Prescription:

Vibramycin (Doxycycline) is an antibiotic that is primarily used to treat infections caused by bacteria, including pneumonia, bronchitis, sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and infections of the bladder, kidney, prostate, stomach, ears, nose, skin, and throat.

It can be used in the long-term treatment of acne or to prevent malaria when traveling to other countries where malaria is prevalent.

Why is this drug prescribed?

This drug contains the active ingredient doxycycline, which belongs to a group of antibiotics called the tetracyclines. It is an antibiotic that has the ability to inhibit the growth of a wide variety of bacteria and certain other organisms. It works by preventing bacteria from producing proteins that are essential to them. Without these proteins the bacteria cannot grow, replicate and increase in numbers. Doxycycline therefore stops the spread of the infection and the remaining bacteria eventually die. Doxycycline is used to treat a wide variety of respiratory, urinary tract, eye and sexually transmitted infections, and various other infections caused by susceptible bacteria and micro-organisms. It is also used for severe acne, as it is active against the bacteria associated with acne, Propionebacterium acnes. This is a common type of bacteria that feeds on sebum produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin. It produces waste products and fatty acids that irritate the sebaceous glands, making them inflamed and causing spots. By controlling bacterial numbers, doxycycline brings the inflammation of the sebaceous glands under control, and the skin is allowed to heal. Doxycycline is also active against the parasite that causes malaria. It is sometimes used to treat malaria, and can also be used to prevent it when visiting high-risk malarial areas, in particular areas where the malaria parasite is resistant to chloroquine.

Treatments

* Acne vulgaris * Bubonic plague * Chlamydia * Cholera * Chronic bronchitis * Death and decay of tissue in a infected wound due to gas production by the infecting bacteria * Disease caused by infection with Leptospira bacteria * Disease of rodents and rabbits that can be transmitted to humans * Eye infections * Gonorrhoea * Infection caused by Brucella bacteria * Infection of the lungs and airways * Infections caused by Rickettsiae micro-organisms transmitted by lice, fleas, ticks and mites * Infections of the urinary tract * Infectious disease of parrots and man * Infectious disease of rodents that can be transmitted to humans * Inflammation of the sinuses due to infection * Lesions in the groin and genitalia caused by a sexually transmitted bacteria * Louse and tick-bourne relapsing fever * Pneumonia * Prevention of an infectious disease called Scrub typhus * Prevention of infection with Leptospira bacteria * Prevention of malaria * Prevention of traveller's diarrhoea * Protozoal infection of the intestine * Sexually transmitted infection that causes genital ulcers * Syphilis * Tetanus * Treatment of malaria caused by chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum

What side effects can this drug cause?

* Blood disorders * Abnormal reaction of the skin to light, usually a rash * Loss of appetite * Disturbances of liver function * Inflammation of the food pipe * Difficulty or pain when swallowing * Inflammation of the intestines * Mild increase in pressure within the skull * Hypersensitivity reactions such as swelling of the lips, throat and tongue, itchy blistering rash or anaphylactic shock * Rash * Diarrhoea * Nausea and vomiting