CLEVELAND — Most of us never think twice about the weather and our chronic illness, but that pill you popped to treat your condition may not mix well with the heat.
"One thing that I think a lot of people don't know is that many medications can increase your risk, and there are so many that can do it," said Dr. Ryan Marino, associate professor of emergency medicine at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. "Most people are on one or another."
For example, certain heart medications such as beta blockers, blood pressure meds, and ACE inhibitors can imbalance electrolytes, cause dehydration reduce thirst sensation, decrease ability to sweat, and reduce blood pressure which increases risk of fainting and falls. Antidepressants and other psychiatric medications can affect the body's ability to regulate temperature and impair sweating.
What's worse is you may not even realize it's happening.
"They kind of blunt the response where you might have more of a warning sign, and it might be that people might not realize it until they are significantly affected," Marino explained.
In this type of heat, never leave your medications in your car. The heat can cause, the active ingredients to break down leaving the medication ineffective.