Health Products

Drugs: What are the precautions to take during the summer?

Publié le 23 juillet 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Some treatments may worsen the effects of heat on your body; other medicines may be less effective as temperatures rise. During the summer months, and particularly during heat waves, special precautions should be taken with regard to the use of medicinal products or medical devices. Service-Public.fr tells you the right reflexes to adopt on this subject.

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

  • a dehydration-exhaustion syndrome (headache, nausea, loss of consciousness, rapid heart rate and/or breathing difficulties...)
  • heatstroke (a sudden increase in your body temperature above 40°C associated with serious neurological disorders such as delusions, hallucinations, seizures and coma).

Some drugs can make these problems 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 (your healthcare professional can then advise you on specific precautions for the medicine prescribed for you).
  • do not stop treatment without first talking to your doctor or pharmacist;
  • do not take without medical advice a medicine for a disease without gravity (cold, cough, allergy, low pain...);
  • do not take on your own a medicine to treat a headache after exposure to high heat (paracetamol or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines such as ibuprofen may worsen the symptoms of heat stroke).

Please note

Some medicines - such as tablets, injections, creams and ointments - can cause or worsen an overreaction of the skin to the sun’s rays. This is manifested by redness, itching, sunburn with blisters...

It is recommended to:

  • ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice;
  • see the package leaflets for the medicines to see if they interact with the sun.

If you need to take such a treatment, you should avoid exposure to the sun. If this is not possible, you should apply high-protection sun cream index 50, wear protective clothing and a hat (the length of time you need to take these precautions depends on how long it takes to get rid of the medicine from your body, and therefore needs to be discussed with your doctor or pharmacist).

How to store your medication in case of heat?

Heat may affect the effectiveness of your medicines. In order to preserve their properties, it is recommended to consult their package leaflet and check whether it mentions any special storage precautions:

  • Medicines to be stored at 2-8°C should be stored in a refrigerator (once removed from the refrigerator you should use them promptly and avoid leaving them out of the refrigerator for too long);
  • Medicines stored below 25°C or 30°C may be stored outside the refrigerator in a place not exposed to the sun (if it is very hot, it is advisable to store them in the cooler room of your home).

If you need to carry your medicines, you must:

  • Place medicines normally stored in a refrigerator in insulated, refrigerated packaging (e.g. ice packs), ensuring that they do not freeze.
  • place other drugs (those that do not need to be stored in a refrigerator) in an insulated, non-refrigerated package.

Even if they are placed in insulated packaging, you should not expose your medicines to high temperatures for too long, such as keeping them out of the trunk or cabin of a car that stays in the sun for a long time.

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