Minocycline - Side Effects

Side Effects

See also: List of dental abnormalities associated with cutaneous conditions

Minocycline may cause upset stomach, diarrhea, dizziness, unsteadiness, drowsiness, mouth sores, headache and vomiting. Minocycline increases sensitivity to sunlight. It has also been linked to cases of lupus. Minocycline can reduce the effectiveness of oral contraceptives. Prolonged use of minocycline over an extended period of time can lead to blue-gray skin and blue-gray staining of scar tissue is not permanent but it can take a very long time for the skin colour to return to normal; on the other hand a muddy brown skin colour in sun exposed areas is usually a permanent skin discolouration. Permanent blue discoloration of gums or teeth discoloration may also occur. Rare but serious side effects include fever, yellowing of the eyes or skin, stomach pain, sore throat, vision changes, and mental changes, including depersonalization.

Occasionally minocycline therapy may result in autoimmune disorders such as drug related lupus and auto-immune hepatitis; minocycline induced auto-immune hepatitis when it occurs usually occurs in men who also developed minocycline induced lupus, however, women are the most likely to develop minocycline induced lupus. Significant or complete recovery occurs in most people who develop minocycline induced autoimmune problems within a period of a couple of weeks to a year of cessation of minocycline therapy. Autoimmune problems emerge during chronic therapy but can sometimes occur after only short courses of a couple of weeks of therapy. Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) syndrome can occur during the first few weeks of therapy with minocycline.

Minocycline, but not other tetracyclines, can cause vestibular disturbances with dizziness, ataxia, vertigo and tinnitus. These effects are again thought to be related to minocycline's greater penetration into the central nervous system. Vestibular side effects are much more common in women than in men, occurring in 50% to 70% of women receiving minocycline. As a result of the frequency of this bothersome side effect, minocycline is rarely used in female patients.

Symptoms of an allergic reaction include rash, itching, swelling, severe dizziness, and trouble breathing. Minocycline has also been reported to very rarely cause idiopathic intracranial hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri), a side effect also more common in female patients.

Thyroid cancer has been reported in the post-marketing setting in association with minocycline products. When minocycline therapy is given over prolonged periods, monitoring for signs of thyroid cancer should be considered.

In 2009, the FDA added minocycline to its Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS); a list of medications under investigation by the FDA for potential safety issues. The AERS cites a potential link between the use of minocycline products and autoimmune disease in pediatric patients.