These Medications Can Make You More Sensitive To Heat

Listen, when it’s the middle of summer and the heat index is climbing into the triple digits, even those of us who typically run cold are going to break a sweat. But when you start sweating way more than usual, feel short of breath or lightheaded, become nauseous, or get a headache, it’s a sign that the heat is too much for your body. If this happens to you in temperatures you used to be able to tolerate just fine, it could be that new prescription you started — turns out, there are a lot of medications that make you sensitive to heat.

It can be hard to tell exactly why your body is reacting more strongly to the heat than it used to. Changes to the brain during perimenopause can cause your body to feel hotter and sweat more, and certain underlying conditions — think thyroid dysfunction or wonky blood sugar levels — can also increase your perspiration. But certainly if you’ve added a new medication into your care plan and this is the first summer you find yourself struggling with the rising temperatures, it’s worth asking if your prescription might be the cause.

Signs Of Overheating & Heat-Related Illness

The line between feeling really hot and actually overheating is thin, and you’ll want to know the signs you’re crossing it before it happens. If you start to feel dizzy, short of breath, weak, or nauseous, that’s a red flag that you’re overheating, according to the CDC. Muscle cramps, headaches, and unusually heavy sweating are also bad signs.

The health organization recommends all the advice you’d imagine: stay hydrated (well enough that your urine is clear or light yellow) and take frequent breaks in the air conditioning. If you must be outdoors, stay in the shade as much as possible and try to do those activities in the mornings or evenings when the temperatures are at their lowest. And don’t forget to pack things like handheld fans and cooling towels if you know you’ll be out and about in a place that’s hot or low on shade.

Medications That Can Make You Sensitive To Heat

Here are all the types of medication that can make you more sensitive to heat, according to Daphne Berryhill, RPh, a registered pharmacist and writer for Those Nerdy Girls, an evidence-based health publication created by scientists and medical experts:

• Antidepressants, including both SSRIs and SNRIs
• Beta blockers
• Blood pressure medications, like ACE inhibitors and ARBs
• Medications that cause fluid loss, like diuretics, laxatives, and certain diabetes medications
• Medications block acetylcholine, like certain antihistamines, antipsychotics, and bladder control medications
• Stimulants like ADHD medications or pseudoephedrine
• Thyroid replacement medications

The way these medications help our bodies cope with various health conditions — for example, by narrowing your blood vessels, slowing your heart rate, or encouraging fluid loss — can negatively affect the way our systems respond to heat, Berryhill explains. It’s important to know how the prescriptions you take may impact your body’s ability to regulate its temperature, especially on steamy summer afternoons when the temperature is high.

There are other risk factors that may make you more susceptible to overheating, like having a heart condition or becoming pregnant. Babies, kids, and people over 65 are also more vulnerable to the effects of extreme temperatures. Talk to your doctor about whether your health conditions or the medications you take to treat them might put you in this club.

So listen, if you have to put on a movie marathon and pass out the tablets because you and the kids are stuck inside during a particularly hot week, so be it. Better safe than dizzy and dehydrated.