Doxycycline

Common side effects include:

• Gastrointestinal disturbances such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea  
• This medicine may cause your skin to be more sensitive to the sun, hence you may get sunburned more easily.
• Apply sunblock, wear long sleeved clothing , and avoid direct sunlight to protect yourself from the sun.
• If you are taking Doxycycline for a long period of time, it might cause you to get a vaginal fungal infection. Symptoms include itching, a burning sensation at the vaginal area and whitish grey, thick vaginal discharge
• If this happens, you should see a doctor.
• If used in children younger than 8 years old, it might cause them to have a permanent change in the colour of their teeth.

Rare but serious side effects include:

The symptoms of a drug allergy include one or more of the following:

• Swollen face/eyes/lips/tongue
• Difficulty in breathing
• Itchy skin rashes over your whole body

Any of the following serious side-effects:

• Dark urine, feeling tired, or yellow skin or eyes
• Diarrhoea that does not go away, stomach pain and blood or pus in your stool
• Headache and changes to your sight

If you experience any of these symptoms, you should stop your medication and see your healthcare professional immediately.

Inform your healthcare professional if: 

• You are allergic to any medicines, or if you develop an allergy while taking this medicine.
• You are breast-feeding, pregnant, or likely to become pregnant during the course of this treatment.
• You are a child under 8 years’ old.
• You have medical conditions such as
• Systemic lupus erythematosus, also known as SLE (an autoimmune disease)
• Myasthenia gravis (a disease that causes muscle weakness)
• Kidney or liver problems.
• You are taking any other medications, including supplements, traditional medications and herbal remedies.

​Avoid taking Doxycycline at the same time with milk or dairy products, or indigestion medicines such as antacids or medicines containing bismuth, iron, zinc, magnesium, aluminium or calcium. These should be taken at least 2 hours before or 1 hour after Doxycycline.

Inform your doctor if you are taking Isotretinoin (a medicine used to treat acne) or Acitretin (a medicine used to treat psoriasis). Taking Doxycycline together with these medicines may increase the risk of high pressure in the head leading to headaches, nausea and vomiting.

Birth control pills may not work as well to prevent pregnancy if taken together with Doxycycline. Use other forms of birth control while on this medicine.