Doxycycline and benzoyl peroxide gel

After a few weeks you should start to see the effects of doxycycline. It takes around 6-8 weeks for benzoyl peroxide gel to start clearing acne.

This is a combination treatment for those with mild to moderate acne.

You shouldn’t take doxycycline or use benzoyl peroxide gel while pregnant or breastfeeding. If you think you could be pregnant, we advise taking a test before you start this treatment.

You’ll need a prescription to buy doxycycline and benzoyl peroxide gel, if you’re using an online service, like ours.

One of our clinicians can prescribe these medications after an online consultation where we make sure they’re right for you. It only takes a few minutes.

Doxycycline

Taking doxycycline can make your skin more sensitive to sunburn than normal, so you should avoid strong sunlight or UV light, for example from sun beds.

Tell your clinician before taking doxycycline if you have diarrhoea or usually get it when you take antibiotics, or have ever had stomach or intestine problems.

If you develop severe or prolonged or bloody diarrhoea during or after using doxycycline, tell your clinician immediately as you may need to pause the treatment. 

You should add details in your consultation if you:

• You have kidney or liver problems.
• You have myasthenia gravis (a disease that causes unusual tiredness and weakness of certain muscles, particularly in the eyelid).
• You have porphyria (a rare disease of blood pigments).
• You have, or have ever had, systemic lupus erythematosus (an allergic condition that causes joint pain, skin rashes and fever). 

Benzoyl peroxide gel (Acnecide) warnings

Your clinician will share any warnings or precautions before using benzoyl peroxide gel. Please note:

• Avoid getting it in contact with your eyes, mouth, angles of the nose and other mucous surfaces like the lining of your nose.
• Don’t apply it to damaged skin like cuts, grazes and sunburn, or eczema.
• Stop using the gel if you get swelling and blistering of the skin, which is a known side effect.
• This product can bleach hair and coloured fabrics like clothing, towels and bed linen. So, try not to get the gel on any of these materials and wash your hands thoroughly after using it.
• Be extra careful when applying the gel to sensitive areas of skin, for example your neck.
• Benzoyl peroxide gel can make you more sensitive to sunlight, so avoid prolonged exposure to the sun or other sources of UV light like sunbeds or sun lamps. 

So our clinicians can prescribe an effective and safe acne treatment, you’ll need to let us know which prescription and over-the-counter medicines you’re taking regularly. This includes any medications for other skin conditions like eczema.

Taking certain other medications alongside doxycycline could make it less effective in treating your acne.

While using benzoyl peroxide gel, you should avoid medications or cosmetics with high alcohol concentrations, and any that contain tretinoin, isotretinoin or tazarotene. They can make the treatment less effective, and dry out your skin or cause peeling or irritation.

Our clinicians can prescribe a range of acne treatments including other gels and creams, different oral antibiotics and tailored combinations of these.

Depending how severe your acne is, a treatment you apply to your skin only (topical) could be effective. If you’re a woman with hormonal acne, your treatment could include the contraceptive pill co-cyprindiol (widely known as Dianette or Clairette).