For all the tasks our bodies do that we directly control, like walking down a street, driving a car, or typing a letter, there are numerous things we do autonomically, actions we do all the time without conscious thought. This includes many basic things our bodies need to live, such as regulating heart and lung function, digestion, sweating, and maintaining body temperature.
Maintaining a body temperature of 98.5°F (37°C) is a reflexive action of the hypothalamus, but various factors can influence how hot or cold your body becomes. When the body becomes too hot, you risk developing heat stroke. While illnesses can increase this risk, certain medications with side effects also raise the likelihood of developing it.
Melanchton A. Mangoba, MD, and his dedicated medical team are here to treat residents of Riverside, California, for heat stroke and a range of other illnesses.
As the name implies, this condition results from your body overheating, either through overexposure to high temperatures or excessive exertion in that range. This leads to various stages of heat injury, and once it reaches 104°F (40°C), your body is going through heatstroke. Warm months are when they often occur, and left untreated, they can be fatal.
Signs of heat stroke include:
You should seek medical attention as soon as possible. While awaiting treatment, find shade, remove excess clothing, and cool down with a cold bath, shower, cold misting fan, or ice packs.
The excess heat involved in heatstroke stems from various factors, including environmental exposure (a particularly warm, high-humidity day), your metabolism generating high body heat, or a combination of both when you’re physically active outdoors.
This makes people working out in the heat highly vulnerable, but so are those with health issues (infections, dehydration, cardiovascular disease), pregnant women, and people 65 or older. Babies and young children are also at high risk; hence, it’s essential not to leave them alone in heated enclosed vehicles.
Some drugs treat several illnesses but can also compromise your body’s ability to regulate temperature in different ways. Examples include:
Some antibiotics increase the risk of sunburn when exposed to warm weather by causing a condition called drug-induced photosensitivity, including fluoroquinolone, sulfa antibiotics, doxycycline, and demeclocycline.
Certain medications for psychiatric illnesses alter the regulative functions of the hypothalamus, creating issues recognizing and responding to overheating. Antipsychotics, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), benzodiazepines, and tricyclic antidepressants are some examples.
Topical acne medications help skin by speeding up its renewal process, but that also thins the skin. This makes the outer layer (epidermis) more vulnerable to sunlight.
These drugs help alleviate allergies by drying out the sinuses, but this reaction can occur elsewhere in the body and reduce your sweating. This is more common in Benadryl® or Dramamine® and not many of the newer antihistamines.
Drugs designed to manage blood pressure and regulate the heart (such as beta blockers and diuretics) can constrict blood vessels, making it much harder for blood to reach the skin layers. This results in limiting your ability to sweat.
Your basal body temperature measures the heat your body produces at rest, and stimulants raise it, causing you to require less effort to overheat when outside.
Maintaining your body temperature at normal levels is crucial during this time of year. If you’re experiencing signs of heat exhaustion or heatstroke, please contact Dr. Mangoba and our team as soon as possible. You can schedule an appointment by calling 951-357-6032 or using our online booking feature.
