{"id":506439,"date":"2026-07-02T16:07:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T16:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/506439\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T16:07:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T16:07:08","slug":"advice-on-protecting-diabetes-medication-in-heat-emj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/506439\/","title":{"rendered":"Advice on Protecting Diabetes Medication in Heat \u2013 EMJ"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>THE MEDICINES AND HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS REGULATORY AGENCY (MHRA) has issued a reminder to patients in the UK to appropriately manage medication amid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.emjreviews.com\/general-healthcare\/news\/deadly-heat-stress-thresholds-cooler-than-previously-thought\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">record-breaking summer temperatures<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The agency urged storage of medication out of direct sunlight in cool, dry places, awareness of heat-related illness symptoms, and potentially additional sun protection in line with medication guidance.<\/p>\n<p>Alison Cave, Chief Safety Officer, MHRA, said: \u201cLet\u2019s face it \u2013 when there\u2019s a heatwave, most of us are focused on getting outside and enjoying it while it lasts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it\u2019s easy to forget that medicines left in the heat \u2013 in cars, bags, or on sunny windowsills \u2013 might not work properly when you need them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome medicines can also make you more likely to burn in the sun, feel dizzy, or get dehydrated, especially if you\u2019re taking diuretics or have a condition like asthma, heart disease, or diabetes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Continuous Glucose Monitors<\/p>\n<p>The MHRA warned that medical devices may be impacted by heat or humidity, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.emjreviews.com\/diabetes\/news\/barriers-behind-unequal-youth-access-to-diabetes-technology-revealed\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">continuous glucose monitors<\/a> (CGM) potentially giving less reliable readings if used or stored in hot conditions.<\/p>\n<p>It recommended storing devices in cool, dry places, alongside checking for any temperature guidance for the specific device.<\/p>\n<p>Upon the device failing to function as usual, patients were urged to run a control check or speak with a pharmacist.<\/p>\n<p>Diuretics, Insulin, and Metformin<\/p>\n<p>The advice also encouraged those taking diuretics to drink more water and stay cool to avoid dehydration.<\/p>\n<p>Further, insulin and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.emjreviews.com\/microbiology-infectious-diseases\/news\/metformin-lowers-clinician-diagnosed-long-covid-risk\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">metformin<\/a> can increase the risk of dehydration or make early symptoms harder to notice.<\/p>\n<p>The MHRA warned that, overall, hot weather changes can impact the body\u2019s response to medication, which can have adverse effects on the management of long-term conditions, such as diabetes.<\/p>\n<p>Reference<\/p>\n<p>GOV.UK. Don\u2019t let this heatwave affect your medicines: three important tips from the MHRA. 2026. Available at: https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/dont-let-this-heatwave-affect-your-medicines-three-important-tips-from-the-mhra. Last accessed: 2 July 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Featured image: LunaLu on Adobe Stock<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE MEDICINES AND HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS REGULATORY AGENCY (MHRA) has issued a reminder to patients in the UK to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[134,524,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-506439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-health","tag-medication","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}