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Drugs and Heat

By j7uy5 on July 26, 2006.

This post on Black
Triangle reminds me that it is a good idea to spread this
warning, at this time of year. He notes several medications that
increase the risk of heatstroke, or otherwise pose risks in heat and
bright sun.



Many of these are psychiatric medications. href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipsychotic" rel="tag">Antipsychotic
medications, in particular, can increase risk of heatstroke. Some make
the skin more susceptible to sunburn. href="http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=About_Medications&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=51&ContentID=20820"
rel="tag">Lithium blood levels can be changed by
anything that alters the salt-water balance in the body; this includes
dehydration caused by heavy sweating.



If you plan to do a lot of outdoor activity in hot or sunny conditions,
it would be good to check with your pharmacist to see if any of your
medications increase the risk of heatstroke, increase title="FDA link"
href="http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/496_sun.html">photosensitivity,
or can be dangerous if you become dehydrated. Of course, it always is
best to avoid dehydration, simply by drinking water frequently.



Also, any href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antihypertensive">medication
for high blood pressure can cause the blood pressure to go
down too much, if you get dehydrated.

Tags
medicine
psychiatry

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Anyone that exercises in warm-to-hot weather for 3 hours or more probably already knows this, but in addition to hydration, you should look to increase your salt intake as well. I do this through the use of sports drinks containing sodium and potassium salts. This helps induce thirst, which helps keep you hydrated as well as keeping your electrolytes up, which helps avoid hyponatremia, which is a serious danger (it is occasionally fatal) during long periods of dehydration/rehydration.

Regarding the BP meds, I take low dose (5mg/day) of enalapril maleate (Vasotec) and I have to be very careful regarding hydration when running. From an unmedicated state of upper pre-hypertensive (135-139/85-89) and a medicated state of upper normal (115-120/70-80,) I can drop as low as 95/45 after a 20 mile run if I'm not careful.