How extreme heat affects pills and people taking them – think dehydration and dizziness

On top of that, the combination of heat and drug side effects can lead to lightheadedness and falls. Alcohol increases the danger, says pharmacist Bradley Phillips of the University of Florida College of Pharmacy.

You can learn more about medications’ side effects and storage requirements at the US National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus website.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about the effects of heat on your meds, and whether to drink more water, says pharmacist Bradley Phillips of the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. Photo: University of Florida

You can also talk to your doctor or pharmacist, Phillips says. Ask about how much water you should be drinking if you’re on medications that increase dehydration.

He recommends staying hydrated and “not relying on your body’s ability to tell you that you’re thirsty”.

Some medicines – antibiotics, antifungals and acne drugs – can heighten sensitivity to the sun, causing rashes and sunburns.

“You might be on antibiotics, not think too much of it, go down to the beach and then come back with a whopping sunburn,” Ren says.

Some medicines – especially antifungals and acne treatment – may leave your skin more sensitive to the sun, and cause bad sunburns. Cover up with hats and sunscreen – or avoid the sun altogether. Photo: Shutterstock

How should medications be stored for travel?

Medication generally should be kept in a cool, dry place, unless it needs refrigeration. That can be challenging while travelling.

Before a summer road trip, check labels for the storage requirements of your medicines. Carry medicine in a cooler when travelling by car, even if it doesn’t require refrigeration. The car’s boot or glove box could get too hot for even room temperature storage.

Don’t leave mail-order medicines outside in the sun if you can avoid it, says Dr Mike Ren, a family doctor at Baylor College of Medicine. Photo: Baylor College of Medicine

What about prescriptions delivered by mail or courier?

A delivery can come at a bad time, says Ren, who recently helped his holidaying mother by bringing her delivery of supplements into her Houston home as the region faced soaring heat.

“If you know you’re going to be at work all day, or if you’re on vacation, and you get medications delivered, you definitely don’t want that sitting outside in the hot … sun,” Ren said.

Is more research needed?

Yes. Researchers in the US and Australia say some of the common warnings about heat and drugs don’t have a lot of scientific evidence behind them.

Ollie Jay at the University of Sydney found backing for only four of the 11 medication categories that the World Health Organization lists as concerns with high heat.

Dr Renee Salas, an accident and emergency doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, in the US, says as climate change accelerates, there’s a need to know which medicines are the riskiest in the heat.

“We don’t have that answer yet, and it’s one that we need to rapidly figure out,” Salas says.

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