Doxycycline Chlamydia Capsules 100mg (Pack of 14)

Chlamydia Doctor Service 

Doxycycline is an antibacterial medication used for many purposes and used to treat many different bacterial infections including Chlamydia. 

Doxycycline works by killing bacteria by stopping them from making the proteins that they need to survive.

You can order Doxycycline online from our UK registered online pharmacy and doctor service. To see if you are suitable for this treatment, complete the online assessment and checkout. Our UK registered doctors will review the order and after approval pass the prescription to the Pharmacy team. We will then dispense and dispatch your order to your chosen address.

Doxycycline Capsules

This medicine belongs to a group of medicines called tetracycline antibiotics. It may be used to treat a wide range of infections caused by bacteria, these include:

• Sexually transmitted diseases e.g. gonorrhoea, syphilis, chlamydia
• Infections of the skin such as acne
• Chest, lung or nasal infections e.g. bronchitis, pneumonia, sinusitis
• Infections of the kidneys and bladder e.g. cystitis, urethritis
• Eye infections
• Rickettsial infections such as Q fever or fevers associated with louse or tick bites
• Other infections such as cholera, brucellosis, leptospirosis and psittacosis
• Malaria, when chloroquine is not effective.

Doxycycline capsules are also used to prevent certain infections developing such as scrub typhus, travellers diarrhoea, malaria and leptospirosis (a bacterial infection caused by exposure to bacteria in fresh water contaminated by animal urine).

Your doctor may want you to take Doxycycline capsules to treat another infection not listed above. You may also be prescribed an additional medicine to take with Doxycycline capsules to treat your infection.

You must talk to your doctor if you do not feel better or if you feel worse.

Chlamydia

Chlamydia is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It's passed on through unprotected sex (sex without a condom) and is particularly common in sexually active teenagers and young adults. 

Most people with chlamydia do not notice any symptoms and do not know they have it.

If you do develop symptoms, you may experience:

• pain when peeing
• unusual discharge from the vagina, penis or bottom
• in women, pain in the tummy, bleeding after sex and bleeding between periods
• in men, pain and swelling in the testicles

If you think you're at risk of having a sexually transmitted infection (STI) or have any symptoms of chlamydia, visit a GP, community contraceptive service or local genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic to get tested.

A good self care guide and information for chlamydia is available on the NHS website.

NHS  - Chlamydia

How does doxycycline work?

Doxycycline is from a group of medicines called tetracycline antibiotics. These antibiotics work by killing bacteria by stopping them from making the proteins that they need to survive.

When will I feel better?

With most infections, you'll usually feel better within a few days. When you do, it's important to keep taking doxycycline until you finish your medicine. Taking all your medicine will help stop the infection coming back.

What if I do not get better?

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.

Can I take doxycycline if I'm allergic to penicillin?

Yes, you can take doxycycline if you are allergic to penicillin. They are different types of antibiotics.

Is there any food or drink I need to avoid?

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.

Can I drink alcohol while taking doxycycline?

It's best not to drink alcohol with doxycycline because it can stop it working properly. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist if you have questions about this.

Will it affect my contraception?

Doxycycline does not affect any type of contraception, including the combined pill and emergency contraception.

However, if doxycycline makes you sick (vomit) or have severe diarrhoea for more than 24 hours, your combined pill may not protect you from pregnancy. Check the pill packet to find out what to do.

Find out more about what to do if you're on the pill and you're sick or have diarrhoea.

Does it stain teeth?

Doxycycline can build up in growing bones and teeth by sticking to calcium – this can stain teeth. Because this only happens in growing bones and teeth, it's not usually given to young children, during pregnancy, or when breastfeeding.

Like all medicines, Doxycycline can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

Possible Side Effects

Stop taking your medicine and tell your doctor immediately, or go to accident and emergency if you notice any of the following symptoms. Although the symptoms are very rare, they may be severe.

• A ringing or buzzing noise in the ear (tinnitus)

• Severe skin reactions such as erythema multiforme (circular, irregular red patches), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (rash with flushing, fever, blisters or ulcers), toxic epidermal necrolysis (reddening, peeling and swelling that resembles burns)

• Symptoms of an allergic reaction - sudden wheezing, difficulty in breathing, chest pain, fever, sudden swellings of the face, lips, tongue, throat, hands or feet, rash or itching (especially affecting the whole body), pericarditis (inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart), worsening of systemic lupus erythematosus (autoimmune disease)

• Fever, swollen lymph nodes or skin rash. These may be symptoms of a condition known as DRESS (Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms) and can be severe and life-threatening.

If you experience any of the side effects listed below, tell your doctor as soon as possible:

Common - may affect up to 1 in 10 people

• Increased heart rate (Tachycardia)
• Inflammation of small blood vessels (Henoch-Schonlein purpura)
• Nausea/vomiting
• Headache
• Sensitivity to sunlight - you may get a skin rash, itching, redness or severe sunburn when out in sunlight or after using a sun bed (Photosensitivity reaction)
• Increased pressure in the skull (severe headaches, blurred and/or double vision, blind spots, permanent loss of vision) (Peripheral oedema)
• Low blood pressure (Hypotension)
• Rashes (consisting of flat or raised red, brown or pink lesions)
• Hives (Urticaria)
• Shortness of breath or breathlessness (Dyspnoea).

For a full list of side effects, please read the patient information leaflet.

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, our Rightdose pharmacists or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can help to make medicines safer by reporting any side-effects to the Yellow Card Scheme at www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard.

Before taking any medication, it is important to read the Patient Information Leaflet. You can find information leaflets for your medicines by typing them into the search bar at medicines.org, or by contacting us.

Patient Information Leaflet Doxycycline 100mg Capsules

Other medicines and Doxycycline:

Please tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking or have recently taken any other medicines, including medicines obtained without a prescription. Especially:

• Penicillin antibiotics (used to treat infections)

• Rifampicin (used to treat tuberculosis)

• Anticoagulants (used to thin the blood, e.g. warfarin)

• Quinapril (used to lower high blood pressure)

• Oral contraceptives (‘The Pill’). This medicine may make the oral contraceptive pill less effective. You should use additional contraceptive precautions whilst taking this medicine and for 7 days after stopping.

• Barbiturates (strong sleeping tablets, e.g. phenobarbital)

• Ergotamine (used to treat migraines or headaches)

• Carbamazepine, phenytoin, primidone or other drugs used to control epilepsy

• Ciclosporin (used to affect the body’s immune response following organ transplants)

• Methoxyflurane (an anaesthetic). If you need an operation, tell your doctor or dentist that you are taking Doxycycline.

• Methotrexate (used to treat cancer, psoriasis or rheumatoid arthritis)

• Medicines such as antacids (indigestion tablets or liquids) containing aluminium, calcium, magnesium or other medicines containing iron, bismuth or zinc salts, should not be taken at the same time as your medicine, as absorption of your medicine may be reduced

• Retinoids (used to treat various skin conditions)

Doxycycline and Alcohol

Alcohol may reduce the effect of your medicine. It is therefore advisable to avoid drinking any alcohol.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

If you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant or are breastfeeding, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking any medicine as Doxycycline could harm the baby.

Driving and using machines

Do not drive or use machines if you suffer from visual disturbances such as blurring of vision while taking Doxycycline.

Doxycycline 100mg Capsules contain sucrose. If you have been told by your doctor that you have an intolerance to some sugars, contact your doctor before taking this medicinal product.

How to store Doxycycline capsules

• Do not use your medicine after the expiry date shown on the blister and carton. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
• Store below 25°C. Store in the original package.
• Medicines should not be disposed of via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of medicines no longer required. These measures will help to protect the environment.

Keep out of the sight and reach of children.

Always take your medicine exactly as your doctor has instructed you. You should check with your doctor or pharmacist, if you are unsure.

Your medicine should be taken by mouth as follows:

• You must take your capsules as your doctor has told you to.
• It is important to swallow each doxycycline capsule whole with a glass of water.
• It is best to take your capsules at the same time(s) each day, when standing or while sitting.
• It is important not to lie down for at least thirty minutes after taking Doxycycline capsules, so that the capsule can move as swiftly as possible into the stomach and prevent irritation of the throat or oesophagus (canal taking food from the mouth to the stomach).
• If your stomach is upset, Doxycycline capsules can be taken with milk or a meal.

The recommended dose is:

Adults and children aged 12 years to less than 18 years and for children over 45kg:

• 200mg on the first day, then 100mg daily.
• The length of treatment is dependent on the infection being treated. 200mg on the first day, then 100mg daily. The length of treatment is dependent on the infection being treated.

Please see the Patient Information Leaflet for more information for children aged 8 years to less than 12 years and for children 45kg or less.

How to take this medicine for different infections

Sexually transmitted diseases

• 100mg twice daily for 7-10 days.

Primary and secondary syphilis

300mg daily in divided doses for at least 10 days.

For more information on other treatments and dosages please refer to the Patient Information Leaflet.

• Acne
• Fevers associated with louse or tick bites
• Treatment of malaria, when chloroquine is not effective
• Prevention of malaria
• Prevention of scrub typhus
• Prevention of travellers’ diarrhoea
• Prevention of leptospirosis

Doctors may prescribe different doses to these depending on the infection being treated. Check with your doctor if you are not sure why you have been prescribed the medicine. The label on the pack will tell you what dosage you
should take, how often and for how long to take it. If you are still not sure, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Do not take your medicine and tell your doctor, if you:

• have taken Doxycycline or any other antibiotic before and suffered an allergic reaction (e.g. rash, itching, swelling of the face, fainting and breathing problems)
• are allergic to any of the other ingredients in Doxycycline Capsules (see section 6 Contents of the pack and other information)
• are pregnant or trying to become pregnant
• are breast-feeding

Warnings and Precautions

Talk to your doctor before taking Doxycycline if you:

• are likely to be exposed to strong sunlight or ultraviolet light (e.g. on a sunbed)
• have liver problems or are taking medicines which affect your liver
• have severe kidney problems
• have myasthenia gravis (a disease which causes unusual tiredness and weakness of certain muscles, particularly in the eyelid, difficulty chewing and swallowing and slurred speech)
• have porphyria (a rare genetic disease of blood pigments)
• have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) a condition characterised by a rash (especially on the face), hair loss, fever, malaise and joint pain. This condition may be worsened by taking Doxycycline.
• have diarrhoea or usually get diarrhoea when you take antibiotics or have suffered from problems with your stomach or intestines. If you develop severe or prolonged or bloody diarrhoea during or after using doxycycline, tell your doctor immediately since it may be necessary to interrupt the treatment. This may be a sign of bowel inflammation (pseudomembranous colitis) which can occur following treatment with antibiotics
• are suspected of having syphilis. Your doctor will continue to monitor you after your treatment has stopped
• are taking oral retinoids as there is a higher risk of suffering from increased pressure in your skull (severe headache with change in vision) when taken with Doxycycline capsules

You should not use Doxycycline during periods of tooth development (pregnancy, infancy or in children below 8 years old) as such use may lead to permanent discolouration (yellow-grey-brown) or affect the proper growth of the teeth.

There may be circumstances (e.g. severe or life-threatening conditions), where your physician may decide that the benefits outweigh this risk in children below 8 years and Doxycycline should be prescribed.

What your medicine contains

The active substance (the ingredient that makes the capsules work) is doxycycline hyclate.

The other ingredients in the capsule are sucrose, maize starch, crospovidone, Basic Butylated, Methacrylate Copolymer (Eudragit E100) and Purified Talc.

The capsule shell contains gelatin and the colourings E171, E132 and E172.

The white printing contains shellac, propylene glycol, ammonium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide and the colour E171.

What your medicine looks like
Doxycycline capsules are opaque green capsules with “100mg” printed in white ink.

The capsules are available in packs of 8, 10, 14 and 50 capsules. Not all pack sizes may be marketed.