One antibiotic covering chest infections, acne, rosacea, Lyme disease and malaria prevention — with two precautions that genuinely matter.
Explained by a GMC-registered GP, not a leaflet
Honest about what we can and cannot prescribe remotely
Side effects given the same weight as benefits
Your NHS records in the room, with your consent
Care led personally by Dr Khan
Attentive, unhurried care that listens properly
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Registered with the Care Quality Commission
Doxycycline is a tetracycline antibiotic. It stops bacteria making the proteins they need to multiply, which allows the immune system to clear the infection.
It is broad-spectrum and covers organisms that penicillins miss entirely — including the atypical bacteria behind some pneumonias, the organism causing Lyme disease, and chlamydia.
It also has an anti-inflammatory action independent of its antibacterial effect, which is why it works in rosacea at doses too low to kill bacteria at all.
1. Swallow it with a full glass of water, sitting or standing, and stay upright for at least 30 minutes. Doxycycline lodged in the oesophagus causes a painful ulcer. This is not a theoretical risk — it happens, and it is entirely preventable.
2. Cover up in the sun. Doxycycline causes photosensitivity, and people burn severely on doses of sun they would normally tolerate. This matters especially for malaria prevention, since the destinations are sunny by definition. High-factor sunscreen, and cover exposed skin.
Three to seven days for chest infection, seven days for chlamydia, 21 days for Lyme disease, and several months for acne — which is expected, not a mistake. For malaria prevention it starts two days before travel and continues four weeks after leaving.
Alternatives exist for every indication above, so being unable to take doxycycline is not a barrier to treatment.
No routine blood monitoring is needed for a short course. Long-term acne treatment is reviewed periodically for continued need.
Yes, where the indication is clear and the assessment supports it.
Doxycycline is one of the more useful antibiotics to prescribe remotely because several of its indications — acne, rosacea, malaria prevention, and chlamydia treatment following a positive test — are assessed well by history and, where relevant, by photographs.
What we will not do is prescribe it for a cough that is almost certainly viral. Most chest infections in otherwise well adults are viral and settle without antibiotics.
For suspected Lyme disease, timing matters and we will treat on clinical grounds where the history fits — blood tests are unreliable in the first few weeks and a negative early test does not exclude it.
Doxycycline is an inexpensive generic. A short private course typically costs less than the England NHS prescription charge; longer acne courses cost more but remain modest.
The low-dose modified-release preparation licensed for rosacea is considerably more expensive than standard capsules, and standard doxycycline is often used instead.
For malaria prevention it is usually the cheapest of the options, which is a genuine advantage over atovaquone-proguanil for longer trips.
Complete the course as prescribed. For acne, stopping early is the commonest reason treatment appears to fail — it takes six to eight weeks to show a real effect and three months for a fair trial.
Acne treatment should not continue on antibiotics indefinitely. Courses are limited to a few months to reduce resistance, with topical treatment continued long term.
Because a capsule that sticks in the oesophagus causes a painful ulcer. A full glass of water and 30 minutes upright prevents it entirely.
Yes, and more than people expect. This catches out travellers taking it for malaria prevention especially. Sunscreen and covered skin, not just for the first few days.
Moderate alcohol does not stop doxycycline working. Heavy regular drinking speeds its breakdown and can reduce its effect.
Six to eight weeks before a real change, three months for a fair trial, and often some worsening first. Stopping at three weeks is why many people believe it did not work.
No. Alternatives exist for every indication — tell us if there is any chance you are pregnant.
Not automatically. Most tick bites do not transmit infection. An expanding circular rash, or flu-like illness in the weeks after a bite in a tick area, does warrant treatment — and treatment starts on the clinical picture rather than waiting for a blood test, which is unreliable early on.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 30, 2026
On this page
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Told when a test isn’t needed
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£40 for 20 minutes
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Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
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