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:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
January 3, 2023
Short term acne relief only - with lasting side effects
I went on many different antibiotics in my teens and early twenties for persistent acne, not realising that it was a losing game because of antibiotic resistance. Minocycline was the worst one - I had such an upset stomach, I became intolerant of any food that even had a fraction of dairy in it, and my skin developed sun spots that are still there 15 years later. It cleared my skin for a couple of months as did most other antibiotics, but wasn’t worth it compared to other options such as accutane.
January 27, 2019
Did not work for me
I tried this twice for 10 weeks, as my GP prescribed it for my cystic acne. However both times it did absolutely nothing for me.
February 9, 2018
Absolute no change in skin
My skin did not improve or become clearer at all. I was on Minocycline for over a year...wtf that's so not healthy. I don't recommend.
January 28, 2018
Horrible- Not Worth The Side Effects
I took minocycline for a year back in 2015. I am BARELY getting off the side-effects in 2018 which says a lot about this stuff. I'll leave a list below of the side effects to keep it simple. - Migraines
- Dizziness
- Terrible Nausea
- Constant yeast infections (due to an unbalanced PH level. Minocycline kills ALL bacteria in your body. GOOD AND BAD) As time went by I noticed: - Horrible Joint Pain
- Yellow Stained Teeth
- HIVES and a FEVER (I ended up at a hospital because my hives were getting out of hand and my joints were killing me!) Of course I saw improvements in my acne, but as soon as I made the decision to stop taking this, I stated to break out AGAIN. From the bottom of my heart, do not take this pill. If you decide to do so, do NOT take this for more than 6 months. It is NOT WORTH IT!
January 13, 2018
Product used: Solodyn (Oral Antibiotic)
Not sure it's worth the pain
I am a 56 yr old female, I have suffered with acne since the age of 13 and have been on every product known to man including accutane twice, Retin A and a host of others, My dermatologist prescribed SOLODYN 55mg about a week and a half ago. I came down with what I presumed to be a stomach flu 2 days ago, I was extremely dizzy (vertigo) ,upset stomach,and very tired , When I got up this morning to take my daily medication I just happen to read the side effects for the heck of it and Viola! It was everything I was feeling for the past 3 days , Unfortunately my doctor wont be in till Tues because of the holidays but I will cease my medication until then and see if it stops and I'm able to return to work.
August 16, 2017
Horrible reaction, and did nothing anyway!
I was prescribed this as a second to last option (last being Accutane). I was on it for 2 weeks, when I started noticing my face getting VERY dry and red. Shortly after that, my body swelled up in all the major joints (knees, knuckles, elbows, and so on), and I also experienced facial swelling, hives that would come on and off for WEEKS (some were nearly 12 inches long), I began having terrible migraines, anxiety, couldn't sleep for more than 3 hours or so at a time, was nauseas, so dizzy for weeks, had digestive issues and the list goes on. I of course stopped the medication but for weeks the symptoms wouldn't go away. The dermatologist believed it was Serum Sickness but they weren't sure. I was also experiencing such bad swelling in my hands i couldn't write, or grab things for multiple days. I stopped the medication 4 months ago and to this day still have hives that show up exactly where I was getting them on the medication. For weeks I felt like I was dying, I felt so weak, sore, and itchy 24/7 with hives. The reaction lasted just over a month. about 4 weeks, and then finally started to go away. I had to quit my job because the hives weren't manageable with any medication or ointment and I was so swollen, weak, sore, and was having terrible migraines and vertigo some days I couldn't even leave bed. I was put on an extremely high dose of Prednisone for 2 weeks and had to stop after seeing no difference. This medication is so risky and I've read so many other horrible reactions, that is it really worth it? I also had no improvement with acne.
July 30, 2017
Horrible reaction - Not worth your time
I took minocycline - 50ml once daily - for about 2 1/2 - 3 weeks after taking doxycycline (but was getting wicked headaches from it, so switched to the mino). My skin started to clear up, but I was apprehensive taking mino because of all the reviews I read... but I decided to try. I wish I didn't! Be warned, because what I went through/still going through was pretty scary stuff. I woke up in the middle of the night with my elbows, knees, back of my legs, hands/wrists, knuckles and the soles of my feet covered in what I thought were mosquito bites (I thought I was attacked while I slept). But then more started to appear as the day went on. And then my feet start to swell, and my wrists started to balloon. I woke up again in the middle of the night to my feet and hands on fire, itching/burning. I went straight to my GP, and he told me that I was having a reaction to the minocycline, Steven Johnsons reaction (google it). He gave me a 7 day cortisone steroid prescription and said if I didn't start seeing a difference after 4 hours from taking the pill to get my butt to the ER. THANK THE LORD it worked. It may have just been me, but be careful, this drug is intense, and in my opinion... NOT WORTH IT. Sure it cleared my skin... but I would take my hormonal acne any day over what I'm going through. Every itch I freaking me out.
July 22, 2017
Dont even bother with it
i went on minomycin around 3 times or so and it only cleared my teenage pimples up the first time, the 2nd and 3rd it didn't improve my skin and was an utter waste of time. not sure why multiple doctors gave me this same antibiotic 100mg a day, which was useless time after time. I was so faithful and truly believed that the minomycin would cure my acne but i was wrong. i would give it 0 stars if i could.
June 24, 2017
No visible difference
I took 50mg dosages of minocycline twice a day (morning and night) for 5 months and I never saw any significant improvement. Even after I went off the antibiotic there was no real difference to my skin. However, on the plus side, I never experienced any negative side effects like the ones posted about.
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.
Jenbra
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.
stressed123
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