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Doxy and sunlight

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Posted 4/23/2014 5:54 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I have read that you cannot be in the sun while on Doxy. Is this issue so bad that you cannot cut the grass or be outdoors?

Are any of you on Doxy during the summer?, and if so, what is your experience with being outdoors and the side effects?

Also, I drive for about two hours in the early evening against the sun which means that the sun is shining on my face and arms for two hours. Can this be an issue if I take Doxy?
Posted 4/23/2014 6:23 PM (GMT 0)
Some folks are more sensitive than others. Most LLMDs don't prescribe Doxy when sun is strong. Minocycline has less sun sensitivity issues. Be careful. Sunscreen doesn't help much, and even your fingers may burn just from driving. Get some light cotton gloves.

There is another tread going on this topic and it just got bumped to page 2.
Posted 4/23/2014 8:56 PM (GMT 0)
yes, scroll down to page 2 - I started a thread on doxy and the sun. I seriously can't handle it. My hands are getting burned even though I put loads of sunscreen on. Be very careful. I am managing it now, bc the temps are cool enough, so I can wear clothing completely covering everything except my hands. but my hands are pretty messed up from just being in my backyard =(

really tickbite, is mino less of an issue? bc both doxy and mino are tetracyclines and I thought they were all the same - but if you have heard that minocycline isn't as bad, I would love to know, bc maybe its an option for me, thanks!!
Posted 4/24/2014 8:43 PM (GMT 0)
Before I knew I had Lyme, I got rocky mountain spotted fever and was treated with doxy. I was outside on a gray cloudy day and got sunburned so extremely bad (while wearing sunscreen). It was my first sunburn, too (well I think I got slightly pink shoulders once when I was little, but I wouldn't really call that sunburn). Even though I'm half Irish, my tan skin was just never prone to burning, I could be outside without sunscreen and not burn, but not while on doxy. The burn was so bad my doctor had me use prescription burn cream. It was probably the worst pain I had ever been in. I had to be outside the next day and wore long sleeve and spf 100 but I could still feel my skin burning. If I were to ever take doxy again, I would not go outside during daylight at all. It just isn't worth it.

Driving in your car might be fine, though. Just wear long sleeve and gloves to be safe.
Posted 4/25/2014 7:09 AM (GMT 0)
It takes sunscreen from 15 to 30 minutes to be absorbed into the skin. That is when you are fully protected. If the skin is thicker, it may take longer. SPF 15 or higher is advised but if you are in a high sun area, you could have issues.
Posted 4/25/2014 10:54 AM (GMT 0)
Well that's a great tip thanks. I will try that this weekend and see if it works. I will b walking around with the family all day at jim thorpe pa!
Posted 4/25/2014 11:37 AM (GMT 0)
Chapelle,

Ask your Dr about mino, but I took it from April through all last summer to Feb with no sunburn issues. I just made the change to Doxy in March after a short ABX break to do a few rounds of Coartem. I switched back to mino last Sunday. Never had any issues with tetra either, but we all may react differently.

My burn has diminished greatly since last Saturday, but still have lots of red on my face.
Posted 4/25/2014 11:54 AM (GMT 0)
As I answered to Chapelle's post, I was on Doxy all of July and August 2 years ago. Sunscreen does not work with Doxy and I put it on at home a good half hour before I went out. Even sitting under an umbrella in the shade, I still got sun poisoning. It feels like gasoline was poured on your skin and set on fire. It's crazy! Full clothing protection is the only thing that seemed to help. We live near a lake and spend the summers there. Boy, that was such a tough summer to get through! I was fine on Suprax and Azithromycin last summer.
Posted 4/25/2014 1:00 PM (GMT 0)
I did ask my dr about mino and she has not has enough sucess with it so she doesn't like to prescribe it. I am so close to the end I don't want to mess my treatment up. So I'm sticking with it and am getting some of those rash guard shirts that cover the hands too! The real hot weather is still a few weeks away.
Posted 4/25/2014 1:29 PM (GMT 0)
Hopefully your Doxy treatment will be complete before the summer fully kicks in. Don't forget the nose! My nose got beet red as my arms. Forehead got pretty bad too. Maybe zinc oxide or strong coverage makeup would help? And definitely a sun hat! Sun hat alone won't help as the sun rays do bounce off and still get your face. It will still cause sun poisoning on Doxy.
Posted 4/25/2014 1:36 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks! Already have a sunhat and it really helps my face bc I put sunblock and makeup and I haven't had any trouble. If the doxy doesn't cut it or if I'm not healed by the summer I will probably switch to amoxil. She wanted to maybe put me on ceftin when the time comes but I'm allergic to cephalesporins.
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