
Pros:
clears up face