High Blood Pressure Meds and Sun

March 22, 2006 4:55 PM

I've been taking hydrochlorothiazide (25mg) once a day for about 2 months now for high blood pressure. The bottle says avoid prolonged sun exposure. I'm going to Hawaii for 10 days, so it will be pretty hard (and not fun) avoiding sun exposure. I'll be doing the sunscreen, floppy hat, etc. What do I need to worry about? What will happen if I do get prolonged exposure? Yes, I have a call into my doctor...
posted by mhm to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

the internet indicates that the risk is that your skin will be more sensitive and prone to sunburn, not that sunlight will interfere with the effectiveness of the medicine. Assuming your doctor confirms that, it seems like sunscreen + floppy hat + realizing you need to watch out for sunburn should be fine.
posted by clarahamster at 5:15 PM on March 22, 2006

yes!!! and please remember, overcast burns just as bad!
posted by crewshell at 5:18 PM on March 22, 2006

Prolonged exposure can lead to a trip to the hospital with a full-body 3rd degree burn. That'll ruin your vacation. Just take the measures you've listed and keep an eye on it.
posted by puke & cry at 5:53 PM on March 22, 2006

Solarveil UV protectant fabric clothing is great; we put it on our kids as an extra means when we're exposing them to prolonged sun. It's incredibly effective and very comfortable.
posted by padraigin at 8:02 PM on March 22, 2006

I have been on medication during the summertime which says to avoid sun exposure. I figured that just meant I'd be more sensitive so it would take me a half hour to get the kind of burn I'd usually get after being out for 2 hours. It turned out that it was more like I got a 3-hour-burn after 15 minutes. (Of course, I wasn't wearing sunscreen either).
Just be sure to be very diligent with the sunscreen and you should still be able to have fun. I'd also ask your pharmacist if he has any suggestions - they're a lot more familiar with drug side effects and such.
posted by Iamtherealme at 1:13 AM on March 23, 2006

Take this very, very seriously, the skin can be very susceptible from medication, i know from experience! And remember skin lotion wears off so re-apply. If u r serious about your appearance don't be exposed - don't swim or anything. Seriously. Did I mention I was serious?
posted by uni verse at 10:54 AM on March 23, 2006

be very diligent with the sunscreen

if you're not normally prone to sunburn, you might ask your pale friends what you're likely to forget to put sunscreen on. (the tops of your ears, for instance)
posted by clarahamster at 6:40 PM on March 23, 2006