Can Your Acne Medicine Prevent STIs?

You’ve heard of the morning-after pill to prevent pregnancy. Now, research shows that an old antibiotic may work as a morning-after pill to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Louisiana currently has the third highest number of cases in the nation for all three of the most common STIs – syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea. We now have new hope for reducing those numbers. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this year showed a 65% reduction in those three STIs among people who took doxycycline within 24-72 hours after sex. Doxycycline is a cheap and widely available antibiotic commonly used to treat acne, urinary tract infections, respiratory tract infections, gum disease and more. Just one dose of doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis, called doxy-PEP for short, significantly lowers the risk of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. The group taking doxy-PEP in the study saw such significant results that the trial was stopped early so the control group could start receiving the benefits as well.

Larger studies are needed to further weigh the risks and benefits of doxy-PEP. In the meantime, the CDC is expected to recommend doxy-PEP later this year for gay and bisexual men who have had an STI within the previous year. Men who have sex with men are currently disproportionally affected by STIs. If you’ve had an STI in the last year, talk to your doctor about how you can prevent future infections.