Medications: what are the precautions to take during the summer?

When you are exposed to high temperatures, you may be a victim of:

• exhaustion-dehydration syndrome (headache, nausea, loss of consciousness, increased heart rate and/or difficulty breathing…);
• heat stroke (a sudden increase in your body temperature above 40°C associated with severe neurological disorders such as delirium, hallucinations, seizures and coma).

Some medications can make these conditions worse. It is therefore recommended to:

• ask your doctor, pharmacist, midwife or nurse for advice when you are taking a new medicine or when you are on long-term treatment (this healthcare professional can tell you what specific precautions to take with the medicine you have been prescribed);
• do not stop treatment without first talking to your doctor or pharmacist;
• do not take without medical advice a drug for a minor illness (cold, cough, allergy, low pain...);
• do not take medication on your own to treat a headache following exposure to high heat (paracetamol or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen can worsen the symptoms of heat stroke).

How to store your medication in case of high heat?

Heat can affect the effectiveness of your medications. In order to preserve their properties, it is recommended to consult their leaflet and to check whether it mentions special precautions of conservation:

• medicines to be stored between 2 and 8°C should be stored in the refrigerator (once removed from this unit, use them quickly and avoid leaving them out of the refrigerator for too long);
• medicines to be stored below 25°C or 30°C can be kept out of the refrigerator, in a place that is not exposed to the sun (if it is very hot, it is advisable to place them in the coolest room of your home).

If you need to transport your medication, you need to:

• place medicines normally stored in the refrigerator in a refrigerated insulated package (e.g. with ice packs), ensuring that they do not freeze;
• place other medications (those that do not need to be stored in the refrigerator) in an unrefrigerated insulated package.

If you go abroad

• If you have a long course of treatment, plan to bring enough medication to cover the duration of your trip.
• Take your medicines with you, always keeping them in their box with the package leaflet, with the corresponding prescription.
• If you are traveling by plane, in case of long treatment, keep with you your treatment (in the cabin).
• Ask your doctor, if he has not written it like this, for a prescription “in INN” (international nonproprietary name), this will allow you to present it to a doctor or pharmacist abroad if necessary.
• Before you leave, find out about the regulations governing your treatment in the country you are going to visit (presentation of a prescription, or even a specific authorization to customs).