- Take Oracea exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.
- Take Oracea once daily in the morning on an empty stomach, at least one hour before or two hours after a meal.
- Do not take this medication with antacids or products that contain calcium, aluminum, magnesium, or iron. Oracea may not work as well.
- Swallow capsules whole. Do not chew, crush, or open capsules.
- Take Oracea with plenty of water (or other fluids) while in an upright position, in order to lower the risk of irritating your throat.
- Do not lie down immediately after taking Oracea.
- Avoid direct sunlight or artificial sunlight, such as a tanning booth or sunlamp as you could get severe sunburn. Use sunscreen and wear clothes that cover your skin while out in sunlight.
Missed Dose
If you miss a dose, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the regular time. Do not take two doses of Oracea at the same time.
Oracea may cause serious side effects, including:
- Harm to an unborn baby. See “Pregnant” section.
- Permanent teeth discoloration. Oracea may permanently turn a baby or child’s teeth yellow-grey-brown during tooth development. Oracea should not be used during tooth development. Tooth development happens in the last half of pregnancy, and from birth to 8 years of age.
- Intestine infection (pseudomembranous colitis). Pseudomembranous colitis can happen with most antibiotics, including Oracea. Call your doctor right away if you get diarrhea or bloody stools.
- Immune system reactions including a lupus-like syndrome, hepatitis, and inflammation of blood or lymph vessels (vasculitis). Stop taking Oracea and tell your doctor right away if you experience these symptoms:
- joint pain
- fever
- rash
- body weakness
- Discoloration (hyperpigmentation). Oracea can cause darkening of your skin, scars, teeth, gums, nails, and whites of your eyes.
- Benign intracranial hypertension, also called pseudotumor cerebri. This is a condition where there is high pressure in the fluid around the brain. This swelling may lead to vision changes and permanent vision loss. Stop taking Oracea and tell your doctor right away if you have:
- blurred vision
- vision loss
- unusual headaches
Do not take Oracea if you are allergic to doxycycline or other medicines in the tetracycline class.
Oracea should not be used in infants and children less than 8 years of age because it may cause stained teeth in infants and children.
Take Oracea exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.
The recommended Oracea dose is one Oracea Capsule (40 mg) taken once daily in the morning on an empty stomach, preferably at least one hour prior to or two hours after meals.
Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.
Tetracycline antibiotics have been detected in human breast milk. Because of the possibility for adverse reactions in nursing infants from Oracea, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or to stop use of this medication. The importance of the drug to the mother should be considered.
Tell your doctor about all of the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:
- oral contraceptives (birth control pills)
- warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven)
- penicillin antibiotics
- proton pump inhibitors such as:
- dexlansoprazole (Dexilant)
- esomeprazole (Nexium)
- lansoprazole (Prevacid)
- omeprazole (Prilosec, in Zegerid)
- pantoprazole (Protonix)
- rabeprazole (Aciphex)
- antacids that contain aluminum, calcium, or magnesium
- products containing iron or bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto Bismol)
- medications containing isotretinoin (Accutane, Amnesteem, Claravis, Sotret) or acitretin (Soriatane)
- medications to treat seizures, such as carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Epitol, Equetro, Tegretol), phenytoin (Dilantin, Phenytek)
This is not a complete list of Oracea drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
Oracea is a prescription medication used for the treatment of inflammatory lesions (pimples and bumps) of rosacea in adults. It is not used to reduce the redness of rosacea.
This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
Before you take Oracea tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions. Especially tell your doctor if you:
- have kidney or liver problems
- have diarrhea or watery stools
- have vision (eye) problems
- have had surgery on your stomach
- have or had a yeast or fungal infection in your mouth or vagina
- are pregnant or breastfeeding
Tell your doctor about all of the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
Oracea should be taken on an empty stomach, at least one hour before or two hours after a meal. Taking Oracea with milk or food may decrease the amount of medication absorbed from your stomach.
Medications can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of Oracea, there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving this medication.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories – A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.
Oracea falls into category D, meaning that there is significant risk to an unborn baby. The use of tetracycline antibiotics during tooth development (last half of pregnancy, infancy, and childhood up to the age of 8 years) may cause permanent discoloration of the teeth (yellow-gray-brown).
If you are pregnant, discuss these risks with your healthcare provider before using Oracea.
Oracea (generic: doxycycline) is a prescription medication used to treat the pimples and bumps of rosacea. Doxycycline, the active ingredient in Oracea, belongs to a group of drugs called tetracycline antibiotics. While doxycycline is usually used to kill bacteria, the low-dose formulation of Oracea works to reduce the bumps and blemishes of rosacea because of its anti-inflammatory properties.
Oracea comes in capsules containing a combination of immediate-release and delayed release beads. It is taken once daily, in the morning, on an empty stomach. Swallow capsules whole. Do not chew, crush, or open capsules.
Common side effects include sore nose and throat, diarrhea, and sinus infection.
- Store Oracea at room temperature between 59°F to 86°F (15°C to 30°C).
- Keep Oracea in a tightly closed container.
- Keep Oracea and all medications out of the reach of children and pets.
Serious side effects can occur. See “Drug Precautions” section.
Common side effects include:
- sore nose and throat
- sinus infection
- fungus infection
- flu-like symptoms
- diarrhea
- stomach bloating
- stomach pain
- high blood pressure
- change in certain blood test values (aspartate aminotransferase)
Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.
These are not all the possible side effects of Oracea. For more information, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Oracea is available in 40 mg capsules. One 40 mg capsule of Oracea contains 30 mg of immediate release beads and 10 mg of delayed release beads.
Inactive ingredients: hypromellose, iron oxide red, iron oxide yellow, methacrylic acid copolymer, polyethylene glycol, Polysorbate 80, sugar spheres, talc, titanium dioxide, and triethyl citrate.
If you take too much Oracea, call your doctor right away or seek emergency medical attention.