Summer Health and Safety: Protecting Yourself from Heat, Medications, and Hidden DangersSummer brings fun in the sun, vacations, and relaxation for many of us. But with the season's pleasures come serious health risks that require our attention. From extreme heat waves to pesky mosquitoes carrying dangerous viruses, understanding summer safety is crucial for staying healthy during the warmer months.The Deadly Reality of HeatSummer arrived with a vengeance in parts of the country this year with sweltering heat waves, and it's likely not going to be the last. Many of us often forget the impact heat can have on us. According to the CDC, heat is the number one weather killer in the U.S., with heat-related illness claiming more than 1,200 people annually.Overexertion during the hottest time of the day is incredibly dangerous for those with heart or lung diseases. And if you take medications, the heat can cause serious side effects.How Your Medications React to HeatMost of us never think twice about the weather and our chronic illness, but that pill you take 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, most people are on one or another," said Dr. Ryan Marino from UH Cleveland Medical Center Emergency Medicine.Certain heart medications, such as beta blockers, blood pressure medications, 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."It can 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," Dr. Marino explained.Protecting Your Medications from HeatIt's important to stay hydrated and limit your exposure to heat and sunlight but remember to never let your medications get hot either. Never leave them in a hot car - they need to be stored in a cool, dry place.What about medications that get delivered in the mail? Dr. Brian Kuhn, a pharmacist at Banner University Medical Center, explains that medications typically want to be stored between 60 degrees Fahrenheit and about mid-80s."We don't expect that those medications degrade into toxic or potentially harmful substances. For the most part, if there's likely some alteration that's going to occur because of heat, it's likely that the medication will lose some potency or efficacy," Kuhn said.Your medication isn't going to magically turn into something harmful, but it might not do exactly what it needs to do. Pharmacists say you shouldn't worry so much about pills, but certain liquids might pose a problem.Kuhn notes that heat could cause things like insulin, Wegovy, or EpiPens to start breaking down, which means they won't work as well. Some mail order pharmacies say their packaging is weather resistant, but to make sure, you can have medications delivered to your office or somewhere else that's air conditioned.Pregnancy and Extreme Heat: A Serious RiskWhen it comes to heat, we know the young, old, and immunocompromised can be at risk, but many may not be aware of the serious risk extreme heat can have on pregnant women.Dr. Lyndsey Darrow, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Nevada, Reno, has made it her mission to study these effects. One of the pregnancy complications that has been associated with extreme heat is hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including pregnancy-induced hypertension, preeclampsia, and eclampsia. These conditions pose serious risks to both the mother and baby and are predictors of maternal mortality.There are numerous other pregnancy complications linked to extreme heat, including gestational diabetes. Studies indicate that extreme heat is associated with preterm birth and fetal death, including miscarriage and stillbirth."We know that extreme heat increases the risks of cardiovascular and renal-related deaths, and it makes sense that these would be vulnerabilities during pregnancy when these organ systems are already under enormous strain," Dr. Darrow explained.The outcomes associated with extreme heat include preterm birth and early birth, which are strong predictors of both infant mortality and health trajectories over the life course. They're associated with neurological development and respiratory diseases like asthma.Once infants are born, they are more vulnerable to extreme heat due to immature thermal regulation and more surface area relative to their size. Research shows increased hospitalizations during heat waves for issues including diarrhea, digestive issues, and breathing problems. Multiple studies in the U.S. and Canada have shown an increased risk ...
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