Warning to antidepressant users as heat wave temperatures hit 100 degrees
Doctors are warning that people taking certain antidepressants could be at risk of serious health problems as temperatures soar into the triple digits.
They're urging users to take extra precautions as the tri-state swelters — before it's too late.
Advertisement
3 Dr. Zachary Rubin is warning antidepressant users to be extra careful in the heat.
TikTok/@rubin_allergy
'If you're taking certain antidepressants, you may be at risk for developing heat intolerance and dehydration,' Dr. Zachary Rubin, a pediatrician and immunologist, warned in a recent TikTok video.
Studies show about 1 in 8 American adults take antidepressants. Research suggests that two major types can interfere with how the body regulates temperature.
The first group, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), includes widely prescribed drugs like Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), Lexapro (escitalopram), Paxil (paroxetine) and Celexa (citalopram).
Advertisement
The second group, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), includes older meds such as Elavil (amitriptyline), Anafranil (clomipramine) and Silenor (doxepin).
Studies show these medications can spike internal body temps to 106°F or higher — while also throwing a wrench in the body's natural cooling system.
'You may excessively sweat or you may not be able to sweat quite as much,' Rubin explained.
Advertisement
3 Sweat helps protect the body from overheating.
Getty Images
That's no small issue: Sweating is the body's primary defense against overheating. Without it, your chances of heatstroke, organ failure and even death increases substantially.
Research shows SSRIs and TCAs may also mess with the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that helps regulate body temperature, thirst and blood pressure.
Advertisement
'When the hypothalamus cannot control body temperature, someone can overheat,' Dr. David Tzall, a licensed psychologist, told Medical News Today.
That increased heat sensitivity increases your chances of heat exhaustion, which has symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, muscle cramps, headaches and heavy sweating, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Left unchecked, heat exhaustion can quickly escalate into heat stroke — the most dangerous form of heat-related illness.
At that stage, the body can begin to shut down, triggering seizures, hot dry skin or intense sweating, loss of consciousness and serious brain trouble, including confusion, erratic behavior and slurred speech.
In extreme cases, heat stroke can cause permanent disability or death.
'If you begin to feel a rapid heartbeat, start sweating excessively, develop nausea, dizziness or leg cramping, immediately seek air conditioning and if necessary, have someone call 911,' Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency medicine physician, told Health.com.
Still, experts say SSRIs and TCAs are safe and effective — as long as patients know the risks and can spot the warning signs before things turn dangerous.
Advertisement
3 SSRIs are the most popular form of antidepressants on the market.
nenetus – stock.adobe.com
Rubin recommends staying hydrated, avoiding direct sun and wearing loose, light-colored clothing when temperatures climb.
'If you are struggling at all, make sure that you seek out help,' he said.
The warnings come as a once-in-a-century scorcher grips the East Coast, with more than 150 million Americans currently living under 'extreme' heat alerts.
Advertisement
Each summer, more than 500 New Yorkers die prematurely because of hot weather, a figure that has been climbing in recent years.
'This week's heat wave could be deadly and life threatening if you are not prepared,' Mayor Eric Adams warned in a recent public safety alert.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
If Thimerosal Is Safe, Why Is It Being Removed From Vaccines?
Credit - Getty Images There's a newly appointed panel of experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), freshly chosen by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, it sets the immunization schedule for Americans. And some of the new members have histories of vaccine-skepticism. On June 26, this panel voted to remove thimerosal from flu vaccines. The ingredient has long been the target of anti-vaccine activists, despite numerous studies showing it's safe in small amounts. The committee's recommendation now goes to the CDC's acting director to become a formal recommendation. (Susan Monarez, President Trump's selection to head the agency, is currently undergoing confirmation hearings). Here's how thimerosal got into vaccines, why it's being taken out, and what the latest recommendation could mean for next season's flu shots. Thimerosal, which contains a form of mercury called ethylmercury, has been used in vaccines as a preservative since the 1930s to prevent growth of fungi and bacteria. At the time, most vaccines came in larger vials that contained multiple doses, and while the vaccine makers produced a sterile and safe product, 'each time you pierce a needle [into the vial] you are potentially introducing contaminants that can lead to infection,' says Dr. Jason Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians. 'While the vaccine itself was safe, the vials got contaminated, and there were deaths from infection. So the decision was made to put a preservative in it.' That preservative—thimerosal—was used routinely in vaccines until 2001, when federal health officials decided to remove it from the majority of childhood vaccines. It is currently only used in flu vaccines that come in multi-dose vials. (Most of the flu vaccines in the U.S. come in single-dose syringes that do not contain thimerosal.) Ethylmercury is cleared from the body more quickly than methylmercury, which is primarily found in deep-sea fish like tuna. Both types of mercury can be toxic to cells, particularly in the brain, but the more quickly-cleared ethylmercury has less time to cause such harm, according to the CDC. Read More: FDA Approves a Twice-Yearly Shot to Prevent HIV 'Data from many studies show no evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines,' the CDC's website says. That includes studies that looked at a variety of neurological and psychological outcomes, as well as autism. However, researchers say longer term data on the health effects of exposure to both types of mercury isn't completely clear yet. In 2001, federal health officials decided to remove thimerosal from most childhood vaccines, which at the time included shots for influenza, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and hepatitis B. Thimerosal remained in trace amounts in larger vials of the annual flu vaccine to protect against contamination. Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the time, says there were a number of reasons for the decision back then—most of which had more to do with policy pressures and optics than with concerns over health harms. In early 1998, Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenterologist in the U.K., had published a paper in which he linked the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella to an increased risk of autism. His paper has since been debunked and his medical license has been revoked, but his findings sparked the anti-vaccine movement that continues today, despite evidence that vaccines have saved lives and provide more benefit than harm. After Wakefield's paper gained notoriety, a U.S. Congressman asked the CDC's vaccine experts to review the data and vote whether, as Wakefield suggested, the vaccines for the three diseases should be separated and given individually to reduce any potential harm to infants. It wasn't based in science, and 'around the table we voted 'no,'' says Offit, who was part the committee. Read More: A Study Retracted 15 Years Ago Continues to Threaten Childhood Vaccines A few months later, vaccine maker Wyeth decided to remove RotaShield, the first vaccine to protect against rotavirus, from the market—just 10 months after it was approved. The vaccine was linked to rare bowel obstruction in some babies who had received it in their first six months. The withdrawal understandably added to the public's concerns about the safety of vaccines. So when issues about the potential risks of mercury in thimerosal emerged, in part due to Wakefield's paper, Offit says the committee was faced with addressing Americans' growing concern that federal health agencies were not adequately ensuring vaccine safety. 'We had a vaccine that had been approved and then taken off the market; we did not buy Andrew Wakefield's notion to separate the MMR vaccine into three component parts. And now we had thimerosal,' says Offit. The committee's leader, as well as the members, 'were cognizant of the fact that it looked like were weren't paying attention to vaccine safety, or that we didn't care. Because we approved RotaShield, and we didn't listen to Andrew Wakefield.' 'My understanding was that at the time, there was essentially no evidence of any harm from thimerosal,' says Dr. Sean O'Leary, chair of the committee on infectious diseases at the American Academy of Pediatrics. 'But the concern was that it probably hasn't been studied as well as perhaps we'd like. And since we have the technology to remove it from the childhood vaccine schedule, we should go ahead and do that. But many, many people questioned that decision.' One of them was Offit, who can't recall if there was an actual vote, but says he would have voted against removing thimerosal had there been one. Nothing about the makeup of the vaccines changed—only the formulation to package it into sterile, single-use syringes. 'It was an anti-science move,' he says. 'It did nothing to make vaccines safer—all we did was make them more expensive. We didn't explain ourselves. We didn't trust the American public to understand the nuance.' Read More: Measles Is Now Showing Up in Wastewater As a result, the decision to remove thimerosal was interpreted by many in the public, including anti-vaccine activists, as acknowledgement that thimerosal was unsafe and harmful. That decision, says Offit, 'gave birth to two anti vaccine groups—Moms Against Mercury and Generation Rescue. Any reasonable person would have thought, 'Why take it out so precipitously unless there was a problem?'' Because of that decision, currently only about 3% to 4% of flu vaccines in the U.S. that come in multi-dose vials contain thimerosal. And these larger vials are mostly used in rural and low-resource settings since they are less expensive than single-dose syringes. Most children who have received their immunizations at pediatrician offices for decades now have not been exposed to thimerosal. 'I don't know of any pediatric practices that use the multi-dose vials,' says O'Leary. 'It's pretty uncommon. Even if pediatricians did use the multi-dose vials, it's a non-issue because it's safe. This is a very clear effort to shine a light on this anti-vaccine trope that thimerosal is somehow dangerous.' What concerns health experts about the new recommendation is that normal protocols governing the CDC panel's agenda and presentations weren't followed. Kennedy, a long-time vaccine skeptic, oversees the CDC and in June replaced all 17 previous members of the immunization committee with eight new members, many of whom lack expertise in vaccines and immunology. Dr. Cody Meissner, a faculty member at Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine, is the only pediatrician on the committee and also served on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's expert vaccine committee. He was the only committee member to vote against the proposal to remove thimerosal from flu vaccines, telling other members that 'of all the issues that ACIP needs to focus on, this is not a big issue.' 'The real question is, why was this even brought up?' says Goldman. 'The thimerosal question has been asked and answered multiple times. We are not only re-litigating the issue, but now, instead of a fringe group refusing to accept evidence, they are now the decision makers.' Read More: Still Not Feeling the Same After COVID-19? You're Not Alone The CDC committee includes liaison members of experts from professional organizations who add expertise and perspective to the discussions, but aren't voting members. Many such groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, decided not to attend the latest committee meeting in protest over the firing of the previous members. "We made the decision that this was an illegitimate meeting because of the way the Secretary dismissed all 17 members who were highly qualified, and hand-picked people who are a mix of COVID-19 contrarians and outright anti-vaccine folks," says O'Leary. "We decided not to legitimize the process with our presence." The experts TIME spoke to about the latest decision say that the CDC posted a description and references for studies that have supported the safety of thimerosal in vaccines, but that it was removed from the agency's website before the committee meeting. 'I am very concerned that this committee will do everything it can to undermine the vaccine schedule and the public's trust in science and data,' says Goldman. 'If that happens, and vaccines are no longer appropriately recommended, it will lead to an increase in infections and deaths and put the entire public health system at risk.' The recommendation is 'unprecedented,' says O'Leary, and therefore it's not clear how long manufacturers will have to comply, or what happens to existing vials that are already purchased and stored for the upcoming flu season, since they are legally approved. It's also unclear how insurers will address the change, and whether they will continue to cover flu shots from multi-dose vials containing thimerosal, which are mostly used in lower-resource settings. A spokesperson for Sanofi Pasteur, one of the larger flu vaccine makers in the U.S., said 'a very small number of our doses supplied in the U.S. contain thimerosal. We now await the decision by the CDC on the path forward.' It's not clear yet what impact the recommendation, if adopted, will have on vaccine supply, although since the bulk of flu shots currently do not contain thimerosal, the number of available doses shouldn't be affected. Sanofi's spokesperson anticipated that 'we will have sufficient supply of Sanofi flu vaccine to support customer preference for this season.' Still, since lower-resource and rural settings may rely on the less expensive multi-dose vials, in these areas, supply of the vaccines could dwindle if clinics can't afford to purchase as many of the single-dose syringes. 'The big concern from my perspective is that vaccinating the entire population for influenza every year is a herculean task,' says O'Leary. 'And there have been issues over the years because of shortages for one reason or another. To eliminate roughly 5% of the flu shot supply all of a sudden shortly before flu season to me means that fewer people may get vaccinated—and more hospitalizations and deaths.' Contact us at letters@
CNET
an hour ago
- CNET
Don't Forget to Thaw Your Frozen Meat Ahead of Fourth of July Cookouts
Planning on grilling over the Fourth of July weekend? Don't forget about the meat in your freezer. If you're planning to indulge in it this holiday weekend, you'll want to make sure that you properly thaw it beforehand. Experts warn against cooking frozen meat because the internal temperature often doesn't get high enough to kill lingering bacteria, especially around bones and more central structures. If consumed, it could pose a very serious health risk. I asked Diego Campos Vargas, executive chef at CAMP in Greenville, South Carolina, an expert when it comes to churning out high-quality dishes for carnivores. I recently dined at his establishment, where I noshed on everything from seared scallops and grilled octopus to steak pinchos and merguez agnolotti -- all of which were cooked perfectly and left a lasting impression. "Unfortunately, we live in a society where we expect things to move fast and to be ready, but food shouldn't be that way. You shouldn't speed up cooking methods and processes," he says. "You can cook meat from frozen, but not with all products." That said, Vargas shares with us one exception to the thaw process. Here are his top tips for anyone who may be short on time, but who still want to achieve flavorful mealtime success. Best practices for safely thawing meat Poultry and other large cuts if meat should be thawed slowly in the fridge for safety. Getty Images 1. The slow thaw is best Nothing beats a slow thawing method to preserve the integrity of meat and prepare it safely. "Ideally, you want to thaw proteins slowly in a fridge," says Vargas. "At CAMP, we plan ahead. When we get our delivery on Wednesday, we know we will need to prepare the duck confit, octopus, etc. over the weekend." "Instead of storing in the freezer, we will store it in sheet pans inside our walk-in. This way, the product slowly gets to the same temperature as the walk-in. By the second day, the protein is ready to be processed and cooked as needed," he adds. 2. Thaw under cold running water But if time is of the essence and you're in a situation where meat must be thawed immediately, Vargas says that the best practice is to place the protein in a container under the sink and allow cold water to run continuously over it. " This will ensure the water stays at a constant temperature," he says. "The Department of Health and Environmental Control recommends that you run cold water when practicing this technique because bacteria love that 70 degrees Fahrenheit to 100 degrees Fahrenheit environment." Read more: How to Properly Thaw Turkey 3. No time to thaw? Braising is your best bet If there is one cooking technique that yields the most successful cooking-from-frozen outcome, it's braising. Not only does the initial high temperature and subsequent extended cooking time kill bacteria and break down the meat's tough fibers, but it's a method that also allows the layering of flavors along the way. "You will be able to infuse more flavor and moisture to the end product throughout the cooking method," Vargas says. The best way to thaw frozen meat is in the fridge over night. AnnickTo braise frozen meat, start by searing each side of the cut (see below on the best cut types) with olive oil or butter in a Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. The meat should develop a crust and turn golden brown. Once this happens, remove the meat from the pot and set it aside. Next, add aromatics such as garlic and onions and soften them in the leftover fat. You may need to scoop out a bit of the protein's juices beforehand, as frozen meat will release more liquid than thawed meat. Deglaze the pan with a liquid of choice. This will typically be stock, broth, wine or even beer. Bring the pot to a simmer and add your meat, ensuring that the liquid doesn't completely cover it. Instead, the protein should be sitting in a shallow bath on low heat. Cover the pot and allow for the meat to cook for a couple hours or until it reaches desired tenderness. You can also add vegetables, herbs or anything else to enhance flavors, though cooking times will vary by ingredient (i.e. a potato is going to take longer to cook than celery). It's also advised that frozen meat be cut into smaller pieces before or after searing, as it will cook more evenly and timely. Safety tip: The type of meat and cut matters Tender cuts of steak should be thawed before cooking, no questions asked. Chowhound It's no surprise that different protein cuts often require different cooking techniques and times to maximize their flavor and tenderness. Vargas recommends, at least with beef, that you take the cut of meat into consideration before deciding to braise from frozen. Typically, larger cuts that demand longer cooking times such as osso bucco are ideal for braising. If it's a filet mignon that only requires a few minutes of sear, the meat must be thawed. A good rule of thumb: If the protein will literally transform and break down through braising, it should be OK to cook from frozen. Anything smaller and with less fat content will require a thaw. How long you freeze your proteins matter, too Simply placing meat in the freezer won't suffice to extend its life. Different types benefit from different freezing techniques and lengths of time. Some meats will thaw quicker thanHigh-fat cuts like rib eyes can certainly last in the freezer for longer, but it's wise to follow these recommended freezing times for more popular options: Octopus: one month Chicken breast: two months Chicken legs and thighs:three months Pork butt: three months Pork chops: two months Beef filets: two months Chuck beef: four months "As a rule of thumb, I would say that you want to freeze proteins for less time if they cook at a lower temperature," recommends Vargas. "For example: fish is cooked 'well-done' at 135 degrees Fahrenheit while beef is cooked well-done at 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You want to freeze fish and all other seafood for less time than you would beef and pork." Proper sealing is key during the freeze To achieve maximum freezer capabilities, Vargas recommends investing in a vacuum seal machine with proper storage bags. "I freeze leftover raw proteins all the time in my house," he reveals. "The bags also make it easy for thawing in the fridge." Fish can also be frozen, but not for as long as beef can be."When freezing, water molecules freeze, but when thawed out, the molecules melt and become the liquid that leaks from the protein," explains Vargas. "All those juices could be part of the protein, but they are lost after freezing. This influences the quality of the product greatly." Looking for the latest and greatest models to keep meat and all of its components intact? Check out our round-up of the top vacuum sealers of 2025.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Democratic states sue Trump administration over school mental health funding cuts
Sixteen Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday challenging the Department of Education's cuts to mental health funding for schools. In April, the Education Department announced the $1 billion cut to mental health funding, citing concerns with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives embedded in the contracts. The states allege the contracts were unlawfully terminated under the Administrative Procedure Act and that the cancellation goes against congressional mandates. The lawsuit says the cuts would cause 'immediate and devastating harm' to schools. 'By cutting funding for these lifesaving youth mental health programs, the Department of Education is abandoning our children when they need us most,' said New York Attorney General Letitia James. 'These grants have helped thousands of students access critical mental health services at a time when young people are facing record levels of depression, trauma, and anxiety.' 'To eliminate these grants now would be a grave disservice to children and families in New York and nationwide, and my office is fighting back to preserve these much-needed programs,' James added. The lawsuit was filed by New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin. The Hill has reached out to the Department of Education for comment. In its initial announcement of the cut, the department argued the grants designed to help children were making the situation the worse. 'These grants are intended to improve American students' mental health by funding additional mental health professionals in schools and on campuses. Instead, under the deeply flawed priorities of the Biden Administration, grant recipients used the funding to implement race-based actions like recruiting quotas in ways that have nothing to do with mental health and could hurt the very students the grants are supposed to help,' said Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications at the Education Department. 'We owe it to American families to ensure that tax-payer dollars are supporting evidence-based practices that are truly focused on improving students' mental health,' she added.
