Tetracycline side effects

Tetracycline is an antibiotic effective against many micro-organisms, including gram positive bacteria and gram negative bacteria. Therefore, it is regarded as a broad spectrum antibiotic . Tetracycline can have several side effects, but everyone taking tetracycline  may not experience all of them. Most of these side effects are minor ones. So, you should take medical advice only if you experience them persistently. It is also important that you understand that some of these side effects are unavoidable. You should never stop taking the drug just because some minor side effects. If they are really disturbing, do not stop the drug with out medical advice. In such instances, meet you doctor and seek help. If you stop taking antibiotics half way through, drug resistance can develop.

If you are having chronic kidney disease or dehydration, your doctor might prescribe you tetracycline with caution because, it can cause azotemia, hypophosphotemia (reduced phosphate levels), and acidosis. It can also cause BUN and Fanconi’s syndrome. Gastrointestinal disturbances are well identified side effects  of tetracycline. You might feel bulky loose stools, diarrhea, nausea, indigestion and abdominal pain when taking tetracycline. Tetracycline is known to cause discoloration of the developing teeth. This occurs as a result of tetracycline deposition within developing teeth.  It also causes hypoplasia of the enamel. Therefore it is not given to pregnant ladies and children under 12 years of age. Tetracycline can have effects on the skin in several ways. It can give rise to maculopapular and erythematous rashes, exfoliative dermatitis and onycholysis.

Benign intracranial hypertension is another side effect of tetracycline. It has found to occur among women who were given tetracycline to treat acne. The pressure within the skull was found to be increased in these patients. The symptoms of benign intracranial hypertension are headache, blurring of vision and nausea. Fortunately, the symptoms reduce with stoppage of treatment.

Liver is another organ affected by tetracycline. It can cause liver failure, and can increase liver enzyme levels. Tetracycline also causes reduction of blood cells. It reduces the number of red blood cells, platelets, neutrophils and eosinophils. Hypersensitivity reactions are important side effects that everybody taking tetracycline should know about. It can even cause anaphylaxis which is life threatening. Therefore if you develop symptoms of hypersensitivity reaction, you should take immediately stop the drug and seek medical attention.

 Every drug has its own side effect profile. But, their benefits are far better than the side effects. Therefore, one should never stop a drug due to a minor side effect, because it might cause more harm than good. If you develop disturbing side effects, take immediate medical advice. Never try to stop or adjust doses by yourself.