Side Effects of Doxycycline as an Acne Treatment

With the wide variety of acne treatment products available through both prescription and over the counter; it can be quite confusing to determine which product is the most effective while providing the least amount of side effects. Doxycycline is a product which is commonly used for the treatment of acne, particularly in cases that have proven to be resistant to over the counter acne treatments such as benzoyl peroxide.

A study conducted and published in 2003 by the University of Florida indicates that doxycycline may well be an acne treatment that provides good results with few side effects. During the 6 month study, patients were given either doxycycline twice a day or a placebo. Patients in question suffered from moderate facial acne. After six months, the study concluded that the patient group who took doxycline showed significant improvement in both inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions. The study further reported that the doxycycline treatment was ‘well tolerated.’

This 2003 study; however appears to be contradictory to an earlier reported released in 2002 by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in which a case was reported of doxycycline induced hypoglycemia induction in a nondiabetic patient. That same year a report was issued by the University of Heidelberg in Germany indicating that Sweet’s syndrome; a condition which is characterized by fever, malaise and painful nodules located primarily on the head, neck, chest and upper limbs was induced by a treatment of minocycline. The report went on to state that there was a ‘strong possibility that the same patient developed a drug-induced Sweet’s syndrome after oral administration of tetracycline and doxycycline.”

While initial studies seem to confirm that positive results are provided by the use of doxycycline for the use of acne treatment, further investigation reveals that there may in fact be side effects that should be further considered before use by consumers of this product. Further research may be necessary to determine whether the benefits of this drug are worth the possible health risks.



Arch Dermatol. 2003 Apr;139(4):459-64. PubMed
Effects of subantimicrobial-dose doxycycline in the treatment of moderate acne.
Skidmore R, Kovach R, Walker C, Thomas J, Bradshaw M, Leyden J, Powala C, Ashley R.
Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32608, USA.

South Med J. 2002 Nov;95(11):1353-4. PubMed
Doxycycline-induced hypoglycemia in a nondiabetic young man.
Basaria S, Braga M, Moore WT.
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.

Br J Dermatol. 2002 Sep;147(3):558-62. PubMed
Drug-induced Sweet's syndrome in acne caused by different tetracyclines: case report and review of the literature.
Khan Durani B, Jappe U.
Department of Dermatology, University of Heidelberg, Vosstrasse 2, D-69115 Heidelberg, Germany.