UK heatwave danger warning issued to anyone taking these 5 common medications
Rhianna Benson
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
As the first heatwave of the year continues slow-roasting Brits up and down the UK, a warning has been issued to patients taking some prescription drugs.
UKHSA officials issued an amber heat-health alert this morning (22 May) ahead of what could become the hottest Bank Holiday on record.
Temperatures are expected to soar to over 28 degrees within the next three days, as health and social care providers brace for a stark rise in hospital admissions.
In fit and healthy individuals, the body is usually able to enact the internal mechanisms that keep a person's body temperature low. This includes sweating, blood flow and the balance of fluids. For individuals battling chronic health issues, however, their medication might serve as a preventative to these safety mechanisms, making it more difficult for them to remain cool on especially hot days.
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The prescription drugs that pose a risk during such heatwaves are:
Patients suffering from mental health disorders, especially those that trigger low moods, could be especially at risk this weekend if they're currently taking prescription medication.
Most doctors prescribe either selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or tricyclics (TCAs) for these conditions, which affect serotonin and noradrenaline levels in the brain.
A side effect is, however, that they have been proven to stand in the way of a person's ability to sweat by blocking the sweat neurotransmitter, acetylcholine.
As such, a person could develop heat intolerance, meaning they could be suffering from sunstroke, but not even know it.
Prescribed to sufferers of mental health disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, antipsychotics block the neurotransmitter dopamine, simultaneously affecting serotonin levels.
According to medics, however, this can affect the ability of the hypothalamus - the part of the brain that controls body temperature and sweat glands - to respond to rising temperatures, posing a similar risk to that of antidepressants.
A patient may not be able to feel overheated or thirsty, which could trigger serious health issues like low blood pressure and a reduced heart rate - the latter, the body will attempt to compensate for by narrowing blood vessels, making it even harder for a person to cool down.
There's also the fact that antipsychotics contain anticholinergics, which can block acetylcholine.
Patients with cardiovascular conditions like heart failure or arrhythmias might be prescribed beta-blockers, which work by lowering both a person's heart rate and how forcefully it pumps blood around the body.
The issue is, however, that beta-blockers can limit ideal blood flow to the skin, making it trickier for the body to release any heat.
Similarly, diuretics, which are used to treat high blood pressure, increase a person's daily urine output, which could cause dehydration in hot climates. This, in turn, could make it harder for a person to sweat.
Such is also the case with ramipril and losartan - usually prescribed for blood pressure - which also reduces a person's natural urge to feel thirst.
Medications used for ADHD work by affecting dopamine and noradrenaline levels within the brain.
A side effect is, however, that amending a patient's natural levels of these chemicals can increase their body temperature, alter how the body releases sweat, and send their metabolism into overdrive.
All of these can make it harder for a patient's body to cool itself down naturally, especially after exercise or in especially warm climates, potentially causing dehydration and heatstroke.
Stimulants are also infamous for reducing a person's ability to feel tired, meaning they could overexert themselves physically during the heatwave without even realising.
In hotter climates, a person's body cools itself down by dilating its blood cells.
For anyone taking insulin, however, this process could mean that this chemical is absorbed into the bloodstream much quicker, with a natural blood flow to the area where the medication is injected.
This will make blood sugar drop much faster, potentially causing hypoglycaemia, which triggers dizziness, shaking, sweating and irritability. In the most severe cases, it could even cause a loss of consciousness or seizures.
Warm temperatures can also cause insulin to degrade within its packaging, which affects its effectiveness and could make the chemical inside unsafe. This is why it's best to store insulin in the fridge.