RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Extreme heat has taken over much of Central Virginia, which can cause some health risks for people on certain medications.
The Stormtracker8 Team forecasts a heat advisory in Central Virginia until Friday morning, and from Friday morning through the end of the weekend, the region will be under an Excessive Heat Warning.
Dr. Allen Joslyn from JenCare Senior Medical Center in Richmond said the hot temperatures have led to more patients visiting him.
“I’ve had a couple of patients even just this past week who told me they were sitting out on their front porches. They stayed out a little longer than they expected and a couple of them, when they got up, actually fell over,” he said.
Joslyn said some medications could make older adults and other groups more susceptible to heat-related illnesses.
“Although our seniors are tough people, they are a little more vulnerable in terms of their lack in what we would call resilience,” he said.
Joslyn said everyone, not just older adults, should pay attention to their medicine cabinets. Some antibiotics could increase your risk of getting sun burn, some mental health medications could delay sweating and make it more difficult to cool off and other drugs could increase the risk of dehydration. All of these side effects can be dangerous in high heat.
“Dehydration can actually make your blood sugar go higher, and then higher blood sugars cause further dehydration, so it really can become a vicious cycle that can take patients down very quickly,” Joslyn said.
Marsie Shelton, a patient at JenCare Senior Medical Center, is a diabetic. She takes medication three times a day and has already been impacted by the recent heat.
“The heat takes your breath away. I felt like I was going to pass out really just from my apartment door to my car,” she said. “Even with having water, I may just stay in the house.”
Joslyn recommends that to stay healthy during the heat, people should talk to their primary care doctor when taking new medication, wear loose-fitting and bright-colored clothing outside, limit time outdoors and drink lots of water.
Doctors also said it’s important to store your medications in cool, room temperatures since the medications can become less effective if they overheat.
