July and August are known to be the hottest months of the year. While it is important to know how extreme heat can impact health through dehydration and heat-related illnesses, it is also crucial to understand its effects on medications. Dr. Mike Ren, primary care physician and associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, explains how leaving medications in rising temperatures can make them ineffective and lead to health risks.
“Aerosolized medications, like inhalers and other medications you breathe in, can be damaged. Heat can cause liquid or injectable medications to dry up, making them hard or causing them to evaporate so that they cannot function the way they were intended,” said Ren.
Some medications are heat sensitive. Ren notes that medications in pill form, such as thyroid medications or hormonal ones like birth control, might appear fine after being exposed to heat, but inside, the molecules that make up the medication can degrade. Liquid versions of pills can melt in the heat or become gummy.
If there are concerns about the effectiveness of medication after exposure to heat, contacting a pharmacy or physician is advised.
“You don’t want your medications failing on you or for their potency to decrease,” he said.
To safely store medications during hot weather conditions:
