Acne.org Products
Oral Antibiotic
Efficacy
54%
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 they can reduce severe acne in the short term, 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 Minocycline? Rate It:
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February 13, 2017
PLEASE READ: Dangers of Overusing Antibiotics
I was perscribed tetracycline, doxycycline, etc. for 3-6 months each course. While I was on these antibiotics my skin was perfectly smooth. Naturally, I wanted to upkeep this level of improvement so I continued to use these antibiotics. Because of the overuse of antibiotics I have developed a skin condition called "pityrosporum folliculitis." There's is a delicate balance of bacteria and fungi/yeast on our skin. Which, for the most part, is there to benefit the human body. By overusing or inappropriately using antibiotics, this balance can become disrupted and cause an overgrowth of the fungi/yeast. This imbalance resulted in "acne-like" bumps all over my neck, chest, and back. I was genuinely devastated and spent an entire summer seeing a psychologist because I felt so depressed over it. This condition is not curable, it is ONLY treatable. There's not a day that goes by that I wish I had explored other alternative to heal my acne. I have been able to keep it under control for the most part but like bacteria, yeast can become resistant to anti-fungal medications. So please do not try to "fix" your acne with a temporary solution that can lead to long-term consequences. *For the record I am not against taking antibiotics when necessary but doctors should not be allowed to prescribe them for acne.
March 21, 2017
I strongly agree with you in that doctors can over prescribed antibiotics. When my skin was bad my dermatologist had me on 200mg daily for 6 months...Crazy. Killed all my good bacteria. I'm sorry about the skin condition you developed.
April 12, 2017
I couldn't agree wit you more, my doctor didn't want to send me to a dermatologist he kept saying they will tell u what I am saying to you, but that wasn't the case, the dermotlogist I went to today told me they don't keep ppl on minocycline for longer than 3 months my doctor is wonderfull but when it comes to skin when I firest went to go see him he should have sent me to a dermatologist
May 20, 2015
It sorta works... For a while
I am a teen and one of the things I have been struggling with for many years is acne. I tried Proactiv, which helped for a few months and then it seemed had no affect at all, so I went to my doctor. She presricbed me Minocycline 100mg/ once a day and Retin-A. I have, and I know this is bad, been using Mino for almost two years now (I stopped once and in a few weeks my acne came right back, worse than before and showed no sign of leaving, so my doctor represcribed Mino 100mg/once per day and a stronger Retin-A solution). I have found that the Mino helped slightly with the few spots of acne I had on my back and chest, but has not done anything significant of noting on my face... Which is where most of my acne resides, so I'm planning on stopping my taking of Mino. I also found that taking Mino in the morning gave me an upset stomach, so I take it at night now. I have found also that the Retin-A was only drying my skin out, so I switched back to Proactiv and that is what is keeping my skin under control right now. I think for certain people this antibiotic can work, but for me it barely had an affect.
September 2, 2014
Minocycline 100mg
This stuff was just awful. I took it for 3 weeks and all of a sudden every joint in my body started hurting and started swelling up. My hips looked like I had baseballs under my skin. Not to mention my knees were so swollen I could hardly stand up without being in agonizing pain. I contacted my dermatologist and she informed me that I had just had a bad reaction to the medicine and to quit taking it. It's been about 4 days since I started swelling and it still is pretty painful. She wants to see me when the swelling goes down to try and prescribe me something else, but I don't know what she will prescribe me. This was supposed to be helping my red marks but it honestly did NOTHING for my face.
June 14, 2014
Product used: Solodyn (Oral Antibiotic)
Pretty ineffective
I have severe cystic acne and took Solodyn for about a month. It might have helped decrease some of the pimples, but did very little for the inflammation of my cysts. If your acne is not severe or cystic, it will probably work for you. If it is, you'll probably need something stronger.
October 12, 2013
Keeps cysts away!
Cons:
Doesn't help normal acne
Makes your normal acne worse if you sunbathe a lot
I used to always get bad cysts on my nose, back and on my chest in the same place. I used to deal with it even though the one on my chest never went away. One day I decided to try to get rid of it by hot packing it. It got super infected and was the worse pain I have ever felt (don't do that). I went to the doctor and it was so bad he had to cut into it and drain it. After a couple of months, it came back. He prescribed me minocycline because I was allergic to everything else and after about a month all of my cysts were completely gone! I don't get cysts at all anymore thanks to this medicine. However, this doesn't really do anything for normal hormonal acne. If you have cysts ask your doctor for this, it is a miracle worker.
September 4, 2013
Short term and barely works
Cons:
Barely works
May cause depression
I had been prescribed minocycline about a year ago and used it for about two months and it barely worked. I gave up but my acne somehow cleared up over the winter. Enter spring: another breakout, so I got another prescription of minocycline. It barely worked and even made me depressed and nearly suicidal, which would subside a few hours after usage. I stopped immediately and have been fine ever since.
July 25, 2013
prayer is heard
Pros:
easy to have
cheap
works great but slow
Cons:
not permanent solution(everyones different though)
i have had severe cystic acne on my face (cheek area) and then went to a dermatologist and had been offered accutane, but declined it. Minocycline was given as an alternative with Differin 0.1% gel. i had 200mg a day for 6 months and it worked wonders and left my face completely clear. After around 12 months once i got off minocycline, my cystic acne has returned but not as severe.
May 3, 2013
Pros:
Improves acne
Lessens redness
Cons:
Not a long-term treatment
Terrible headaches
I started to have acne around the age of 12, and it eventually got worse. My doctor put me on minocycline when I was 14. The first month or two it started to help a little. I noticed that I got fewer breakouts. Though after about 3-4 months it started to get worse again, and now it doesn't even help my skin.
January 20, 2013
Pros:
My acne was reduced, still had the minor breakout (1 -3 pimples on my face). Even acne on my back and chest was reduced.
Cons:
On the third week, I had an allergic reaction. Severe itchiness, welts formed on my body, could not sleep due to the itchiness. Scars from the welts of my body.
My GP prescribed me minocycline and the first few weeks were okay. My skin was becoming less red and oily. Acne was slowly diminishing but on the third week, I broke out in hives and was severely itchy. Luckily, I took reactine and after two days I was back to normal. My GP said the reason why many dermatologists recommended it is due to it's price and that there is a very small chance people will be allergic to it.
January 3, 2013
Pros:
Noticed improvement in my skin in about a week 1/2.
Cons:
The cons that I experienced using Minocycline was extreme itching all over the body after using for about nine days. I broke out in hives on my arms, and face. My hands and feet were swolen and I had lesions on the back of my neck including loss of appetite. These are some of the side affects associated with this drug. I'm currently on a steroid which has helped with the swelling and Allegra for the itching. I hope this helps anyone wondering about side affects. Hopefully Minocycline will
This was my first allergic reaction. See your doctor ASAP if you experience any of the above.
Pros:
Gets rid of cystic acne
Keeps cysts from coming back