Help needed for horrible sunburn from doxycycline

Hi there.

I went on vacation two weeks ago to Florida and I was totally neurotic about putting on suncreen. I know that being on doxy can cause a problem for some people in the sun. So I took precautions. However, I got burnt on my hands. Its been two weeks since I got burnt and I still am in pain. It itches SSSOOOO bad. And it often feels like pins and needled in the area that got burnt. I went to see my internist and she gave me topical steroids. That made it worse!

Is there anything I can try that has worked for any of you? Do I need to stop doxy in order to heal from this? Thanks so much!

Evanston1, I have read of this on other message boards and the response that most say is go to the doctor and ask to be put on something besides doxy.

You obviously are photosensitive and if you don't cover your hand and are out in the sun it will get worse.

I don't know if gloves are appropriate for you, but you may need to wear them until you heal. There are light weight white cotton gloves in most pharmacy stores in the make up department.

Sunburn is raw skin and it can get burnt again on top of that sunburn. So covering the burn is important.

And a call to the doc for a different antibiotic is advisable.

I'm so sorry. Sunburns can be painful.

Just an FYI - I have been on minocycline (same class as doxy) - and I was fine on that one.
I took Mino the next summer...no issues.

If you end up switching - that one might not cause the same problem.

Thanks for the info. I had asked my doctor if I could switch to minocycline before the trip and she said it would be no different from the doxy in terms of sun sensitivity. She said I could stop the doxy for the trip, but I am doing really well with my healing and I did not want to derail any improvements so I decided to stay on it.

Are there any other drugs outside of the tetracycline class that act in the same way as the tetracyclines do? I want to go off doxy and switch to something else with warmer weather coming up. I am miserable with the burns on my hands and do not want this to happen again.

I've tried everything.... aloe, moisturizer, swimming in chlorine, hydrocortisone cream, a stronger steroid cream, cold compresses. Nothing is helping it heal. And its been two weeks solid. I am just bummed because I have been feeling a lot better. And now I have to deal with my hands. Always something so it seems...

for s sunburn I use cold water and apple cider vinegar.

I get a cold water wash cloth and put about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar on it. I dab that on my sunburn.

Then I liberally put coconut oil on the area.

I have a slew of fair skinned grand children and they either wear off the sunblock in the water or dirt or they just are out too long.

Something cool is always best. Steroids are not good!

I get pillows for the grands. One to lay on and one to get cool in the air. Once the pillow they are laying on gets warm they switch to the cold one. This goes on all night long so the are comfy.

And they are all lathered up in coconut oil.

I swear when they come to my house they are closer to the sun or something.

I will second the aloe vera suggestion!

I took doxy as a malaria prophylaxis years back (before I got lyme) and also got sun burnt hands, it was really unpleasant- you have my sympathy!! Hope it heals up soon!

When I started abx for lyme I was given clarithromycin as an alternative since I live in Greece ans staying out of tbe sun is err, yeah, tricky unless you fancy nocturnal, lol!!

I would also caution on the topical steroids, given that you are treating lyme- I was given them for my 'ringworm' (read misdiagnosed EM rash) and b**ger me did it make the whole area itch and burn and sting and go tingly!! Clearly I stopped putting that on, lol!!

I've been using pure aloe 100%. I stopped the doxycycline today and I will restart on Saturday when we head back from Florida. It isn't worth it to me to not be able to enjoy the sunshine while I am out here. Plus, my hands are killing me. Up all night because they itch/burn so bad. It will be interesting to see if the burn goes away after stopping the doxy.

I live in Chicago so I think I can get away with doxy for another month or so before warm weather arrives. But I will need my dr to get an alternative on board soon. Doxycycline has been a super helpful medicine for me, but I've been on it since October and I think it is time to swap it out. I am also on Ceftin and Alinia.

I didn't realize you were still on vacation in Florida - sorry I misunderstood.
Yes, good idea to not take it since it's difficult to stay out of the sun.

It will need some time to heal now.

Do you know what the half life of doxy is? I'm just wondering how long before most is out of your system.

Thank you! I plan on wearing heavy duty sunscreen and avoiding the beach until Thursday. Hopefully no doxy Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday will allow my hand to heal and be able to hang on beach Thursday.... under an umbrella of course. But still-- I will take it!

I found an old post on here about my sunburned hands. And mine were red and itchy, too. with some bumps.

When I was prescribed the doxy - I had just received my Igenex positive test result and didn't have a LL Dr.

I went to my GP and she said "What would you like me to do?"
And I asked for a prescription for Doxy.