Doxycycline (Oracea) is a popular OTC tetracycline antibiotics drug that is commonly used to treat bacterial infections such as acne, eye infections, respiratory tract infections, dental infections, urinary tract infections, and some STIs, and to prevent or manage malaria.
Doxycycline works by inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis, and the spread of the bacteria.
How do You Take Doxycycline?
You should take Doxycycline in the morning before food, and at night after your dinner.
The dose you take per session depends on the infection you’re treating and the severity.
For mild symptoms, you can take 40mg of Doxycycline without food, and take foods 2 hours later.
If you’re taking 100mg of this antibiotic, you can take it with food or after your meal. The most important thing is to avoid acidic foods and drinks while taking Doxycycline.
If you do not like taking pills, you can open the capsules and sprinkle them in food or drink.
While taking this medication, you may experience digestive issues such as vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, skin irritation, and yeast infections.
If you experience any of these side effects, you should consult your doctor for help, and also follow the instructions on your prescription note.
How Long after taking Doxycycline can You Drink Milk
It’s advisable not to take tea and milk while on doxycycline medication. Some of the classes of foods to avoid when taking doxycycline are dairy products and acidic foods.
Not only that you can not take milk with doxycycline, but you also should not take yogurt, cheese, ice cream, butter, or foods made with dairy products in less than 5 hours before or after taking doxycycline pills.
Also, you should avoid taking antacids, or supplements containing calcium, magnesium, iron, or aluminum at least 4 hours before and after taking this drug.
The reason you should drink milk 4 to 5 hours before or after doxycycline is that it takes almost 5 hours for doxycycline to take full effect and 4 days to clear from your body.
Dairy products such as milk contain nutrients such as calcium, iron, and magnesium. Calcium particularly reacts with this drug, interfering with its absorption, hence, making it less effective on the bacteria growth.
How Long after taking Doxycycline Can You Drink Coffee
While coffee isn’t a dairy product, it’s acidic, therefore, it’s a good idea to space out the drinking of coffee and doxycycline by a couple of hours to ensure optimal absorption of the medication.
Doxycycline itself is acidic, therefore, you can not take acidic foods or acidic beverages like citrus fruit juice, coffee, tea, soda drinks, and carbonated drinks so you don’t increase the acid level in your stomach and system.
You should also not take caffeine while taking doxycycline as it can increase its effects on your body, and coffee contains caffeine.
How Long after taking Doxycycline can You Drink Alcohol?
It’s not advisable to take alcohol when taking drugs, including antibiotics. While you can still take milk and coffee a few hours before and after taking doxycycline, you should not take alcohol while on this medication.
Alcohol can affect your brain and motor functions easily while on drugs, and limit the efficacy of doxycycline.
The negative effects of alcohol on doxycycline can vary from person to person. While some people may not have any issues taking this drug, alcohol can negate the effects of the drug on other people.
Generally, you should finish your dose and wait for 2 to 3 days before you drink alcohol.
If you just want to take a couple of sips, you should do only 5 hours after ingesting doxycycline pills.