Achromycin V

Achromycin V is an antibiotic or antibacterial drug, used to treat several infections including acne, chlamydia, gonorrhea, urinary tract infection and others. However, this medication is not effective in treating infections caused by viruses such as common colds and flu.

Instructions

Read your medication guide and follow your doctor’s prescription at all times.

• Take tetracycline orally/ by mouth on empty stomach (1 hour before or 2 hours after meal) per doctor’s prescription. However, take this medication with food if you experience stomach upset.
• The dosage depends on your medical condition, treatment response or weight (for children over 8 years old but tetracycline must not be given to children below 8 years old). Do not adjust your dose without your doctor’s recommendation.
• Avoid alcohol intake and activities that require mental alertness (i.e. driving, operating machineries) because this medication can cause dizziness.
• If you are taking products that contain magnesium, aluminum or calcium and other vitamins or minerals (i.e. antacids, dairy products, iron or zinc supplement), keep a 2- 3 hours interval before or after taking tetracycline to ensure full absorption of this medication.
• Avoid over exposure to sunlight and other artificial sources of ultraviolet rays (i.e. tanning booth) because Relafen can make you hypersensitive to sunlight. As much as possible, wear protective clothes (i.e. long sleeves) or apply sun screen when you are outdoors.
• Continue taking this medication on regular schedule (same time of the day). Do not stop taking this medication abruptly without consulting your doctor to prevent relapse of infection.

Inform your doctor immediately if your condition aggravates or does not improve.

Take your missed dose as soon as possible. However, make sure that the time interval between the missed and the next dose is not too close. Otherwise, stick with the regular schedule and leave out the missed dose. Do not double dose to cover up a missed dose. Record your missed doses and inform your doctor immediately if you missed several doses.

Interactions

Achromycin V may interact with:

• Acitretin
• Alitretinoin
• Tretinoin (taken by mouth or oral preparation)
• Digoxin
• Live bacterial vaccines
• Warfarin
• Hormonal birth control pills, patch or ring and
• Penicillins

Some drugs may either lessen the beneficial effects or worsen the side effects of tetracycline. Likewise, tetracycline may make some drugs less efficient or intensify their side effects.

Make sure to inform your doctor about all other drugs you are currently taking or using (prescribed and non-prescribed medications including vitamins, minerals and herbal products) to check for possible drug interaction with tetracycline.

Never alter the doses of other medications while on tetracycline, neither stop nor start any medicine without the doctor’s recommendation.

Side Effects

There are no side effects known aside from a possible allergic reaction in people who have previous or unknown hypersensitivity to the drug.

Watch out for signs of allergic reactions such as:

• Rash
• Itching
• Swelling

Warnings

Before taking tetracycline, tell your health care provider if you have/are:

• Any allergies to any substance, food or medication, particularly to tetracycline or other tetracyclines (i.e. Doxycycline)
• Medical history or a present condition such as:
  • Kidney or Liver disease
• Difficulty swallowing
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and
• Pregnant, planning to get pregnant or currently breastfeeding a baby (Tetracycline can harm the unborn baby and it can pass through breast milk that may harm the nursing child. The risks and benefits of using this medication during pregnancy must be discussed well with your doctor.)