Doxycycline 100mg Capsules – 7-Day Chlamydia Course (14 Capsules)

Doxycycline 100mg is a prescription-only antibiotic from the tetracycline group. It is the first-choice treatment in UK guidance for uncomplicated chlamydia. At Ways Pharmacy it is supplied only to people aged 16 and over who have a positive chlamydia result from a laboratory NAAT test, and only after a pharmacist has confirmed that the infection is uncomplicated and doxycycline is suitable for you.

This medicine is not supplied "just in case". If you have not been tested — including if a partner has tested positive but you have not — please book a chlamydia test first, or visit an NHS sexual health clinic, which can test and treat partners free of charge. Rapid tests that give a result in minutes are not accepted.

How to access this medicine

1. Choose and pay. Check out with the 7-day course.
2. Online health questionnaire and ID check. After payment you complete a short questionnaire and confirm your identity by uploading photo ID or showing it on a video call. The questionnaire asks about your test result, symptoms, health and medicines — please have your result ready to share.
3. Pharmacist speaks with you. A GPhC-registered pharmacist contacts you by phone or video to go through your answers and confirm whether this medicine is suitable. The consultation is confidential. If you are 16 or 17 you can use the online service without a parent or guardian.
4. If suitable, supplied the same day. Orders approved by 3pm on a weekday are posted the same day (see our shipping policy), or you can collect from Holborn once approved. If the medicine is not suitable — including when the pharmacist recommends self-care instead — you receive a full refund.

There is no separate consultation fee. If the medicine you chose is not suitable, the pharmacist may suggest another option.

About this medicine

Dosage

• Take one 100mg capsule twice a day for 7 days (14 capsules in total)
• Swallow each dose with a full glass of water while sitting or standing, and do not take it just before lying down or going to bed
• Keep indigestion remedies, iron, calcium and zinc supplements away from your dose, as they can stop doxycycline working
• Avoid strong sun and sunbeds during the course and use sun protection, because your skin may burn more easily
• Finish the whole course, even if you feel well. Contact the pharmacist if you vomit soon after a dose or miss doses

Avoid all sex, including oral sex, until you have finished the course, any symptoms have gone and your recent partners have been tested and treated. Recent partners should be told so they can get tested; the pharmacist will talk this through with you. People under 25 are advised to test again around 3 months later because reinfection is common.

If doxycycline is not suitable — for example in pregnancy — the pharmacist may suggest azithromycin instead. See our chlamydia treatment service for both options.

Warnings and who should not take this medicine

• People under 16 — please visit an NHS sexual health clinic
• Anyone without a positive NAAT result for chlamydia
• Pelvic or lower tummy pain, pain during sex, testicular pain or swelling, fever or feeling unwell — these can mean the infection has spread and needs a clinic or GP
• Severe rectal symptoms, or suspected lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV)
• A positive gonorrhoea result at the same time — see our gonorrhoea treatment page
• Pregnancy — doxycycline is not used in pregnancy under this service
• Anyone allergic to doxycycline or another tetracycline antibiotic
• Difficulty swallowing or problems with the oesophagus, liver problems, or medicines that interact with doxycycline such as retinoids (for example isotretinoin) or blood thinners — tell the pharmacist everything you take
• Tell the pharmacist if you are breastfeeding

Possible side effects

Common side effects include feeling or being sick, stomach discomfort, diarrhoea, indigestion, headache, rash and sunburn-like skin reactions. Taking it with plenty of water while upright helps prevent irritation of the food pipe; stop and seek advice if swallowing becomes painful. Get urgent medical help for signs of a serious allergic reaction, such as swelling of the face, lips or throat or difficulty breathing, or for severe or persistent diarrhoea.

Regulatory information

• Legal status: Prescription-only medicine (POM), supplied under a Patient Group Direction after pharmacist assessment
• Pharmacy: Ways Pharmacy, 77 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4ET · GPhC-registered premises 9012227
• Patient information leaflet: electronic Medicines Compendium (emc)
• Report suspected side effects through the MHRA Yellow Card Scheme

This page gives factual information about a prescription-only medicine and is not an advertisement to the public. It is supplied only after a pharmacist has assessed that it is suitable for you.