{"id":81524,"date":"2025-05-07T09:48:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T09:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/81524\/"},"modified":"2025-05-07T09:48:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T09:48:08","slug":"warning-issued-to-millions-taking-common-medication-in-hot-weather-uk-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/81524\/","title":{"rendered":"Warning issued to millions taking common medication in hot weather | UK | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

A GP has issued a warning to millions of Brits who take antidepressants<\/a> about the drugs\u2019 little-known effects on the body\u2019s ability to regulate temperature in hot weather<\/a>. Some types can make people more sensitive to heat, potentially increasing the risk of heat exhaustion and stroke<\/a>. Dr Sameer Sanghvi, a practising GP and Clinical Technology Lead at LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor, explained: \u201cTemperature dysregulation can be a risk when taking certain types of antidepressants and antipsychotics.<\/p>\n

“Common antidepressants can all stop the temperature regulating area of the brain functioning as it should. Serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are some of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, SNRIs are known to cause excessive sweating and thus dehydration, while SSRIs have been linked to heat intolerance and heat stroke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antidepressants can disrupt the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that controls body temperature regulation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They may also interfere with sweating, hindering the body\u2019s ability to cool down, or cause excessive sweating, which can lead to dehydration.<\/p>\n

As summer approaches, Dr Sanghvi warned these side effects could be particularly dangerous because \u201cmany fundamental life processes depend on the body\u2019s core temperature remaining within a narrow range\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, he said people should not stop taking them and \u201calways consult your doctor before making changes to your mental health medication\u201d.<\/p>\n

The GP added: \u201cThe best thing you can do is take precautions to stay cool: stick to the shade; drink plenty of fluids and avoid alcohol; keep out of the sun between 11am and 3pm; avoid exercising in the hottest parts of the day; and wear loose, breathable clothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Symptoms of heat exhaustion include tiredness, dizziness, headache, feeling sick, clammy skin and fast breathing or heartbeat.<\/p>\n

The NHS<\/a> advises that it does not usually need emergency medical help if the sufferer is able to cool down within 30 minutes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A GP has issued a warning to millions of Brits who take antidepressants about the drugs\u2019 little-known effects…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81525,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4315],"tags":[39564,1301,39568,105,4327,39566,4326,39565,39567,16,15,741,8609],"class_list":{"0":"post-81524","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-antidepressants","9":"tag-depression","10":"tag-dr-sameer-sanghvi","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-health-section","13":"tag-heat-sensitivity","14":"tag-medication","15":"tag-sweating","16":"tag-temperature-regulation","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-weather","20":"tag-weather-section"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114465925059748179","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}