Acne is one of the most common forms of skin disorder that everyone of us often experience at some stage of our lives. There are several categories of acne comedones which require different yet appropriate treatment procedures to heal completely. Doxycycline is an oral antibiotic which belongs to tetracycline family.
What is It Doxycycline
For last few decades oral antibiotics have become immensely popular among acne sufferers particularly those who are suffering from mild to moderate acne conditions which are not showing any sign of improvement even after prolonged use of topical antimicrobial agents.
This medicine has proven to be quite effective for treating mild to severe inflammatory acne lesions. If you have stubborn acne on many areas of your body then this oral acne medication could effectively clean up your acne with an easy and convenient way.
How Does It Work
It is well known fact that common acne or acne vulgaris forms due to the excess discharge of body oil or sebum by hyperactive oil glands (sebaceous glands) beneath the epidermal layer of our skin. While flowing through the narrow channels of pilosebaceous unit this excess oil along with dead skin cells clogs up hair follicles instead of reaching the skin surface.
This blockage causes the swelling of hair follicles leading to formation of noninflammatory microcomedones. Propionibacterium acnes bacteria proliferate rapidly within the rusted oily substance causing inflammation, itchy feelings, and eventual aggravation of the total acne condition.
Being a strong antimicrobial agent Doxycycline promotes to the destruction of P. acnes bacteria. It works to block the production of that protein which is necessary for the survival for P. acnes bacteria inside the acne lesions. Being unable to synthesize the protein P. acnes bacteria fail to perform some activities which are important for their growth and repairment of the cell. Without being unable to grow and survive this acne causing bacteria eventually get extirpated from the acne lesions.
Doxycycline also works by lessening inflammatory reactions within the acne affected areas. Thus this antibiotic helps to reduce the number of acne lesions significantly by controlling the production of P. acnes bacteria as well as mitigating the associated inflammation in the acne blemishes. You might notice 15 to 25% of decrease in the number of comedones per month.
How to Use
The actual dosage for this oral medicine could be determined only by a professional medical practitioner after proper check up of the acne condition and other associated risk factors. This drug should be taken after meal so as to absorb it easily and also to rule out a tendency of nausea as the post-impact of this medication.
But some rules should be followed to make this medication more effective. It is always advisable to take Doxycycline without any other supplements. Certain minerals and vitamins such as, iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium bicarbonate, etc. hamper absorption of this medicine and therefore these food supplements should be taken at least two hours before the usual timings of the administration of this drug.
Doxycycline Side Effects
This antibiotic has quite a number of side effects. It might cause serious gastrointestinal (GI) disorder like watery and severe blood dysentery, indigestion, and fever. Sometimes these complications might prolong for a long time indicating that this medicine might have some destructive effect over the useful bacteria in our GI tract.
It often causes skin rashes, flaking, swelling of facial area including lips and tongue. As Doxycycline enhances one’s photosensitivity, the patients undergoing this medication should not go outside under sun without a proper sunscreen lotion.
Intake of this pill sometimes found to cause some mild side effects like allergic infections, breathing problem, asthma, breathlessness, etc. Candidiasis or vaginal yeast infection is a frequent ailment found in women acne sufferers undergoing this medication.
This acne medication is strictly a no-no for pregnant and breast-feeding women and children under twelve years. This antibiotic might inflict extremely serious side effects in such patients.
For such women it might cause serious liver ailments or problems in bone development in fetus. In children this drug might affect by swelling the brain and discoloring the teeth.
Interaction with Other Drugs
Doxycycline interacts with certain drugs like antacids, cholestyramine, warfarin, and penicillin. They are known to decrease the assimilation of this antibiotic in our GI tract. Some birth control pills do not mix well with this drug and they might not be as effective to prevent conception whilst taking this acne medication.
If you are facing any discomfort due to any side effects of this oral drug please consult a professional physician immediately who might be able to suggest you about possible actions to be taken in order to use this medication safely and in a more appropriate way.
