Acne Medication Side Effects Inquiry

Name: Jessica
Question:

Hi,

I was wondering if I could get your opinion. I am currently taking two 100 mg minocine
pills a day & using topical 0.05% vitamin A acid cream with 4% emcinka & 2% clibdamycin
at night to treat acne. In the past I have also undergone laser hair removal at
sunnybrook women’s hospital to remove excess hair on my face. While in the past I have
gone while using the topical treatment before with no aversive reaction, I know minocine
is also supposed to make you sensitive to UV. However, I don’t know what sort of light
the laser uses. The website just says it uses a "LightSheer Diode laser". I asked my
dermatologist if he thought it would be ok to be treated again while on minocine and he
said it would be fine, but he also doesn’t believe minocine makes you more sensitive to
UV. So i was wondering if I could get a second opinion. Do you think it would be ok?

Thanks for your time,
Jessica

Dear Jessica,

Of all the tetracycline antibiotics, minocycline is the least UV sensitive. Diode lasers are operating at 800nm while UV is between 250-400 nm. Therefore it is fine to have the laser done.