Lymecycline is an oral antibiotic and belongs to a group of antibiotics known as tetracyclines. Lymecycline is available as a capsule to swallow. When used to treat acne, it’s best to combine it with a cream or a gel (which will tackle the acne in different ways, and help prevent antibiotic resistance developing).

Find out more about the treatments we offer for acne.

Lymecycline is used to treat moderate to severe acne. It can be used to treat acne that is widespread on the face or other parts of the body, and which doesn’t respond to creams or gels alone.

Find out more about acne.

Lymecycline works by clearing the bacteria that can build up on your skin and cause acne. It kills the bacteria by stopping it from forming proteins they need to survive. Lymecycline also has anti-inflammatory properties, which helps to reduce the inflammation caused by acne.

Take one capsule, once a day. We suggest you take lymecycline with plenty of water and with food (preferably a full meal). This will help to reduce the risk of stomach-related side effects. It’s important to take lymecycline in an upright position and avoid lying down for at least 30 minutes after taking it. This will help reduce the risk of stomach-related side effects such as nausea and heartburn.

Lymecycline comes in 408mg capsules. The typical dosage prescribed to treat acne is one capsule taken once a day.

Lymecycline starts to work as soon as you take it but you may not see any significant improvement in your acne symptoms before 6 weeks of treatment. Significant improvement in acne symptoms is usually seen after 8 to 12 weeks and treatment can last between 3 to 6 months.

Like all medicines, lymecycline can cause side effects although not everybody gets them. Common side effects of lymecycline include an upset stomach, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and vomiting. It might also cause headaches.

Lymecycline can also cause your skin to become more sensitive to sunlight. You should make sure to wear sunscreen and avoid bright sunlight or sunlamps while taking lymecycline.

In rare cases, lymecycline can cause a serious allergic reaction. If you develop an allergic rash, wheezing, chest tightness or swelling of your tongue or face when taking lymecycline stop the medication and seek immediate medical help. Lymecycline can also very occasionally cause irritation or ulcers in the oesophagus if taken just before you lie down. Make sure to take lymecycline with plenty of water and food in the morning. If you need to take it in the evening, take it with food and water and wait 30 minutes before lying down.

Please read the Patient Information Leaflet for full details on possible side effects.

If you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or are trying to become pregnant you should not take lymecycline. Lymecycline should not be taken in pregnancy as it’s harmful to developing babies.

If you’re sexually active with a man, we recommend using effective contraception such as the pill, implant or coil. Your GP or healthcare provider will be able to suggest an alternative antibiotic to treat acne that is safe to take when pregnant or breastfeeding.

There are alternative treatments that can help to clear acne if you don’t want to take lymecycline. Several different types of prescription creams and gels are available to help clear spots and these can be used alone or in combination with a different antibiotic tablet.

If you’re a woman between the ages of 16 and 50 you can also try a combined oral contraceptive pill which can help to clear your skin. This can be taken in combination with a topical cream or gel to apply to your skin.

Click here to find out more about other prescription treatments we offer for acne.

There are steps you can take to improve your skin if you don’t want to take lymecycline for acne. Squeezing spots can spread the germs that cause acne, increase inflammation and lead to scarring. Oil-based make-up may make your acne worse by blocking pores. Use an unfragranced, oil free (also called “non-comedogenic”) cleanser daily to clean your skin but avoid scrubbing or washing more than twice a day which can dry your skin out too much. If you use a moisturiser, use one that’s oil-free and unfragranced.

There is some evidence that having a healthy, balanced diet may help to reduce acne symptoms and you should drink plenty of water.

You can have 1-2 drinks occasionally while you’re taking lymecycline. However, if you’re a heavy, regular drinker, then this may not be the best treatment for you. Alcohol reduces how well antibiotics work and can increase the risk of side effects such as dizziness or an upset stomach.

It’s safe to take paracetamol or ibuprofen for pain relief while on lymecycline.

If you’re on contraception to avoid getting pregnant, lymecycline does not stop any type of contraception from working. However, if you have severe diarrhoea for more than 24 hours, your contraceptive pill may not protect you from pregnancy. If you’ve missed a pill or need emergency contraception, click here.

If you need to take oral antibiotics such as lymecycline, we recommend that you include foods in your diet that help promote the “friendly” bacteria in your gut and protect it from being affected by the antibiotics. Foods that have live bacterial cultures such as kefir, live yoghurt or sauerkraut, along with a good amount of high fibre foods such as vegetables and fruit, may prove helpful.

Supplements labelled as ‘probiotic’ might also be helpful, but because of the way these products are regulated, it’s difficult to know if they deliver enough live bacteria to the gut to have a real effect. So it’s best to consume foods with live bacterial cultures while more research is being done in this field.