Did you know the medication you take can be affected by extreme heat and potentially impact your health? Local doctors warn of the risks amid another heat wave.
“My history as an emergency physician, we would see heat waves and you would notice that medical patients and drugs were clearly highly associated with those that had problems," said Dr. Brian Roberts, Medical Director at Medstop Urgent Care.
Dr. Roberts says certain side effects can result from a combination of extreme heat and both illegal drugs and regular medications, whether prescribed or over the counter.
“There's two groups," Roberts said. "One are the recreational drugs — so alcohol, cocaine, any of the amphetamines — anything that decreases your awareness of your environment or yourself puts you at higher risk. The other large group, and it covers a lot of different medications, are what we call anticholinergics.”
Anticholinergics can include things like cold medications, anti-nausea and allergy medications, antidepressants, Benadryl, antipsychotics, many seizure and Parkinson's medications, muscle relaxants and anti-bladder spasm medications.
Dr. Roberts says what makes anticholinergics potentially dangerous in extreme heat is that they can decrease your ability to sweat, which is essential for cooling down the body.
“It's essential for how you distribute your blood in your body," Roberts explained. "It has to do with how your GI tract moves, how your eyes, your pupils dilate. It has to do with how your bladder empties. It's everywhere. So the effects are universal across the body."
Feeling lightheaded is an early sign of a potential heat-related illness, but cramping can be a vital warning sign that you’ve pushed it too far.
Northern San Luis Obispo County residents, who are used to high temperatures in the summer, are already prepared for what's to come this season.
“What I do is drink water, which is pretty important," said resident Manuel Madrigal. "Then I try to stay in the shade most of the time when we have that heat wave, especially outside. I have a lot of trees on my property, so I'm shaded in the backyard pretty good.”
Other risk factors that cause heat-related illness:
- strenuous exercise in high ambient temperature and humidity
- lack of acclimatization
- poor physical fitness
- obesity
- dehydration
- acute illness
- external load, including clothing, equipment, and protective gear
