---
title: "Managing POTS during heat and weather changes: patient perspectives and practical adjustments"
id: "bmj-4-living-with-pots-during-weather-changes"
canonical_url: "https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/bmj-4-living-with-pots-during-weather-changes"
content_type: "clinical_feed_article"
specialty: "Neurology"
source_name: "BMJ"
source_url: "http://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913.short?rss=1"
published_at: "2026-10-21T10:51:10.000Z"
evidence_level: "Journal Feed"
license: "CC-BY-NC-4.0 / Informational Use"
---
# Managing POTS during heat and weather changes: patient perspectives and practical adjustments
## Provenance & Clinical Metadata
- **Canonical URL:** https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/bmj-4-living-with-pots-during-weather-changes
- **Specialty:** [Neurology](https://medichelpline.com/clinical-feed/neurology.md)
- **Primary Source:** BMJ
- **Source URL:** [Original Journal Publication](http://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913.short?rss=1)
- **Published At:** 2026-10-21T10:51:10.000Z
- **Evidence Rating:** Journal Feed
## Executive GIST (TL;DR)
- Patient author with more than a decade living with **POTS** described heat, sun exposure, and atmospheric pressure shifts as common triggers for symptom flares. - The account reported inability to regulate temperature, sun sensitivity, altered sweating, light-headedness, and risk of heat stroke; these experiences drove activity restriction and social isolation during heatwaves. - Practical measures the patient uses included increased hydration, electrolyte attention, cooling garments (vests, natural-fibre clothing), compression garments, abdominal binders, periodic ice packs, foot immersion, and smaller, light meals to aid digestion. - The patient prioritised pacing activities, scheduling tasks early or late in the day, taking frequent breaks, and remote hospital appointments or early clinic slots when travel was necessary. - The author asked clinicians to acknowledge heat vulnerability, offer emergency access systems, individualise advice (work adjustments, monitoring electrolytes, timing blood tests), and consider medication review during extreme temperatures. - Source type: single patient perspective piece in BMJ’s “What your patient is thinking”; no quantitative methods, trial data, or systematic evidence synthesis were reported in the source. - Editorial and provenance details from the source: competing interests declared none; article not externally peer reviewed; written by a patient author describing lived experience and practical adaptations.
## Clinical Analysis & Structured Key Points
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[Education](https://www.bmj.com/us/education) 2. Living with POTS... 3. Living with POTS during weather changes Practice What Your Patient is Thinking # Living with POTS during weather changes BMJ 2026; 395 doi: (Published 21 October 2026) Cite this as: BMJ 2026;395:e100913 * [Article](https://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913 "Article Tab - Article")[](https://www.bmj.com/panels_ajax_tab/jnl_bmj_tab_art/node:1129182/1 "Article Tab - Article") * [Related content](https://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913/related "Article Tab - Related Articles")[](https://www.bmj.com/panels_ajax_tab/jnl_bmj_tab_related_art/node:1129182/1 "Article Tab - Related Articles") * [Metrics](https://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913/article-info "Article Tab - Info & Metrics")[](https://www.bmj.com/panels_ajax_tab/jnl_bmj_tab_info/node:1129182/1 "Article Tab - Info & Metrics") * [Responses](https://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913/rapid-responses "BMJ Article Related Rapid Responses")[](https://www.bmj.com/panels_ajax_tab/bmj_related_rapid_responses/node:1129182/1 "BMJ Article Related Rapid Responses") * [Peer review](https://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913/peer-review "Article Tab - Peer review")[](https://www.bmj.com/panels_ajax_tab/jnl_bmj_tab_peer_review/node:1129182/1 "Article Tab - Peer review") * [](https://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913/submit-a-rapid-response "BMJ Rapid Responses Form")[](https://www.bmj.com/panels_ajax_tab/bmj_rapid_responses_form/node:1129182/1 "BMJ Rapid Responses Form") ![Loading](https://www.bmj.com/sites/all/modules/contrib/panels_ajax_tab/images/loading.gif) 1. Jennifer [Author affiliations](https://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913.short?rss=1) 1. Patient author _Practical adjustments and understanding can help people with POTS manage their symptoms during periods of extreme heat, writes Jennifer_ I have lived with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) for over 12 years. It affects me every day and no single day is ever the same. Several things can trigger a flare, including changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure. The recent summer heatwaves were very challenging. I had to postpone going to hospital for scheduled treatment as I knew that the lack of ventilation or air conditioning there would make me feel unwell, and this would have a knock-on effect on my treatment response. ## Extreme weather Because of POTS, my body struggles to regulate its temperature, and this makes me prone to heat stroke. I experience sun sensitivity and altered sweating capacity, and changes in air temperature can make me light headed and dizzy. As a result, I tend to not socialise or stay out when it is very warm during the day, which can be isolating. I have found several ways to manage the effects of POTS during hot weather. Staying hydrated and avoiding the midday sun are essential. Wearing cooling vests and clothing made from natural fibres like cotton or linen, as well as compression shorts or footless compression tights and abdominal binders, is helpful. Periodically I use an ice pack on the back of my neck and sometimes put my feet in a bucket of water. Eating smaller, light, freshly made meals helps with digestion and electrolytes. Pacing activities, taking more frequent breaks, and having the flexibility to do tasks in the early morning or evening when it is cooler, have been important. Being able to attend my hospital appointments remotely has also helped, and if I do need to travel, being offered an appointment early in the day has been useful. ## Important conversations I wish more healthcare professionals would understand and acknowledge that patients living with POTS are vulnerable to extreme heat. They need systems in place for emergency access to support when needed. Healthcare professionals can offer support by listening with compassion and tailoring advice to what their patients deem most important or find most challenging; for example, by reminding them to adjust their work or activities and ensure they take enough electrolytes or water. Considering that blood tests may need to be undertaken earlier in the day, or that medication regimens may need adjustment during hot weather, can help patients feel supported. With the recent heatwaves I am grateful to be near the sea, where temperatures are usually lower than in other parts of the UK. Long term, as overall temperatures rise, I am contemplating moving to a cooler climate such as Scotland or Scandinavia. ### What you need to know * Extreme weather and temperature changes can cause people with POTS to experience flare ups * Flexibility, pacing of activities, and finding ways to keep cool can help patients manage their symptoms and medication during hot weather * Having open conversations with patients living with POTS can help them plan for changes. ### Education into practice * What information or practical support could you give a patient who is experiencing an exacerbation of their symptoms relating to their cardio-vascular autonomic disorder because of changes in temperature, air quality, or humidity? * How might you ensure you are working effectively with patients to make decisions about their support with POTS during extreme weather changes? ## Footnotes * Competing interests: none. * Provenance and peer review: not commissioned; not externally peer reviewed. ## Article tools [PDF](https://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913.full.pdf "PDF")[0 responses](https://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913/rapid-responses) * [Respond to this article](https://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913/submit-a-rapid-response) * [Print](https://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913.full-text.print) * [Alerts & updates](https://www.bmj.com/#mini-panel-jnl-bmj-article-page-alerts-1) #### Article alerts Please note: your email address is provided to the journal, which may use this information for marketing purposes. #### Log in or register: Username * Password * [Register for alerts](https://myaccount.bmj.com/myaccount/registration.html?regService=bmj-registration&fwdUrl=https://www.bmj.com/content/395/bmj-2026-100913?tab=article-alert&itemId=pr1906) If you have registered for alerts, you should use your registered email address as your username * [Citation tools](https://www.bmj.com/#mini-panel-article-page-citation-download-1) #### Download this article to citation manager Jennifer Jennifer. 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