Antidepressants can put you at risk of potentially deadly heat stroke. Here's how to stay safe while taking them this summer.

• Antidepressants can affect your body's ability to regulate heat and increase your risk of heatstroke.
• Different types of antidepressants have different effects on your body's thermoregulation.

As temperatures hit record highs this summer, the 13.2% of Americans who use antidepressants need to take extra steps to make sure they stay cool.

Dr. Nial Wheate, associate professor of pharmacy at the University of Sydney, Australia, told Insider that antidepressants can affect the body's ability to regulate temperature, meaning it can't cool itself down in the usual ways – such as sweating and making you thirsty so you drink more water.

People on antidepressants are therefore much more likely to be heat intolerant, meaning they have an increased risk of heatstroke, fainting, and dehydration, according to Wheate.

Different types of antidepressants carry different risks in the heat

Wheate said there are different risks associated with different types of antidepressants.

Tricyclic antidepressants are an older type, which are usually prescribed if other treatments are ineffective.

"Tricyclic antidepressants can cause you to sweat less," Wheate said, "because they act as anticholinergics, which means they basically stop your sweat glands from producing sweat. We sweat to cool down, so if you're not sweating then you can't regulate your body temperature properly and you're likely to overheat."

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, on the other hand, make you sweat more. Wheate said that this might sound like a good thing because you can lose heat from that sweat, but it can actually lead to dehydration if you losing more water than you realize.

Both types of antidepressants increase your risk of heatstroke and heat-related illnesses

Heat-related illnesses, such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion, occur when the body is unable to regulate its temperature, and can be damaging to the brain and other vital organs, which can't operate properly in high temperatures, according to the CDC.

Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness, and happens when the body completely loses the ability to regulate heat and the sweating mechanism fails, so you are unable to cool down. This can cause disability or even death without emergency treatment.

Symptoms of heat stroke include: profuse sweating or hot dry skin, confusion and slurred speech, a very high body temperature, seizures, and loss of consciousness.

Keep cool to stay safe in the heat

Wheate said people shouldn't stop taking antidepressants even if they are worried about overheating, because "managing your depression is more important." Discuss the specific risks of your medication with your doctor or pharmacist if you're worried, he said.

He suggested having a fan blow over you if you're taking tricyclic antidepressants, so that even though you're sweating less, the sweat you are producing is more effective at wicking away heat from your body.

For those on SSRIs, Wheate said that drinking lots to replace lost fluids is the best thing you can do. But, he said, "you don't want to just drink water — you need to drink something salty or slightly sugary because when you sweat you don't just lose the water, you lose salts and sugars, and you need to replace those."