Oral antibiotics like tetracycline do not work quickly against acne as they do against sore throats and earaches. It may take three to six weeks before your face shows any improvement. Eventually, you will have fewer pimples and reduced inflammation.

Occasionally, acne bacteria develop a resistance to tetracycline, which explains why some people fail to respond to it. This was revealed by Dr. Fredric Haberman, a dermatologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

The most common side effects of tetracycline are diarrhea, discoloration of the nails, dizziness, nausea, stomach cramps, loss of appetite or vomiting. Consumer Guide's “Prescription Drugs” said these usually disappear as your body adjusts to the medication.

What you should worry about are major side effects which include darkened tongue, difficulty in breathing, joint pain, mouth irritation, rash, rectal or vaginal itching, unusual bleeding or yellowing of the eyes and skin. These should be reported to a doctor.

To make the most out of your medicine, Consumer Guide suggests the following:

Ideally, this medication should be taken on an empty stomach one hour before or two hours after a meal. It should be taken with a full glass of water in order to avoid irritating the throat or esophagus (swallowing tube). If this drug causes stomach upset, however, you can take it with food (unless your doctor directs you to do otherwise).

Avoid consuming dairy products (milk, cheese, etc.) with¬in two hours of any dose of this drug. Avoid taking antacids and laxatives that contain aluminum, calcium, or magnesium within an hour or two of a dose.

Avoid taking any medication containing iron within three hours of a dose. These products chemically bind tetracycline in the stomach and gastrointestinal tract, preventing the drug from being absorbed into the body.

Tetracycline works best when the level of medicine in your bloodstream is kept constant. It is best, therefore, to take the doses at evenly spaced intervals day and night. For example, if you are to take four doses a day, the doses should be spaced six hours apart.

It is important to continue to take this medication for the entire time prescribed by your doctor, even if the symptoms disappear before the end of that period. If you stop taking the drug too soon, resistant bacteria are given a chance to continue growing, and the infection could recur.

Be sure to tell your doctor if you are pregnant or if you are breastfeeding an infant. Tetracycline crosses the placenta and passes into breast milk. If used during tooth development, this drug can cause permanent discoloration. It can also inhibit tooth and bone growth in the fetus. It should not be used for infants or for children less than eight years of age.

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