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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Long Does Doxycycline Hydrate Stay In The System?

I have been taking doxycycline hydrate. I had too much sun exposure and now my skin is very sensitive to sunlight . My right hand knuckle is swollen and skin very sensitive. My left ankle is also very sensitive and burning last night. My ears are also very warm. I stopped the medication a day and and a half ago. How long will this last? And should I try to be takingsomethingto help counteract what is going on? I have been taking this for about 7 days. Developed a cold in the process, feeling better today except for these in burning effect. YYYY@YYYY
Thu, 23 Jan 2020
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi,

Incomplete data like age, gender, body weight, dose and purpose of taking Doxycycline, any associated medical illness not mentioned. Based on the history given you seem to have developed photosensitivity reaction apparently caused by the antibiotic Doxycycline. It will take approximately 5 days before doxycycline is eliminated from your body system.

The elimination half life of doxycycline is between 16 to 22 hours (for healthy adults) which is the time it takes for your body to reduce the plasma levels by half.It usually takes around 5.5 x elimination half-life (hours) before a drug is completely cleared from your system. So if we take the maximum elimination half life of 22 hours, it would take 121 hours (5.5 x 22 hours) approximately 5 days before the medicine is eliminated from your system.

It also depends upon how much and how often you have taken the drug, age and health – older age and poor health will generally increase the time the drug stays in your system and the body mass – generally the bigger you are the longer a drug will remain in your system.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,
Dr. Mohammed Taher Ali, General & Family Physician
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How Long Does Doxycycline Hydrate Stay In The System?

Hi, Incomplete data like age, gender, body weight, dose and purpose of taking Doxycycline, any associated medical illness not mentioned. Based on the history given you seem to have developed photosensitivity reaction apparently caused by the antibiotic Doxycycline. It will take approximately 5 days before doxycycline is eliminated from your body system. The elimination half life of doxycycline is between 16 to 22 hours (for healthy adults) which is the time it takes for your body to reduce the plasma levels by half.It usually takes around 5.5 x elimination half-life (hours) before a drug is completely cleared from your system. So if we take the maximum elimination half life of 22 hours, it would take 121 hours (5.5 x 22 hours) approximately 5 days before the medicine is eliminated from your system. It also depends upon how much and how often you have taken the drug, age and health – older age and poor health will generally increase the time the drug stays in your system and the body mass – generally the bigger you are the longer a drug will remain in your system. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. Mohammed Taher Ali, General & Family Physician