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Minocycline is a prescription antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and acne. Minocycline belongs to a group of drugs tetracycline antibiotics. It works by preventing the growth and spread of bacteria.

This medication comes as a capsule, tablet, or dental powder. It is usually taken one to four times a day. Refer to your healthcare provider's instructions for the specific minocycline product you are taking as some products are best when taken without food, at least one hour before or two hours after a meal.

Common side effects include nausea, vomiting, headache, tiredness, and dizziness.

• Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd.

Medicines can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of minocycline there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving this medication.

Before you take minocycline, tell your doctor if you:

• have kidney problems. Your doctor may prescribe a lower dose of medicine for you.
• have liver problems.
• have diarrhea or watery stools.
• have vision problems.
• plan to have surgery with general anesthesia.
• have frequent yeast infections.
• have any other medical conditions.
• are a male, and you and your female partner are trying to conceive a baby. 
• are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. 
• are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. 

Tell your doctor about all the other medicines you take including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Minocycline may harm your unborn baby. Taking minocycline while you are pregnant may cause serious side effects on the growth of bone and teeth of your baby. Talk to your doctor before taking minocycline if you plan to become pregnant, or if you are already taking minocycline and plan to become pregnant. Stop taking minocycline and call your doctor right away if you become pregnant while taking minocycline.

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.

If you are a male, and you and your female partner are trying to conceive a baby. You should not take minocycline.

• Take minocycline exactly as your doctor tells you.
• Minocycline comes as a capsule, tablet, or dental powder to treat gum disease. 
• Some minocycline products work best when taken on an empty stomach, one hour before or two hours after a meal. However, some products can be taken with food if stomach upset occurs. Taking these minocycline products with food may lower your chances of getting irritation or ulcers in the esophagus. 
• Take this medication with plenty of fluids to avoid damage to the esophagus. 
• Skipping doses or not taking all doses of minocycline may:
  • make the treatment not work as well.
  • increase the chance that the bacteria will become resistant to minocycline.

Minocycline is used to treat pimples and red bumps (non-nodular inflammatory lesions) that occur with moderate to severe acne vulgaris in patients 12 years of age and older.

Minocycline capsules are used to treat bacterial infections in many different parts of the body. It is also used to treat anthrax infection and other infections in patients who cannot receive penicillins.

Minocycline belongs to the class of medicines known as tetracycline antibiotics. It works by killing bacteria or preventing their growth. However, this medicine will not work for colds, flu, or other virus infections.

This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription.

It is very important that your doctor check the progress of you or your child at regular visits. This will allow your doctor to see if the medicine is working properly and to decide if you should continue to take it. Blood and urine tests may be needed to check for unwanted effects.

If your or your child's symptoms do not improve or if they become worse after 12 weeks of treatment, check with your doctor.

Using this medicine while you are pregnant can harm your unborn baby. The medicine may also cause birth defects if the father is using it when his sexual partner becomes pregnant. If a pregnancy occurs while you are using this medicine, tell your doctor right away.

Birth control pills may not work as well while you are using minocycline. To keep from getting pregnant, use an additional form of birth control with your pills. Other forms include condoms, a diaphragm, or contraceptive foam or jelly.

This medicine may darken the color of your skin, nails, eyes, teeth, gums, or scars. Talk with your doctor if you or your child have any concerns.

Minocycline may cause diarrhea, and in some cases it can be severe. It may occur 2 months or more after you stop taking this medicine. Do not take any medicine to treat diarrhea without first checking with your doctor. Diarrhea medicines may make the diarrhea worse or make it last longer. If you or your child have any questions about this or if mild diarrhea continues or gets worse, check with your doctor.

Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have pain or tenderness in the upper stomach, pale stools, dark urine, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, or yellow eyes or skin. These could be symptoms of a serious liver problem.

This medicine may cause some people to become dizzy or lightheaded. Make sure you know how you react to this combination of medicines before you drive, use machines, or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how this medicine affects you.

This medicine may cause an increased pressure in your head which can lead to permanent vision loss. Check with your doctor right away if you or your child has severe headache, blurred vision, or any vision changes.

Contact your doctor immediately if fever, rash, joint pain, or tiredness occurs. These could be symptoms of an autoimmune syndrome where the body attacks itself.

Minocycline may cause your skin to be more sensitive to sunlight than it is normally. Exposure to sunlight, even for brief periods of time, may cause a skin rash, itching, redness or other discoloration of the skin, or a severe sunburn. When you begin taking this medicine:

• Stay out of direct sunlight, especially between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., if possible.
• Wear protective clothing, including a hat. Also, wear sunglasses.
• Apply a sunblock product that has a sun protection factor (SPF) number of at least 15. Some patients may require a product with a higher SPF number, especially if they have a fair complexion. If you have any questions about this, check with your doctor.
• Apply a sunblock lipstick that has an SPF of at least 15 to protect your lips.
• Do not use a sun lamp or tanning bed or booth.

If you have a severe reaction from the sun, check with your doctor.

This medicine may cause serious allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis requires immediate medical attention. The most serious signs of this reaction are very fast or irregular breathing, gasping for breath, or fainting. Other signs may include changes in color of the skin of the face, very fast but irregular heartbeat or pulse, hive-like swellings on the skin, and puffiness or swellings of the eyelids or around the eyes. If these side effects occur, get emergency help at once.

Before you have any medical tests, tell the medical doctor in charge that you or your child are taking this medicine. The results of some tests may be affected by this medicine.

If you plan to have children, talk with your doctor before using this medicine. This medicine may affect the process of sperm cell formation in males.

Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.

• It is used to treat or prevent bacterial infections.
• It is used to treat pimples (acne).
• It may be given to you for other reasons. Talk with the doctor.