Some medications can cause uncomfortable side effects at high temperatures.

Heat waves It brings many health risks—like overheating and dehydration—but your medications can cause problems on very hot days.

“Many drugs are affected by heat,” Michael Redlener, medical director of the Mount Sinai West Emergency Department in New York, told Verywell.

Some medications affect your thermoregulation—or the process that keeps your body temperature stable—and your fluid balance. Therefore, When the temperature rises and you sweat more than usual. These drugs can cause unpleasant side effects.

If you spend a lot of time outdoors, it’s important to understand whether the medications you take can cause these side effects. “Increased exposure. [to heat] carry more risk,” Nicholas Kman, MD, FACEP, an emergency physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told Verywell.

Medications that may cause side effects in hot weather

Heat can affect different drugs in different ways, experts say. In addition to affecting your thermoregulation and fluid intake, Certain medications can make you more sensitive to sun exposure, Kman said. It’s worth noting that some medications are destroyed by heat, Redlener says, and if kept in extremely hot temperatures, they won’t work as well as they should.

Disrupts thermoregulation and fluid balance.

Medications that affect your thermoregulation and fluid balance “can magnify the risk of injury from hot weather,” Kman explains, and these include the following:

• Some antidepressants
• Some antidepressants
• Some antihypertensive agents

People with depression depressive symptoms (eg depression and hallucinations); acute schizophrenia; It is often recommended for people with depression, borderline personality disorder and more. Examples of antibiotics that can cause hypothermic side effects include Haldol (haloperidol); These include Zyprexa (olanzapine) and Seroquel (quetiapine).

Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) that can cause dangerous side effects in heat include amitriptyline and Anafranil (clomipramine). TCAs are used to treat major depression.

Antihypertensives are used to treat cardiovascular problems and include diuretics, beta-blockers; These include angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor-neprilysin (ARN) inhibitors.

In extremely hot climates, these drugs are electrically unbalanced; It can cause symptoms like dehydration and volume depletion (when too much fluid is lost), Kman says. They increase your risk of falling, and some of the above can dilate your blood vessels, making dizziness worse, he added.

alcohol Redlener says drinking caffeinated or sugary drinks can make these side effects worse because all of these things can dehydrate you more.

Improve sun sensitivity.

Medications that can increase sun damage include the following, Kman says.

• Some antibiotics
• Some fungicides

Antibiotics that can create uncomfortable side effects in the sun include gastrointestinal, heart reproductive system joints skin blood Includes Metrogel (metronidazole), which is used to treat lung and other conditions.

Tetracycline is effective against pneumonia and other respiratory infections, as well as ticks. An antibiotic used to treat infections caused by mosquitoes and other things.

Antifungals that can cause side effects in the sun include Ancobon (flucytosine) and Grifulvin V (griseofulvin) for athlete’s foot; It is used to treat ringworm and other infections caused by candida and cryptococcus fungi.

When you spend time in the sun using these medications, you may develop a rash that resembles a sunburn.

become less effective.

Redlener says heat can affect the following medications.

EpiPens can release a small amount of epinephrine, which treats allergy emergencies in hot temperatures. Insulin, which helps people manage diabetes, is meant to be kept in the fridge so it can help with heatstroke. Inhalers used to treat asthma can explode when exposed to heat.

The medications listed above aren’t the only ones that can increase the risk of side effects on hot days. High temperature anti-seizure drugs, antiretroviral drugs; Painkillers, It can affect a variety of medications, including antihistamines and others.

If you think the medicine you are taking is causing side effects in the sun. Experts say it’s important to talk to a health care provider, such as a doctor or pharmacist.

What should I do if I experience heat-related side effects of medications?

Some people are more likely to experience these side effects. “The elderly, the very young, and people with mental illness and chronic illness are most at risk,” Kman said. “This can affect even young, healthy people if they engage in vigorous physical activity in hot weather.”

“I’m worried about athletes because heatstroke increases the risk,” he said. [people who are] People who are homeless and working in hot environments,” Kman added.

Heat-related health problems contribute to many emergency department (ED) visits, and there’s reason to believe this problem may be getting worse: From May to September of last year, ED visits increased significantly in many US regions compared to previous years. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC);

It is difficult to say how much of this cycle is due to the heat-related side effects of the drugs. Regardless, it’s important to know the warning signs of heat that will signal you to seek help from a medical professional.

The following symptoms may indicate you have heatstroke and should prompt a trip to the emergency room, Kman says.

• confused
• Dizziness.
• Very high body temperature (over 103 degrees Fahrenheit when taken by mouth)
• Rapid pulse.
• red Hot skin (may or may not be sweaty)
• Unconsciousness.

Experts say that any heat-related side effects of medications, no matter how severe, warrant discussion with a healthcare provider. A health care provider may change your medication regimen during the warmer months or recommend ways to manage or treat side effects.

The key to preventing these side effects may be to watch your time in a hot environment. “There’s a lot of public health messaging about when to go outside, and there’s a heat index that’s promoted by a lot of public health agencies,” Redlener said. He says it’s important to adapt to the weather in your area and follow the guidance of local health authorities.