Doxycycline hyclate is a broad-spectrum tetracycline antibiotic used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections. Its uses include:
- Treatment of respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and sinusitis.
- Treatment of skin conditions including severe acne, rosacea, and other inflammatory skin diseases.
- Treatment of sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, lymphogranuloma venereum, and nongonococcal urethritis.
- Treatment of infections caused by tick bites, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, typhus, Q fever, rickettsialpox, and other rickettsial diseases.
- Treatment of eye infections such as trachoma and inclusion conjunctivitis.
- Treatment of specific bacterial infections including plague, cholera, anthrax (including inhalational anthrax post-exposure), psittacosis, and relapsing fever.
- Prevention of malaria in travelers.
- Adjunctive therapy in acute intestinal amebiasis and periodontitis (gum disease).
- Alternative treatment when penicillin is contraindicated.
Doxycycline works by inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis, thereby stopping the growth of bacteria. It is also effective against certain parasites, including the malaria parasite, though the exact mechanism against parasites is less well understood
