Arestin

Minocycline is a prescription antibiotic used to treat a variety of bacterial infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections, gonorrhea, chlamydia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and acne.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

• OraPharma, Inc.

Tell your doctor about all the other medicines you take including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements. Minocycline may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how minocycline works.

Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• birth control pills. Minocycline may make your birth control pills less effective. You could become pregnant. You should use a second form of birth control while taking minocycline.
• a blood thinner medicine.
• a penicillin antibiotic medicine. Minocycline and penicillins should not be used together.
• antacids that contain aluminum, calcium, or magnesium or iron-containing products.
• an acne medicine that contains isotretinoin (Amnesteem, Claravis, Sotret). Minocycline and isotretinoin should not be used together.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure if your medicine is one that is listed above.

Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of them to show your doctor and pharmacist.

Serious side effects can occur including:

• Harm to an unborn baby. If you are pregnant talk to your doctor about the risks associated with taking minocycline during pregnancy.
• Permanent teeth discoloration. Minocycline may permanently turn a baby or child's teeth yellow-grey-brown during tooth development. Minocycline should not be used during tooth development. Tooth development happens in the last half of pregnancy, and from birth to 8 years of age. 
• Intestine infection (pseudomembranous colitis). Pseudomembranous colitis can happen with most antibiotics, including minocycline. Call your doctor right away if you get watery diarrhea, diarrhea that does not go away, or bloody stools.
• Serious liver problems. Stop taking minocycline and call your doctor right away if you get any of the following symptoms of liver problems:
  • loss of appetite
  • tiredness
  • diarrhea
  • yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes
  • unexplained bleeding
  • confusion
  • sleepiness
• Central nervous system effects. Central nervous system effects such as light headedness, dizziness, and a spinning feeling (vertigo) may go away during your treatment with minocycline or if treatment is stopped.
• Benign intracranial hypertension, also called pseudotumor cerebri. This is a condition where there is high pressure in the fluid around the brain. This swelling may lead to vision changes and permanent vision loss. Stop taking minocycline and tell your doctor right away if you have blurred vision, vision loss, or unusual headaches.
• Immune system reactions including a lupus-like syndrome, hepatitis, and inflammation of blood or lymph vessels (vasculitis). Using minocycline for a long time to treat acne may cause immune system reactions. Tell your doctor right away if you get a fever, rash, joint pain, or body weakness. Your doctor may do tests to check your blood for immune system reactions.
• Serious rash and allergic reactions. Minocycline may cause a serious rash and allergic reactions that may affect parts of your body such as your liver, lungs, kidneys and heart. Sometimes these can lead to death. Stop taking minocycline and get medical help right away if you have any of these symptoms:
  • skin rash, hives, sores in your mouth, or your skin blisters and peels
  • swelling of your face, eyes, lips, tongue, or throat
  • trouble swallowing or breathing

Do not take minocycline if you are allergic to tetracycline-class drugs. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for a list of these medicines if you are not sure.

• Avoid sunlight, sunlamps, and tanning beds. Minocycline can make your skin sensitive to the sun and the light from sunlamps and tanning beds. You could get severe sunburn.
• Protect your skin while out in sunlight.
• You should not drive or operate dangerous machinery until you know how this medication affects you. Minocycline may cause you to feel dizzy or lightheaded, or have a spinning feeling (vertigo).

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Minocycline passes into your milk and may harm your baby. You and your doctor should decide if you will take minocycline or breastfeed. You should not do both.

Use Arestin as ordered by your doctor. Read all information given to you. Follow all instructions closely.

• This medicine will be given to you by a doctor.

What do I do if I miss a dose?

• Call the doctor for an office visit.

All drugs may cause side effects. However, many people have no side effects or only have minor side effects. Call your doctor or get medical help if any of these side effects or any other side effects bother you or do not go away:

• Mouth soreness.
• Headache.
• Flu-like signs.

These are not all of the side effects that may occur. If you have questions about side effects, call your doctor. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.

You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088. You may also report side effects at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch.

• If your symptoms or health problems do not get better or if they become worse, call your doctor.
• Do not share your drugs with others and do not take anyone else's drugs.
• Keep a list of all your drugs (prescription, natural products, vitamins, OTC) with you. Give this list to your doctor.
• Talk with the doctor before starting any new drug, including prescription or OTC, natural products, or vitamins.
• Keep all drugs in a safe place. Keep all drugs out of the reach of children and pets.
• Check with your pharmacist about how to throw out unused drugs.
• Some drugs may have another patient information leaflet. Check with your pharmacist. If you have any questions about Arestin, please talk with your doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or other health care provider.
• If you think there has been an overdose, call your poison control center or get medical care right away. Be ready to tell or show what was taken, how much, and when it happened.

This information should not be used to decide whether or not to take this medicine or any other medicine. Only the healthcare provider has the knowledge and training to decide which medicines are right for a specific patient. This information does not endorse any medicine as safe, effective, or approved for treating any patient or health condition. This is only a brief summary of general information about Arestin. It does NOT include all information about the possible uses, directions, warnings, precautions, interactions, adverse effects, or risks that may apply to this medicine. This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from the healthcare provider. You must talk with the healthcare provider for complete information about the risks and benefits of using Arestin.

Review Date: October 4, 2017

Arestin should not be used in any patient who has a known sensitivity to minocycline or tetracyclines.

Minocycline is a tetracycline antibiotic that fights bacteria.

Minocycline mucous membrane powder is used together with certain dental procedures to treat periodontitis (gum disease). Periodontitis is an infection that causes inflammation in the gums around your teeth. This can cause the gums to pull away from the teeth, leaving deep pockets. Gum shrinkage can lead to tooth loss.

Minocycline powder may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.

You should not be treated with this medicine if you are allergic to minocycline or to similar antibiotics such as demeclocycline, doxycycline, or tetracycline.

You should not be treated with this medicine if you are allergic to minocycline or to similar antibiotics such as demeclocycline, doxycycline, or tetracycline.

To make sure minocycline is safe for you, tell your dentist if you have:

• diabetes;
• weak immune system (caused by HIV or other disease);
• sores or white patches in your mouth or throat (thrush or oral yeast infection); or
• a condition for which you use treatments that can cause mouth sores (chemotherapy or radiation, steroids, antibiotics, or immunosuppressants).

You should not be treated with this medicine if you are pregnant. Using minocycline during pregnancy could cause permanent tooth discoloration in the baby later in life. Tell your dentist right away if you become pregnant after being treated with this medicine.

Minocycline passes into breast milk and may affect bone and tooth development in a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed after you are treated with this medicine.