Tetracycline

Uses	Bacterial infection
Therapy	Antibiotic
Side Effects	Headache, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, difficulty in breathing

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Molecule Description

Tetracycline is used to treat bacterial infections of the eyes, skin, respiratory tract, urinary tract, etc. It is an antibiotic medicine. This medicine acts by inhibiting the growth of the infection-causing organism. Take this medicine as prescribed for the recommended dose and duration. Take it as directed by your doctor and avoid taking it with milk, dairy products, antacids or iron/calcium supplements. You should complete the entire treatment course with this medicine, as an incomplete course of antibiotics can result in treatment failure.

Uses

Tetracycline is used in the treatment of various bacterial infections such as urinary tract, respiratory tract infections like pneumonia, eye infection, skin infection like acne, sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhoea and other infections.

Contraindications

When should one not use Tetracycline

If you are allergic to tetracycline or any of the ingredients of this medicine.

Side effects

Common side effects of this drug are:

Headache
Nausea
Vomiting
Sensitivity to light
Difficulty in breathing

Precautions and Warnings

Pregnancy

Pregnant women should not take this medicine as it is unsafe during pregnancy. Tetracycline can cause adverse effects on the foetus, especially on bones development. It can also affect the liver of the pregnant woman.

Breast Feeding

It passes into the breastmilk and may affect the newborn baby. Hence it is not advised to breastfeed during the treatment. However, if the doctor suggests you to take Tetracycline depending on your condition then he may ask you to monitor the breastfed baby for the symptoms like diarrhoea or rashes.

Driving

Tetracycline does not affect your ability to drive or to use machinery, however, if you experience side effects like dizziness, you should avoid driving or using machines.

Alcohol

There is no known interaction between alcohol and Tetracycline. However, it is important to consult your doctor if you have a habit of regular drinking.

Other General Warnings

Talk to your doctor if

You may develop permanent discolouration of the tooth.
You have a kidney problem, then this medicine may lead to increased levels of urea, phosphates or acid in the blood, etc.
You miss your dose of antibiotics frequently, which may lead to treatment failure or bacterial resistance.
You may experience persistent diarrhoea or blood in stool, treatment should be stopped immediately.
You are taking this medicine for a long time and also you have a liver or kidney problem, as much caution is required in such patients. Your doctor may suggest you to monitor liver and kidney tests regularly during the treatment.
You may experience swelling and pain in the pancreas due to prolonged use.
You may suffer from muscle weakness or autoimmune disorders.
You may develop sensitivity to sunlight, in such a condition doctor may stop the medicine.

Mode of Action

How Does It Work?

Tetracycline acts by inhibiting the synthesis of proteins essential for bacterial growth. This helps in stopping the growth of bacteria and prevents them from increasing in numbers, which helps in treating certain infections.

Interactions

Interactions with other medicines

Medicines containing iron, calcium, aluminium, magnesium, bismuth and zinc salts, can affect the activity of this medicine, so it should be given between a gap of 2-3 hours.
It can prolong the action of anticoagulants like coumarin.
Concomitant use of tetracyclines and retinoids (acitretin, isotretinoin, tretinoin) can increase the risk of high blood pressure inside the brain.
If you take this medicine along with methoxyflurane which is used as an anaesthetic, can cause adverse effects to kidney like you may find the presence of nitrogen in urine reports.
Antidiarrhoeal medicines like kaolin-pectin and bismuth subsalicylate can affect the absorption of this medicine.
Water pills like furosemide can impair kidney function.
Antibiotics like penicillin can oppose the action of this medicine.
If you are diabetic, it can increase the effect of antidiabetic medicines like insulin, glimepiride.
Other medicines are atovaquone to treat pneumonia, antacids like sucralfate, lithium to treat the mental condition, digoxin to treat a heart condition, colestipol and cholestyramine, oral contraceptives, strontium ranelate for osteoporosis, ergotamine and methysergide to treat migraine can affect the absorption of this medicine.
It can cause adverse effects if used along with methotrexate to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

Interactions with food items

Take it as directed by your doctor; avoid taking it with milk, dairy products, antacids or iron/calcium supplements.

Dosage

Overdose

Symptoms of an overdose may include nausea, vomiting, cloudy urine or blood in the urine. If you think you have taken too much of this medicine contact your doctor immediately or visit the nearest hospital.

Missed a Dose

If you have missed taking any dose of this medicine take it as soon as you remember. If it's time for your next dose then skip the missed dose and continue with your regular dose schedule. Do not take a double dose of medicine to compensate for the missed one.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Tetracycline should not be used for viral infections and flu that occurs due to viruses. It is an antibiotic medicine used to treat bacterial infections.

No, you should complete the entire course of the treatment even if you feel better, as there can still be infection-causing bacteria present in the body, which can make the infection return in a few days. As incomplete treatment may result in an increased risk of re-infection and antibiotic resistance.

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