Do not take your medicine together with dairy products. This is because dairy foods like milk, cheese and yoghurt can stop your body from absorbing doxycycline. You can have dairy products a few hours before or after your dose. It's best not to drink alcohol with doxycycline because it can stop it working properly.
Both dairy products and iron-rich foods can interfere with doxycycline if taken at the same time. Avoid eating these foods within two hours of your doxycycline dose. Some foods you should avoid taking with doxycycline include milk, butter, cheese, eggs, kale, and spinach.
Cautions with other medicines
indigestion remedies (antacids) stomach ulcer medicines that contain bismuth such as Pepto-Bismol. other antibiotics, such as rifampicin. acne medicines containing vitamin A, such as isotretinoin.
Because the tetracycline medications are highly acidic to begin with, tell your patients not to take the pills with acidic beverages, such as orange juice, apple juice, coffee, etc.
A headache, nausea, dyspepsia, joint or back pain, nasal and sinus congestion, or a rash. Tetracyclines, including doxycycline, form a stable calcium complex in bone-forming tissue. This can affect the growth rate of the fibula in young children and skeletal development in the fetus.
Exposure to sunlight, even for short periods of time, may cause skin rash, itching, redness or other discoloration of the skin, or a severe sunburn. When you begin taking this medicine: Stay out of direct sunlight, especially between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., if possible.
Your doctor will usually review you after 4 to 6 weeks to check how well the medicine is working. If you're taking doxycycline for any other infection, tell your doctor if you do not start feeling better after 3 days. Also tell them if, at any time, you start to feel worse.
Drink plenty of fluids to avoid throat irritation and ulceration.
This drug does not cause drowsiness.
Common side effects
Make sure you rest and drink plenty of fluids. Painkillers, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, are safe to take with doxycycline. Stick to simple meals without rich or spicy food.
Doxycycline starts working in as little as 2 hours after taking it. But depending on the infection you have, it may take up to 24 to 48 hours (1 to 2 days) to start seeing its effects. It typically takes 1 to 2 weeks for doxycycline to fully clear an infection, but some infections can take as long as 2 months.
Avoid lying down for at least 30 minutes after taking doxycycline. If you take it twice a day, this could be first thing in the morning, and in the evening – before you go to bed. Try to avoid lying down for at least 30 minutes after taking doxycycline. This helps to prevent any irritation.
This may make doxycycline less effective. To ensure doxycycline is effective, avoid consuming dairy products within a 2-hour window before and after you take a dose. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information about how to take doxycycline safely.
You shouldn't take doxycycline (or other tetracycline antibiotics) with dairy products because dairy can interfere with how your body absorbs the medication—ultimately reducing how effective it is. This is especially the case if you consume dairy products around the same time that you take doxycycline.
TL;DR What You Should Know About Doxycycline and Dairy
Doxycycline is a tetracycline drug, one of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics for the treatment of acne. Several studies over the years have indicated dairy consumption can reduce the absorption — and therefore, effectiveness — of doxycycline.
If you feel nauseous
The drugs can be quite harsh on the stomach, and might make you feel sick, or give you a dodgy tummy. This feeling normally passes within a few days, as your body adjusts.
Do not take Doxycycline immediately before going to bed. While you are lying down the pill can reflux back up into the esophagus, where it can irritate or even ulcerate the lining of the esophagus.
This medicine may cause increased pressure inside the head (intracranial hypertension). This is more likely to occur in women of childbearing age who are overweight or have a history of intracranial hypertension. Tell your doctor right away if you have a headache, blurred vision, or changes in vision.
Doxycycline is used to treat bacterial infections in many different parts of the body. It is also used to treat pimples and abscesses (usually on the face) that are caused by rosacea, also known as acne rosacea or adult acne.
Doxycycline may cause diarrhea, and in some cases it can be severe. It may occur 2 months or more after you stop taking this medicine. Do not take any medicine to treat diarrhea without first checking with your doctor.
Doxycycline has a broad spectrum of activity and is effective against gram-positive and gram-negative, aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, spirochetes, and mycoplasma.
Doxycycline is an antibiotic commonly prescribed for short-term acne treatment. It works to kill acne-causing bacteria and lower inflammation. The most common side effects are sun sensitivity and nausea. Since bacteria can become resistant, a course of doxycycline should be no longer than 3-4 months.
Doxycycline is used to treat bacterial infections in many different parts of the body. It is also used to treat pimples and abscesses (usually on the face) that are caused by rosacea, also known as acne rosacea or adult acne.
The findings show that doxycycline intervention of infection, although very effective in eradicating chlamydiae from genital tissue and preventing upper genital tract disease, significantly inhibits the development of protective immunity.