Tetracycline tablets
Name: Tetracycline tablets
How to take tetracycline
- Before you start the treatment, read the manufacturer's printed information leaflet from inside the pack. It will give you more information about tetracycline, and will also provide you with a full list of the side-effects which you could experience from taking it.
- Take tetracycline exactly as your doctor tells you to. If you have an infection it is likely you will be asked to take three or four doses a day, and if it is for acne or rosacea you will be asked to take two doses a day. You will be prescribed one or two tablets to take for each dose. Your doctor or pharmacist will tell you which dose is right for you, and this information will also be printed on the label of the pack to remind you about what was said to you.
- Try to take your doses around the same times of day each day. This will help you to remember to take them regularly. Space out your doses evenly throughout the day.
- Take the tablets when your stomach is empty. This means taking your doses one hour before you eat food, or waiting until two hours after you have eaten. It is also important that you do not drink milk within two hours (either before or after) of taking tetracycline. This is because both food and milk can reduce the amount of medicine absorbed by your body, making it less effective in fighting infection.
- The tablets can cause throat irritation. To prevent this, you should swallow the tablets with a large drink of water. Sit upright or stand up to take the tablets. Try to avoid taking tetracycline just before lying down, or at bedtime.
- If you forget to take a dose, take it as soon as you remember. Try to take the correct number of doses each day, but do not take two doses together to make up for a missed dose.