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As another heat wave hits the U.S., several medications in your medicine cabinet could be causing high temperatures.
In recent weeks, more than 100 million Americans have been in the grip of a brutal heat wave, with temperatures across the East Coast reaching 100°F, while states in the Southwest have braced for 120°F weather.
While prescription and over-the-counter medications come with a long list of side effects, several have been shown to cause symptoms that could turn life-threatening during intense heat.
Pharmacists and emergency doctors have revealed to DailyMail.com which commonly taken medications could cause you to sweat and overheat even more in extreme heat, putting you at risk of dehydration, kidney damage and heat stroke.
Pharmacists and emergency doctors have revealed to DailyMail.com which medications can cause excessive sweating, overheating and other potentially dangerous effects.
Antidepressants
Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are an older class of drugs than the more common selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Some of the most common examples of tricyclic antidepressants are amitriptyline and nortriptyline. The CDC estimates that one in ten Americans over the age of 12 takes antidepressants, which amounts to a total of 37 million people.
TCAs are less frequently prescribed than newer SSRIs because of their more intense side effects, which include insomnia, bedwetting, and chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia.
TCAs disrupt the production of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine, which prevents sweating, a process called anhidrosis or hyperhidrosis.
Sweating helps the body cool down, but when it can’t, it can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
Meanwhile, Dr HaVy Ngo-Hamilton, clinical consultant at BuzzRx and pharmacist at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, told DailyMail.com that SSRIs such as sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil), as well as the dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI) Wellbutrin, have been shown to cause excessive sweating.
TO Recent review They found that this occurs in one in 10 patients taking SSRIs.
Over the counter pain medications
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including Advil and Aleve, are some of the most common over-the-counter pain relievers.
However, Dr Ross warned that the drugs carry the risk of causing kidney damage, which can be aggravated by high temperatures.
This is because NSAIDs inhibit the production of prostaglandins, which regulate blood flow to the kidneys.
High heat can further increase kidney damage by causing fluid loss and dehydration.
These medications have also been shown to cause excessive sweating.
However, NSAID-related kidney disease is rare, occurring in only one percent of cases, according to a 2019 study in JAMA Network Open.
Research from Florida Atlantic University found that 29 million adults take some type of NSAID for pain.
Parkinson’s drugs
Medications for Parkinson’s disease, a progressive disease that attacks the nervous system, can help control symptoms such as tremors and a stiff gait.
An estimated one million Americans are living with the disease, and about 80 percent of them take medications like these.
Dr. Jared L. Ross, an emergency physician and associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, told DailyMail.com that these drugs could “impair sweating and inhibit the brain’s ability to thermoregulate.”
TO Study 2023 A study from the National University of Singapore, for example, found that Parkinson’s drugs that increase dopamine production can make it harder to sweat and regulate temperature.
This can be especially dangerous for older patients, who are most often affected by Parkinson’s, since older people have trouble regulating their temperature anyway because they have less fat under their skin and sweat glands don’t produce as much as they used to.
Heart medications
Several different cardiac medications have been shown to cause heat-related side effects.
Beta blockers, for example, are medications that lower blood pressure by blocking the effects of the hormone epinephrine, or adrenaline. This helps improve blood flow and slow heart rate.
However, one Study 2022 A Yale University study found that medications may be linked to an increased risk of heart attack during hot weather.
Researchers looked at nearly 2,500 adults who suffered a nonfatal heart attack in Germany during the summer of 2001 to 2014. The team found that those who used beta blockers were 65 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack during the summer than those who did not take them.
Patients who were not taking medication were not at increased risk.
Additionally, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which treat high blood pressure and heart failure, have been shown to cause excessive sweating and hot flashes, which could lead to heat intolerance during high temperatures.
The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy estimates that 117 million prescriptions for beta blockers have been dispensed to 26 million Americans, of whom approximately 41 million have been prescribed an ACE inhibitor.
Medications for ADHD
“Stimulant medications used for ADHD have significant heat-related effects,” Dr. Ross said.
These include triggering the hypothalamus, the brain’s control center, to raise core body temperature, making you feel warmer overall. They have also been shown to increase sensitivity to the sun.
Dr. Ross also noted that medications like Adderall can cause reduced blood flow to the skin, due to constriction of blood vessels, which inhibits sweating.
Dr. Katy Dubkinsky, pharmacist and founder and CEO of the pharmaceutical savings company VitalizeHe told DailyMail.com: “Amphetamines, which are used to treat ADHD, can raise body temperature and increase the risk of heat-related illnesses due to their impact on the central nervous system.”
According to CDC data, nearly one in ten Americans under the age of 17 has been diagnosed with ADHD and about 41 million prescriptions have been distributed.
Antipsychotics
Dr. Ross noted that several antipsychotic medications, including clozapine, risperidone and olanzapine, have been shown to increase dehydration in the summer heat.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, approximately 4 million Americans take some form of antipsychotic medication.
This is because several of these medications are also classified as anticholinergic, meaning they block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
Doing so reduces the body’s ability to sweat, leading to overheating or heat stroke.
According to Yale University, common antipsychotics that can cause these effects include risperidone (Risperdal), olanzapine (Zyprexa), quetiapine (Seroquel), and haloperidol (haldol decanoate).
Dr Dubinsky singled out haloperidol, olanzapine and risperidone in particular as the most likely culprits.
Medications for erectile dysfunction
The gold pill for erectile dysfunction, Viagra, has been shown to cause excessive sweating in some patients.
Dr. Ngo-Hamilton said this is because the drug is meant to widen blood vessels and increase blood flow near the penis so that erections can form.
However, the drug may also increase blood flow to the skin, causing sweating.
Additionally, about 20 percent of patients have reported hot flashes. Other similar medications, such as Cialis, have also been shown to cause hot flashes.
Dr. Ngo-Hamilton noted, however, that while these symptoms may be uncomfortable, they are unlikely to contribute to heat stroke or any other harmful problems. “I wouldn’t worry too much,” she said.
Erectile dysfunction is also more common in men over 70, which could lead to an increase in heat-related complications as older people have more trouble regulating their body temperature.
According to the latest available data, around 3 million Viagra prescriptions were dispensed in the United States in 2021.
Medications for migraine
Certain classes of migraine medications have also been shown to make extreme heat even less tolerable.
“Triptans can cause hot flashes and increased sweating, although the mechanism is unknown,” Dr. Ngo-Hamilton said.
Triptans are abortive migraine medications, meaning they treat the pain once it has started by relieving inflammation and blocking the neurotransmitters that produce pain.
These drugs also mimic the effects of serotonin. Dr Ngo-Hamilton cautioned that, in addition to heat-related effects, taking triptans along with SSRIs could increase the risk of serotonin syndrome, or serotonin excess.
In severe cases, serotonin syndrome can cause high fever, seizures, irregular heartbeat, and loss of consciousness.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, 1.7 million Americans fill a prescription for sumatriptan each year, and nearly one million for rizatriptan.
Parkinson’s drugs
Medications for Parkinson’s disease, a progressive disease that attacks the nervous system, can help control symptoms such as tremors and a stiff gait.
An estimated one million Americans are living with the disease, and about 80 percent of them take medications like these.
Dr. Jared L. Ross, an emergency physician and associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, told DailyMail.com that these drugs could “impair sweating and inhibit the brain’s ability to thermoregulate.”
TO Study 2023 A study from the National University of Singapore, for example, found that Parkinson’s drugs that increase dopamine production can make it harder to sweat and regulate temperature.
This can be especially dangerous for older patients, who are most often affected by Parkinson’s, since older people have trouble regulating their temperature anyway because they have less fat under their skin and sweat glands don’t produce as much as they used to.