Questions and Answers for
Consumers on Doxycycline
1. What is doxycycline?
Doxycycline is an antibiotic medicine belonging to the class
called "tetracyclines." It is used to treat bacterial infections in
many different parts of the body. It does not treat viral infections, such as
the common cold.
2. Is doxycycline approved to treat anthrax?
Doxycycline is approved to treat anthrax in all its forms
[inhaled (lung), skin, stomach and intestinal].
3. Can medicines in the same class as doxycycline be used
to prevent or treat anthrax?
Other drugs in the tetracycline class carry a broad indication
for illnesses caused by the anthrax organism (Bacillus anthracis).
Because the most up-to-date information about appropriate dosing following
exposure to anthrax is available for Cipro (ciprofloxacin), doxycycline, and
penicillin G procaine, use of these three drugs has been recommended.
Antibiotic therapy should only be started in the case of
suspected or confirmed exposure to anthrax. Antibiotics reduce the risk of
severe disease following exposure, but do not prevent exposure.
4. What are some possible side effects of doxycycline?
This list is NOT a complete list of side effects reported with
doxycycline. Your health care provider can discuss with you a more complete list
of side effects.
Some possible uncommon but serious side effects of doxycycline
include:
- a life-threatening allergic reaction (symptoms are trouble
breathing; closing of the throat; swelling of the lips, tongue, or face;
hives)
- blood problems (symptoms are unusual bleeding or bruising)
- liver damage (symptoms are yellowing of the skin or eyes,
dark urine, nausea ,vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal pain)
- irritation of the esophagus
Other more common, but less serious, side effects include:
- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
- increased sensitivity of the skin to sunlight
5. What else should I know about doxycycline?
In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the
medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. If a person is exposed to
anthrax, the risk of side effects caused by doxycycline treatment may be
acceptable because of the seriousness of the disease. However, if a person has
not been exposed to anthrax, these risks may outweigh the benefits.
Some other things to consider:
- Doxycycline and other members of the tetracycline class of
antibiotics are not generally approved for treating patients under 8 years
old. These antibiotics can cause swelling of the brain and a condition
called bulging fontanels (soft spot on head) in infants.
- Tetracycline antibiotics are associated with permanent
tooth discoloration in children. If used for long periods, they may also
slow down the growth of teeth and bones in babies born prematurely. However
due to the seriousness of anthrax, dosing instructions for treating inhaled
anthrax (post-exposure) is provided in approved prescribing information for
doxycycline.
- Before taking any tetracycline antibiotic, review with your
health care provider ALL medicines you are taking, including those
you take without a prescription. Tetracycline antibiotics can affect how
other medicines work and other medicines can affect how the antibiotic
works.
- Some medicines that can interact with doxycycline are
antacids and supplements that contain calcium, iron, magnesium, or sodium
bicarbonate. If you take products containing these minerals within 2 hours
of the time you take doxycycline, these medicines could decrease the
doxycycline’s effectiveness.
- Birth control pills also may not work as well if you are
taking doxycycline. Use other forms of birth
control while you are taking this medicine.
- Throw away any unused doxycycline when it is out of date or
when it is no longer needed. Do not take any doxycycline after the
expiration date printed on the bottle.
6. Is it safe to buy antibiotics online?
There are online pharmacies from which you can confidently
fill your prescriptions. Unfortunately, there are also questionable sites that
make buying medicines online risky. Buying a medicine from an illegal Website
puts you at risk. You may get a contaminated or fake product, the wrong product,
an incorrect dose, or no product at all. Go to: http://www.fda.gov/oc/buyonline/default.htm
for additional tips on buying medicines online.
7. Is it safe to purchase medicines outside of the United
States?
FDA can not assure the quality or identity of products not
approved for sale in the United States. Not all countries have the same approval
procedures and manufacturing controls as the United States.
Possible risks include fake, unapproved, outdated, or
sub-standard products. A document, entitled
"Purchasing Medications Outside the United States", explains FDA’s
concerns on this subject. This document can be found at: http://www.fda.gov/ora/import/purchasing_medications.htm.
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Date created: November 02, 2001 |