Lymecycline

Lymecycline is suitable for most adults and children aged 12 years and over, but always check before taking it.

Lymecycline is not suitable for some people. For example, check with your doctor if you have kidney or liver problems.

Lymecycline comes as capsules that you swallow. Follow the instructions that come with your medicine.

Common side effects of lymecycline include feeling sick or diarrhoea. More serious side effects can happen in rare cases.

Lymecycline is not recommended while you're pregnant. Always check with a pharmacist or doctor.

It can cause problems to take lymecycline with some other medicines, such as indigestion remedies, other antibiotics, or warfarin.

Most adults and children over the age of 12 years can take lymecycline.

Lymecycline is not suitable for some people. To make sure this medicine is safe for you, tell your doctor if you:

• have ever had an allergic reaction to lymecycline or any other medicine
• are pregnant, trying to get pregnant or breastfeeding
• have kidney problems
• have liver problems
• have an autoimmune condition called lupus
• have myasthenia gravis – a rare condition that causes muscle weakness

For acne, you'll usually take 1 capsule of lymecycline once a day, usually in the morning. Each capsule contains 408mg of lymecycline (equivalent to 300mg of tetracycline).

If you're taking it for an infection, follow your doctor or pharmacist's instructions about how much to take.

How to take it

Always swallow the capsule whole, with a glass of water.

You can take this medicine with or without food. But you're less likely to feel sick if you have it with food.

These common side effects of lymecycline happen in more than 1 in 100 people. There are things you can do to help cope with them:

Try taking lymecycline with or after food to see if that helps ease your symptoms. It may also help if you avoid rich or spicy food while you're taking this medicine.

Try to rest and relax. Putting a heat pad or covered hot water bottle on your stomach may also help. If you're in a lot of pain, speak to a pharmacist or doctor.

Drink plenty of water or other fluids to avoid dehydration. Signs of dehydration include peeing less than usual or having dark, strong-smelling pee. Do not take any other medicines to treat diarrhoea without speaking to a pharmacist or doctor.

If you take the combined pill or progestogen-only pill and have severe, watery diarrhoea, or any diarrhoea that lasts for more than 24 hours, your contraceptive pills may not protect you from pregnancy. Check the pill packet to find out what to do.

Make sure you rest and drink plenty of fluids. It's also best not to drink too much alcohol. Painkillers, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, are safe to take with lymecycline.

Keep taking the medicine, but tell your doctor if the the advice on how to cope does not help and side effects bother you or do not go away.

Serious side effects are rare.

Call a doctor or call 111 now if:

• you have dark pee, the whites of your eyes turn yellow or your skin turns yellow (this may be less obvious on brown or black skin) – this can be a sign of liver problems
• your skin becomes very sensitive to the sun

Serious allergic reaction

In rare cases, lymecycline may cause a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).

Call 999 now if:

• your lips, mouth, throat or tongue suddenly become swollen
• you're breathing very fast or struggling to breathe (you may become very wheezy or feel like you're choking or gasping for air)
• your throat feels tight or you're struggling to swallow
• your skin, tongue or lips turn blue, grey or pale (if you have black or brown skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of your hands or soles of your feet)
• you suddenly become very confused, drowsy or dizzy
• someone faints and cannot be woken up
• a child is limp, floppy or not responding like they normally do (their head may fall to the side, backwards or forwards, or they may find it difficult to lift their head or focus on your face)

You or the person who's unwell may also have a rash that's swollen, raised, itchy, blistered or peeling.

These can be signs of a serious allergic reaction and may need immediate treatment in hospital.

These are not all the side effects of lymecycline. For a full list see the leaflet inside your medicines packet.

You can report any suspected side effect using the Yellow Card safety scheme.

Visit the Yellow Card website for more information about reporting side effects.

Lymecycline is not recommended during pregnancy

It can affect teeth and bone development in your baby.

Your doctor will be able to talk to you about prescribing a different antibiotic.

If your baby is healthy, you might be able to take lymecycline while you're breastfeeding, but other medicines might be better. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist first, especially if you need to take it for longer than 3 weeks.

It's not known how much lymecycline passes into breast milk, but it's likely to be a low amount and should not cause any side effects in your baby if you take it for a short time.

There's a worry that lymecycline is given directly to children, and when taken for a long time, it can affect teeth and bone development. However, this is very unlikely to happen when babies have lymecycline through breast milk.

It's very rare for breastfed babies to have side effects from medicines you’re taking. But it's important to keep monitoring your baby if you’re taking any medicine while breastfeeding.

Contact your healthcare professional or call 111 as soon as possible if you notice that your baby:

• is not feeding as well as usual, has diarrhoea, or is being sick
• has a rash or oral thrush (a fungal infection in their mouth)
• seems unusually irritable

If your baby has any symptoms that are not listed, or you're worried about them, you can also call 111 or contact any healthcare professional.

There are some medicines that can affect how lymecycline works.

Tell your doctor if you're taking any other medicines before starting lymecycline, including:

• indigestion remedies (antacids)
• medicines which contain aluminium, bismuth, calcium, iron, kaolin, magnesium or zinc
• lithium, a medicine used for some mental health conditions
• other antibiotics
• quinapril, a medicine for high blood pressure or heart failure
• acne medicines containing retinoids and vitamin A, such as isotretinoin
• warfarin, a medicine that helps prevent blood clots
• tablets that remove extra fluid from your body (diuretics), such as furosemide
• medicines for epilepsy, like phenytoin or carbamazepine

These are not all the medicines that may cause problems if you take them with lymecycline. For a full list, see the leaflet inside your medicine packet.