Cloudy insulin.
Doctors and pharmacists say the scorching temperatures enveloping the country could be endangering people’s health in an unexpected way: by overheating their medications.
Millions of Americans now receive their prescription medications through mail-order shipments, either for convenience or because their health plans require it.
But the temperatures inside the cargo areas of delivery trucks can reach 150 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, according to drivers — far exceeding the range of 68 to 77 degrees recommended by the national organization that sets standards for drug handling.
Aerosolized medications, too, are uniquely vulnerable because of the risk of pressure changes in the canister.
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capsules that melted. Insulin that is foggy. tablets that might be out of date.
The country’s extreme heat may be putting people’s health at risk in an unexpected way, according to physicians and pharmacists: by overheating their prescription drugs.
For convenience or because their health plans demand it, millions of Americans now get their prescription drugs through mail-order shipments. However, drivers report that during the summer, temperatures inside delivery trucks’ cargo areas can soar to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, well above the 68 to 77 degree range that the national body that establishes guidelines for handling drugs recommends.
Mail-order pharmacies claim that when a medication “requires specific temperature control,” they take extra precautions and their packaging is weather resistant. However, independent pharmaceutical researchers found that, “regardless of the shipping method, carrier, or season,” the packages had spent more than two-thirds of their transit time outside the acceptable temperature range in a study that was published last year. The researchers used data-logging thermometers embedded inside simulated shipments. “.
According to medical professionals, extreme temperatures can change the ingredients in a variety of medications, including oral contraceptives, levothyroxine, a thyroid replacement therapy, and pancreatic enzymes.
Dr. According to Mike Ren, an assistant professor in the department of family and community medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine and primary care physician, liquid medications such as insulin or AUVI-Q (epinephrine injection for allergic reactions) are susceptible to degradation due to the evaporation of liquid components that were compounded at specific ratios caused by excessive heat exposure. Aerosolized drugs are also particularly susceptible due to the possibility of canister pressure variations.
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