Sweltering summer heat is not only uncomfortable, but also potentially dangerous. When you sweat in the heat, you can become dehydrated or even sick.
These risks are higher if you are taking certain medications.
Halsey: “Drugs can really affect your ability to tolerate heat and sunlight in a lot of different ways.”
Jennifer Halsey is a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Pharmacy.
Some medications, such as the antibiotic doxycycline, may make you more susceptible to sunburn.
Heart medications such as furosemide are diuretics, which promote water loss and increase the risk of dehydration.
Some antihistamine and antidepressant medications reduce the body's ability to sweat and cool down.
Beta-blockers lower blood pressure and can restrict blood flow to the skin, allowing excess heat to drain away from the skin. Therefore they increase the risk of heat stroke.
Halsey: “If you take medications that make you more sensitive, you may develop illnesses like heat stroke more quickly. This is a medical emergency.
So Halsey said people should talk to their doctor or pharmacist to find out which medications put them at risk. They should learn how to recognize the signs of heat stress so they can take action to protect themselves.
Report source: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media
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