Medications and the Heat

[David Baxter PhD]

Medications and the Heat
New Brunswick Department of Health
Retrieved June 11, 2012

Before the onset of warmer weather, ask your doctor, pharmacist or nurse if your medications increase your sensitivity to heat.

If you are taking any of the medications listed below, you are at higher risk for heat-related illnesses, especially if you are exercising a lot or performing heavy work and are not drinking enough water.

If you are on two or more medications, your risk could be increased. You should not modify how you take your medication unless you have first consulted with your doctor.

Please note that these lists may not be complete.

Common medications:

• Some antihistamines (e.g. Benadryl, Chlortripolon)
• Over-the-counter sleeping pills (e.g. Nytol)
• Anti-diarrhea pills (e.g. Lomotil)

Psychiatric drugs such as:

• chlorpromazine (Thorazine, Largactil)*
• thioridazine (Mellaril)*
• perphenazine (Trilafon)*
• fluphenazine (Modecate, Moditen)*
• thiothixene (Navane)*
• trifluoperazine (Stelazine)
• prochloperazine (Stemetil)
• haloperidol (Haldol)
• clozapine (Clozaril)
• risperidone (Risperdal)
• loxapine (Loxapac, Loxitane)
• fluspirilene (IMAP)
• pimozide (Orap)
• olanzapine (Zyprexa)
• flupenthixol (Fluanxol)
• zuclopenthixol (Clopixol)
• reserpine (Serpasil, Serpalan)
• Lithium

*These medications and others may make it easier for your skin to sunburn. To be sure, ask your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

Anti-parkinson drugs such as:

• benztropine (Cogentin)
• biperiden (Akineton)
• ethopropazine (Parsitan, Parisdol)
• procyclidine (Kemadrin, Procyclid)
• trihexyphenidyl (Artane, Trihexane)
• levodopa (Dopar)
• selegiline (Eldepryl)
• amantadine (Symmetrel, Symadine)

Anti-depressant drugs such as:

• amitriptyline
• doxepine (Sinequan)
• clomipramine (Anafranil)
• protriptyline (Vivactil)
• imipramine (Tofranil)
• desipramine (Norpramin)
• nortriptyline (Pamelor)

 

[Been there Done that]

I take risperadal for bipolar disorder and I am always inside air conditioning. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Retired]

Other conditions can affect the integrity and stability of medications, depending on the particular medication and the packaging in which it is manufactured, and/or dispensed.

In addition to heat, care should be taken to keep medications out of direct sunlight as well as moist or humid environments.

Potentially harmful places would include the kitchen, in or near the window (sunlight) or the bathroom (from humidity). The "medicine cabinet" may not be the ideal place to store medications that do not have sealed packaging, an example being some dispensers of oral contraceptives where the tablet is in a plastic dispenser, but actually exposed to the air.

Some medications need to be stored in the refrigerator, and these should be noted by the pharmacist.