JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Do you ever feel as if you're just going to melt in the heat? Maybe you aren't a wimp. Maybe your medicine is making you less heat tolerant.
Dr. Michael Schuh is a PharmD, a Doctor of Pharmacy, meaning he's an expert on medicines and their effects on our bodies.
His titles at Mayo Clinic include:
Michael J. Schuh, PharmD, MBA, FAPhA
MTM Clinical Coordinator
Assistant Professor of Family and Palliative Medicine
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy
School of Health Sciences
College of Medicine
He says there are three ways medications can make you feel more heat intolerant.
1) Drugs that reset the internal thermostat in our brain to allow overheating:
(Brand names are in parentheses after the generic name with the registered trademark.)
Psychiatric Drugs (examples)
Fluoxetine (Prozac®)
Escitalopram (Lexapro®)
Paroxetine (Paxil®)
Quetiapine (Seroquel®)
Haloperidol (Haldol®)
Aripiprazole (Abilify®)
(Note: Dr. Schuh says these drugs are designed to do their job, such as reduce anxiety and depression. They can raise your heat intolerance, but it does NOT mean you should quit taking them. Just be aware you may experience feeling hotter.)
2) Drugs that reduce sweating to overheat us: (also called anticholinergics)
Antihistamines (examples)
Diphenhydramine (Benadryl®)
Chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton®)
Hydroxyzine (Atarax®)
Bladder drugs (examples)
Oxybutynin (Ditropan®)
Solifenacin (Vesicare®)
Tolterodine (Detrol®)
Stomach and intestinal drugs (examples)
Scopolamine (Transderm-Scop®)
Hyoscyamine (Levsin®)
Dicyclomine (Bentyl®)
3) Drugs that can dehydrate us by getting rid of water in our body:
Water pills or diuretics:
Furosemide (Lasix®)
Hydrochlorothiazide or HCTZ for short (HydroDIURIL®)
Alcohol
Caffeine
Dr. Schuh suggests to fight back against the heat, make sure you drink 64 ounces of water each day. He also says an ice pack can help. Try putting it on your head or on your groin or under your arms.
He says if you do work in hot conditions, say in a warehouse without air conditioning, be aware that you could get heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
According to Mayo Clinic, heat stroke requires emergency treatment. (Call 911.) If you don't get help, you can risk brain, heart or kidney damage, even death.
Signs of heat stroke include a core body temperature of more than 104 degrees, confusion, slurred speech, seizures, nausea and vomiting, racing heart rate or rapid breathing.
