Psychotropic drugs may impair the body’s ability to regulate its own temperature, raising the risk of heat-related illness for users.
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With the first major heat wave of the season set to hit Western states over the next few days and temperatures forecasted to be above average in the U.S. this summer, Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) warns that psychiatric drugs may impair the body’s response to heat and increase users’ risk of heat-related illness.
By interfering with the body’s cooling mechanism or causing less awareness of signs of overheating, psychotropic drugs can cause body temperatures to rise. If steps are not taken to cool down, heat-related illness can occur, ranging from the mild discomfort of heat cramps to more serious heat exhaustion or life-threatening heat stroke. Users are especially susceptible to excessively high body temperatures during summer heat waves.
Among psychotropic drugs, antipsychotics pose a particularly high risk of heat-related illness. Antipsychotics reduce sweating, the body’s natural means of cooling, as well as reduce the urge for users to cool themselves by drinking fluids or removing excess clothing. Even a short time in very hot weather can cause a rapid rise in body temperature in people taking antipsychotics.
“Patients who are prescribed antipsychotics should be aware of the potentially fatal adverse events that can occur from these medications,” researchers advised in a case report on antipsychotic-induced hyperthermia.
Stimulant-type ADHD drugs are known to raise body temperature and interfere with the body’s ability to cool itself down, which can lead to heat-related illness during extremely hot weather, especially in very active children.
Newer generation selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressants can cause dehydration, which on top of sweating in hot weather can lead to heat-related illness. Older tricyclic antidepressants decrease sweating, as well as inhibit the body’s ability to regulate temperature, which may cause body temperatures to rise excessively during summer heat waves.
Medical emergencies occur when the body’s temperature rises to dangerous levels. Bodily damage, which can be fatal, occurs if steps are not taken to lower the body temperature. Research has found that taking psychiatric drugs nearly doubles the risk of death during a heat wave.
How many people taking psychiatric drugs end up with heat-related medical emergencies? Nobody knows.
“Due to the lack of research in the field, it is impossible to estimate the scale of the problem” of the interaction between drugs and heat, Ying Zhang, senior lecturer at the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health, told the Washington Post.
During heat waves, doctors recommend staying well-hydrated, avoiding overexertion, and wearing light, loose-fitting clothing to lessen the risk of heat-related illness – advice that is particularly important for those taking psychiatric drugs.
About the company: The Citizens Commission on Human Rights was co-founded in 1969 by members of the Church of Scientology and the late psychiatrist and humanitarian Thomas Szasz, M.D., recognized by many academics as modern psychiatry’s most authoritative critic, to eradicate abuses and restore human rights and dignity to the field of mental health.
Contact Info:
Name: Anne Goedeke
Email: Send Email
Organization: Citizens Commission on Human Rights, National Affairs Office
Address: Washington, DC
Website: http://CCHRNational.org
Release ID: 89131953
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