The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has used the summer travel period to issue a straightforward public safety message: medicines can be damaged by heat if they are stored carelessly. In advice published on GOV.UK, the regulator said that hot cars, luggage, caravans and sunny rooms can expose products to temperatures that affect how well they work. The announcement is not a change in the rules on medicine storage. It is a seasonal reminder that existing instructions on packaging and in patient information leaflets still apply when households travel, leave medicines in bags for long periods, or store them in warmer parts of the home.
The MHRA said many medicines are intended to be stored below 25°C, and that exposure to higher temperatures can reduce their effectiveness. Some products must be kept in a fridge, while others are designed for room temperature storage. The regulator highlighted insulin, certain inhalers, creams used for skin conditions and some contraceptives as examples where storage conditions can matter. The same point applies to some medical devices. According to the MHRA, products such as blood glucose monitors and insulin strips may also have specific storage requirements, and those requirements vary by product.
Dr Alison Cave, the MHRA's Chief Safety Officer, said the problem is often one of ordinary routines rather than deliberate misuse. Parked cars, packed suitcases, caravans and rooms in direct sun can become much hotter than expected during summer, particularly when medicines are left unattended for several hours. Her message was practical rather than alarmist: checking the storage instructions takes only a few minutes, but it can help make sure a medicine remains safe and effective when it is needed. For patients managing long-term conditions, that may determine whether routine treatment continues as intended.
The regulator's advice is simple. People should check the patient information leaflet or outer packaging for the storage wording that applies to their medicine or device, and they should use that wording as the starting point for travel planning as well as home storage. The MHRA also advised against leaving medicines in cars, suitcases or other enclosed spaces that can heat up quickly. At home, it recommends storing medicines in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and away from bathrooms or other sources of heat, where temperature and moisture can fluctuate.
The guidance also sets out what patients should do when there is doubt. Anyone who is unsure how a medicine should be stored, or who thinks it may have been exposed to excessive heat, is advised to speak to a pharmacist. If a medicine no longer seems to be working as expected, the MHRA says patients should also contact a pharmacist or doctor. Suspected problems can be reported through the Yellow Card scheme, the regulator's system for collecting safety concerns about medicines and medical devices. That route matters because it allows the agency to monitor patterns of suspected harm or product failure beyond individual cases.
For policy readers, the significance lies less in new regulation than in how regulators translate technical requirements into public-facing advice. The storage terms printed on medicines are often treated as routine label text, but in hot weather they become a practical safety issue, especially for people travelling with temperature-sensitive treatments. The MHRA has placed this message alongside its wider summer health advice on medicines, medical devices and staying safe in heat. As an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care, and the UK body responsible for regulating medicines and medical devices, it is using seasonal communications to reinforce safe use rather than announce a formal policy shift.