Acticlate Side Effects

Generic name: doxycycline

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Apr 16, 2024.

Note: This document provides detailed information about Acticlate.

Applies to doxycycline: oral capsule, oral capsule extended release, oral powder for suspension, oral syrup, oral tablet, oral tablet delayed release Side Effects associated with doxycycline. Some dosage forms listed on this page may not apply specifically to the brand name Acticlate.

Applies to doxycycline: oral capsule, oral capsule extended release, oral powder for suspension, oral syrup, oral tablet, oral tablet delayed release.

Precautions

If your symptoms do not improve within a few days, or if they become worse, check with your doctor.

Using this medicine while you are pregnant can harm your unborn baby. Use an effective form of birth control to keep from getting pregnant. If you think you have become pregnant while using this medicine, tell your doctor right away.

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

Doxycycline may cause diarrhea, and in some cases it can be severe. It may occur 2 months or more after you Stop taking doxycycline (the active ingredient contained in Acticlate) 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 have any questions about this or if mild diarrhea continues or gets worse, check with your doctor.

Birth control pills (containing estrogen) may not work properly while you are using doxycycline. To keep from getting pregnant, use other forms of birth control. These include condoms, a diaphragm, or a contraceptive foam or jelly.

Doxycycline may cause your skin to be more sensitive to sunlight than it is normally. Exposure to sunlight, even for short periods of time, may cause 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.

Serious skin reactions, including exfoliative dermatitis, erythema multiforme, Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis, drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) can occur with this medicine. Check with your doctor right away if you have blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin, red skin lesions, severe acne or a skin rash, sores or ulcers on the skin, fever or chills, cough, sore throat, swollen, painful, or tender lymph glands in the neck, armpit, or groin, or yellow skin or eyes while using this medicine.

This medicine may cause increased pressure inside the head (intracranial hypertension). This is more likely to occur in women of childbearing age who are overweight or have a history of intracranial hypertension. Tell your doctor right away if you have a headache, blurred vision, or changes in vision.

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.

You should not take antacids that contain aluminum, calcium or magnesium, or any product that contains iron, including vitamin or mineral supplements.

If you are using this medicine to prevent malaria, take extra care not to get bitten by mosquitoes. Use protective clothing, mosquito netting or screens, and an insect repellent.

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

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.

Serious side effects of Acticlate

Along with its needed effects, doxycycline may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur while taking doxycycline:

Other side effects of Acticlate

Some side effects of doxycycline may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects.

Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

For healthcare professionals

Applies to doxycycline: injectable powder for injection, oral capsule, oral delayed release capsule, oral delayed release tablet, oral kit, oral powder for reconstitution, oral syrup, oral tablet, oral and topical kit.

Nervous system adverse events

• Very common (10% or more): Headache (up to 26%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Sinus headache
• Rare (0.01% to 0.1%): Bulging fontanels (in infants), benign intracranial hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri [symptoms include blurred vision, scotomata, diplopia]), tinnitus
• Frequency not reported: Hypoesthesia, increased intracranial pressure, paresthesia, somnolence, stupor, taste loss, drowsiness, amnesia, paresthesias of body areas exposed to sunlight, phrenic nerve paralysis after sclerotherapy
• Postmarketing reports: Pseudotumor cerebri, headache, dizziness^[Ref]

Benign intracranial hypertension resulting in permanent loss of vision has been reported.

A 70-year-old female patient with no significant medical history suddenly developed a severe headache followed by vomiting about 15 minutes after the initial dose of this drug. The patient also experienced memory dysfunction; she could not remember the events of the afternoon prior to the dose of this drug and could not retain the information after she was reminded. The incident lasted about 30 minutes and she was transported to the hospital for further evaluation. No further cause, such as intoxication or trauma, could be elicited. Once at the hospital, the patient was able to remember the events of the afternoon and could retain new information, but amnesia regarding the events of the 30 minutes following the onset of the headache persisted. The patient's laboratory results, computerized tomography scan, MRI scan, cerebrospinal fluid, and electroencephalogram showed no pathology. When the patient was discharged 2 days later, the amnesia for the 30 minutes continued. After elimination of other symptomatic causes, the amnesia was concluded to be due to this drug because of the close relation of the dose and the onset of symptoms.^[Ref]

Other

• Very common (10% or more): Common cold (up to 22%), influenza symptoms (up to 11%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Injury/accidental injury, pain, infection, fungal infection, influenza
• Rare (0.01% to 0.1%): Candida infection/candidiasis, flushing, retrosternal pain
• Frequency not reported: Malaise, overgrowth of nonsusceptible organisms (superinfection)
• Postmarketing reports: Asthenia^[Ref]

Gastrointestinal

• Very common (10% or more): Nausea (up to 13.4%)
• Common (1% to 10%): Nausea/vomiting, toothache, tooth disorder, dyspepsia, diarrhea, periodontal abscess, acid indigestion, upper abdominal pain, abdominal distention, abdominal pain, stomach discomfort, dry mouth
• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Gum pain, heartburn/gastritis
• Rare (less than 0.1%): Glossitis, dysphagia, enterocolitis, inflammatory lesions (with candidal/monilial overgrowth) in the anogenital region, esophagitis, esophageal ulcerations, pancreatitis, pseudomembranous colitis, Clostridium difficile colitis, stomatitis
• Frequency not reported: Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, esophageal irritation, ulceration, epigastric burning, black hairy tongue, tooth discoloration/adult tooth staining, vomiting, enamel hypoplasia, staphylococcal enterocolitis
• Postmarketing reports: Bloody diarrhea, colitis, constipation, superficial tooth discoloration^[Ref]

Numerous cases of esophageal ulceration have been reported. In most cases, the patients had taken their medication at bedtime, usually without enough liquid. Patients often presented with severe retrosternal pain and difficulty swallowing. Ulcerations generally resolved within a week after discontinuing the drug. In 1 case report, severe hiccups of 4-day duration associated with esophagitis followed the first dose of this drug.

Esophagitis and esophageal ulcerations have been reported in patients taking the capsule or tablet formulations of tetracycline-class antibiotics. Most of these patients took the drug immediately before going to bed.^[Ref]

Musculoskeletal

• Common (1% to 10%): Joint pain/arthralgia, back pain/back ache
• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Muscle pain/myalgia^[Ref]

Respiratory

• Common (1% to 10%): Nasopharyngitis, sore throat, sinus congestion, coughing, sinusitis, bronchitis, nasal congestion, pharyngolaryngeal pain
• Frequency not reported: Bronchospasm

Dermatologic

• Common (1% to 10%): Rash (including maculopapular rash, erythematous rash), photosensitivity reaction/dermatitis
• Rare (0.01% to 0.1%): Erythema multiforme, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, exfoliative dermatitis, photoonycholysis, drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS)
• Frequency not reported: Nail discoloration, phototoxicity, photoallergic reaction, morbilliform rash, onycholysis, pustular rash
• Postmarketing reports: Pruritus, urticaria

Tetracyclines:

• Frequency not reported: Hyperpigmentation^[Ref]

In a double-blinded study, this drug was found to be more phototoxic than minocycline and demeclocycline. Paresthesias of the body areas exposed to sunlight may be early signs of sunburn reactions.

A case report of a possible photoallergic reaction described scaly erythema and vesicles on the face and neck associated with administration of this drug. Upon rechallenge, a flare with erythema, itching, and burning occurred in the same area.

Another case report was documented in Australian troops treated with 100 mg daily for malaria prophylaxis while on deployment in East Timor, a group of islands within the Malaysian archipelago located close to the equator. Of the 135 troops, 22 exhibited phototoxic reactions to low doses of this drug that resembled severe sunburn with erythematous plaques on the sun-exposed areas. The troops used a sunscreen containing oxybenzone.

An 11-year-old boy treated with this drug for brucellosis was evaluated for painless brown nail discoloration. This drug was initiated for brucellosis but stopped when the boy developed photosensitivity, but 15 days after the initiation of therapy brown nail discoloration developed. Other than the brown discoloration, the boy's physical condition was normal and the discoloration disappeared within 1 month.^[Ref]

Genitourinary

• Common (1% to 10%): Menstrual cramps, bacterial vaginitis, vulvovaginal mycotic infection
• Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Vaginal infection
• Frequency not reported: Vaginal itch, vaginitis
• Postmarketing reports: Vaginal candidiasis/moniliasis, anogenital moniliasis^[Ref]

Cardiovascular

• Common (1% to 10%): Hypertension, increased blood pressure
• Frequency not reported: Phlebitis (with IV administration)

Hepatic

• Common (1% to 10%): Increased AST
• Rare (0.01% to 0.1%): Abnormal hepatic function, hepatic failure, hepatitis, hepatotoxicity, jaundice
• Frequency not reported: Acute hepatocellular injury, cholestatic reactions, cholestatic hepatitis, fatty liver degeneration, transient increases in liver function tests^[Ref]

Metabolic

• Common (1% to 10%): Increased blood LDH, increased blood glucose
• Rare (0.01% to 0.1%): Decreased appetite, porphyria
• Frequency not reported: Hypoglycemia, anorexia^[Ref]

Hypoglycemia in a nondiabetic patient has been reported.^[Ref]

Psychiatric

• Common (1% to 10%): Anxiety
• Frequency not reported: Confusion, depression, hallucination

Hypersensitivity

• Common (1% to 10%): Anaphylactic reaction (including angioedema, exacerbation of systemic lupus erythematosus, pericarditis, hypersensitivity, serum sickness, Henoch-Schonlein purpura, hypotension, dyspnea, tachycardia, peripheral edema, urticaria)
• Frequency not reported: Hypersensitivity reactions (including urticaria, angioneurotic edema, anaphylactic shock, anaphylaxis, anaphylactoid reactions, anaphylactoid purpura, serum sickness, hypotension, pericarditis, exacerbation of systemic lupus erythematosus, dyspnea, peripheral edema, tachycardia)
• Postmarketing reports: Mild allergic reactions^[Ref]

Hematologic

• Rare (0.01% to 0.1%): Hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, eosinophilia
• Frequency not reported: Increased prothrombin time, leukopenia, thrombocytopenic purpura^[Ref]

Renal

• Rare (0.01% to 0.1%): Increased BUN/blood urea (dose-related)
• Frequency not reported: Acute renal failure^[Ref]

Endocrine

• Rare (0.01% to 0.1%): Microscopic brown-black discoloration of the thyroid gland^[Ref]

The long-term use of tetracyclines has been associated with microscopic brown-black discoloration of the thyroid gland; abnormal thyroid function has not been reported.^[Ref]

Ocular

• Frequency not reported: Diplopia, papilledema, loss of vision (associated with drug-induced benign intracranial hypertension), conjunctivitis, periorbital edema^[Ref]

Immunologic

Tetracyclines:

• Frequency not reported: Autoimmune syndromes

See also:

Frequently asked questions

• Does doxycycline work for acne?
• Is Doxycycline safe for dogs? Uses, dosage, side effects
• Doxycycline for STDs: Effectiveness, Dosage and Side Effects
• Should doxycycline be taken with food?
• What are the most common skin conditions? (with photos)
• What are the best antibiotics for pneumonia?
• What is the best antibiotic to treat a sinus infection?
• Does Doxycycline make you tired?

Further information

Acticlate side effects can vary depending on the individual. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

Note: Medication side effects may be underreported. If you are experiencing side effects that are not listed, submit a report to the FDA by following this guide.

Medical Disclaimer