PHOENIX — As we all continue to protect ourselves in the extreme heat, doctors are also warning that you should keep in mind the medications you are taking. Certain medicines can make you more susceptible to heat-related illness since they change how your body responds to external stressors like hot weather.
This warning comes from the new Health and Medications Taskforce at the University of Arizona’s Zuckerman College of Public Health.
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They say prescriptions to be wary of in this heat include diuretics, which can make you urinate more and lose water.
Heart and blood pressure medication, over-the-counter allergy relief, and some mental health medications can change the ability to sweat and cool down.
Opiates and painkillers can decrease decision-making abilities and influence someone to spend too much time outdoors in the heat.
Emergency physician Dr. Brian Drummond frequently sees patients going to the hospital with heat-related illnesses.
“Heat is a significant component of the burden that we're seeing in our health care system right now,” Dr. Brian Drummond, U of A College of Medicine Professor and member of the task force, said. “Whether that's, you know, they were just out in the sun too long and had heat exhaustion or heat stroke, to combinations of ‘I was dizzy up on a ladder and I fell,’ and then they became a trauma patient. Or they passed out on the street, and then had burns to their hands or back.”
He adds that certain individuals face a greater risk than others, including elderly patients, athletes, kids, people without access to air conditioning, and those dealing with substance misuse.
“Other populations would be communities of color and low socioeconomic status are more at risk because their neighborhoods are actually hotter and so they usually have a higher ambient heat island temperature because of their living situation,” Dr. Drummond said. "Then certain populations of like construction workers or outdoor workers are also at higher risk… That's going to be a double whammy for them, but it becomes a livelihood issue.”
The new task force just created an info sheet for healthcare providers to share with patients. It lists about 50 medications that could impact the body during extreme heat.
