Janice R. Andrews
Last month, Adelaide Saywell shared a TikTok video that went viral and drew a ton of comments, suggesting that SSRIs, a kind of antidepressant drug that is frequently taken, may increase a person’s susceptibility to heat.
“Really, wait? One person commented, “I just started taking it a month ago and I am so hot all the time.
Another added, “I have been taking sertraline for eight years, and nobody has ever told me this.”
“I was almost hospitalized for heat stroke (because) they didn’t warn me,” one person wrote of their severe responses.
Increasing Conscience
Saywell, a 12-year SSRI user herself, has been posting identical cautions each summer for the previous three years. She was astonished by the response the first time she did. She told CNN, “I had assumed I was one of the few people who didn’t know this.” Yet now she anticipates it. She claimed that this is just more evidence of the vast information gap about this specific adverse effect.
In the United States, around 10% of the population uses antidepressants. The most often prescribed type of antidepressant is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), which is used to treat anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. These medications, which include Prozac and Zoloft, can reduce heat tolerance and prevent the body from appropriately regulating its temperature. However, they can also save lives.
Comprehending Heat Sensitivity and SSRIs
Doctors and scientists are still working to fully grasp this concerning side effect, particularly as the world heats up and harsh, extended heat waves grow more common.
According to Dr. Laurence Wainwright, a lecturer at the University of Oxford who studies how climate change affects mental health, SSRIs are quite beneficial. He told CNN that they “have been revolutionary in psychiatry.” However there are a variety of negative effects, just as with every medicine. He stated, “It’s about getting a cost-benefit ratio right.”
SSRIs works by preventing the brain from reabsorbing serotonin, a natural substance that controls mood and other body processes. They can lessen the symptoms of sadness and anxiety by raising serotonin levels in the brain. However, SSRIs have the power to alter the body’s ability to regulate its temperature via altering the chemicals in the brain.
The hypothalamus, a tiny brain region that serves as the body’s thermostat by detecting temperature changes and initiating a number of processes to maintain the body’s internal temperature at around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 37 degrees Celsius, may be impacted by them.
Hippothalamic Impact
“The hypothalamus becomes less sensitive when more serotonin is added to the mix,” according to Dr. Pope Moseley, an Arizona State University biomedical sciences researcher and physician. When it’s surrounded by serotonin, it loses some of its ability to communicate.
This may have an impact on the body’s primary cooling process, perspiration, which releases heat into the atmosphere as it evaporatively cools the skin. One typical adverse effect of SSRIs is excessive perspiration, which can cause dehydration and, ironically, an increase in body temperature.
However, Moseley noted that SSRIs can lessen perspiration in some individuals. This is problematic since their body is losing an essential mechanism for expending heat.
Risks of Dehydration
SSRIs can also increase a person’s risk of dehydration in other ways. According to Moseley, there is evidence that they can change people’s perception of thirst, causing them to drink less to make up for lost fluids, and they can trigger a hormone that causes individuals to pee more. People who are dehydrated run the risk of developing heat exhaustion and, in extreme situations, heat stroke, which can be fatal.
Researchers and medical professionals are still working to understand the intricate connection between SSRIs and heat. Wainwright remarked, “How little we actually understand about this is what really shocks me.”
Deficit in Knowledge
This is partially the reason why doctors don’t usually bring up the topic of heat when writing prescriptions for these antidepressants. “I don’t think patients are aware that this is a problem, and I don’t think the medical community is either, looking on sites like Reddit around this topic,” Wainwright stated.
Reddit has developed into a popular forum where users exchange symptoms and ask questions about SSRIs and heat.
“When I was taking an SSRI, I broke out in hives. The humidity was intolerable, a Redditor commented. “Until taking this medication, I have always tolerated heat very well,” another person remarked.
Some said that the side effects occasionally had an impact on their mental health: “I was miserable and had to stop going to the gym because I was always feeling hot and queasy.”
Insufficient Data
Although SSRI information sheets indicate a number of adverse effects, including heat sensitivity, many patients choose not to read them because they feel more anxious, according to Saywell.
“It’s obvious that we should be asking questions,” she said, “but how are we supposed to know what to ask?”
Doctors sometimes overlook the heat adverse effect since other side effects, including weight gain, are more typical, according to board-certified psychiatrist, researcher, and physician Dr. Judith Joseph. However, she told CNN that they need should, particularly since being too hot can exacerbate mood, anxiety, and despair.
Preventive Actions
She said that there are easy precautions individuals can take to keep themselves safe, such staying indoors during the warmest part of the day, drinking lots of water, and avoiding alcohol and caffeine, which can worsen dehydration. Additionally, sleep is crucial since there is a direct correlation between insufficient sleep and deteriorating anxiety and sadness.
In extremely hot weather, Joseph suggests that individuals monitor weather forecasts and, if feasible, seek out further assistance. Moseley advised people to be aware of warning symptoms of trouble, such increased urination and excessive perspiration, which are all indications to increase fluid intake.
A rapid heartbeat, cramping in the muscles, nausea, and slight disorientation are all signs of heat exhaustion. According to Joseph, these are cues to locate a cool spot, relax, hydrate, and even apply ice packs to your skin.
Severe headaches, vomiting, fast or irregular heartbeat, dizziness, and breathing difficulty are more severe overheating symptoms that may indicate heat stroke. “You need to call 911 or go to the ER for this,” she stated.
Results
Joseph clarified that the main takeaway from the study was not “that people shouldn’t take SSRIs,” but rather “what can people who take them do to protect themselves in the heat.” Saywell intends to continue writing on SSRIs and summer heat going forward. She also anticipates that she will keep getting a barrage of remarks from those who were unaware of the danger that heat may bring to them.
“Considering how common and potentially dangerous this side effect is, it’s actually pretty sad how little is known about it,” the speaker stated.
