Are your medications damaging your kidneys?

A study highlighted that use of over-the-counter and prescription medications accounts for about 20 percent of cases of acute renal failure.

By: Shraddha Rupavate | | Published: February 5, 2015 6:45 pm

We know that painkillers while addressing the problem at hand can do considerable damage to your body. In fact, relying on them to avert pain is like pushing your health towards the path of deterioration in a planned manner, even if you aren’t aware about it. More so if you are popping those pills without any medical supervision.

Most people are habitual pill-poppers, assuming nothing untoward will ever happen to them. They may either be taking common OTC medication like painkillers or antibiotics or maybe following the doctor’s prescription for conditions like diabetes, hypertension for a long time (beyond the time they are asked to take them), without understanding the implications. However, kidney damage due to medicines isn’t as rare as you think. A study highlighted that use of over-the-counter and prescription medications accounts for about 20 percent of cases of acute renal failure. Here are the complications of kidney disease that you should know about.

The worst part about kidney damage is that in the initial stages no symptoms are seen. As kidney failure progresses, the following symptoms may be evident:

Pain in the back, below the rib cage
Vomiting and nausea
Swelling of hands and feet
Anaemia, dizziness
Loss of appetite
Weight loss (Read more about symptoms of kidney disease)

Common drugs that damage the kidneys

Although over-use of any drug may cause kidney damage, there are several classes of drugs that have more chances of damaging the kidneys or are more nephrotoxic.

Pain killers or analgesics, such as acetaminophen, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) such as aspirin and ibuprofen may lead to end stage kidney disease (ESKD) and acute renal failure with prolonged and continued use. Here are five foods that could help you recover from kidney diseases.

Drugs, such as captopril, used in high blood pressure have shown to favour renal failure by affecting tubular function.

Antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, methicillin, vancomycin and sulfonamides. Here is all that you need to know about antibiotics.

Drugs like chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine that are used to treat malaria, acyclovir that is used to treat herpes infection, and HIV drugs such as indinavir and tenofovir also cause kidney damage.

Rheumatoid arthritis drugs including infliximab.

Anticonvulsants or drugs including phenytoin and trimethadione that are used to treat seizures.

Chemotherapy drugs, including interferons, cisplatin, cyclosporine and tacrolimus.

Anti-thyroid drugs such as propylthiouracil. (Also read the effect of herbal medicines on kidney)

Why and how do these drugs affect the kidneys?

The kidneys contain millions of tiny structures or filtering units called nephrons which help the kidneys to filter up to 200 quarts of blood in a day. Every oral pill or medicine you take dissolves in the intestine and gets absorbed into the blood stream. The absorbed drug reaches the kidneys and is filtered to get reabsorbed back into the bloodstream. With frequent intake of medicines, the kidneys are constantly exposed to high concentrations of drugs and their end products, which could be toxic. Further, the kidneys have several attributes that allow these end-products to accumulate.

A drug that causes damage to the kidneys is called as a ‘nephrotoxic drug.’ Any sort of damage to the kidneys can make them inefficient to filter out the toxins it is exposed to everyday. These toxins then start accumulating in various tissues of the body, and can even cause death.

There are several ways in which drugs may affect the kidneys:

They may reduce blood supply to the kidneys by shrinking the blood vessels
They may interfere with the flow of urine
They may directly cause an injury to kidneys
They may cause an allergic reaction which damages the kidneys

Is the risk of kidney damage same for everyone?

Normal kidney function gradually decreases with age whether or not you take any drugs. But, people who take lots of medicines in their youth may develop a risk of kidney damage during old age. A study shows that among older people, the incidence of drug-induced nephrotoxicity may be as high as 66 per cent. People who are diabetic or have cardiovascular diseases often take multiple medications which increase their chances of kidney damage. It has been observed that intake of dietary supplements may also be related to kidney damage.

Prevention of kidney damage:

Since you may not be able to avoid taking medicines under certain conditions, here are a few ways in which you can reduce damage to your kidneys:

Avoid self medication
While taking over-the-counter drugs, check labels for warnings
Avoid habituating yourself to particular medicines such as sleeping pills or painkillers. Instead follow a healthy lifestyle.
Long-term consumption of drugs should be only under supervision
Toxicity is often related to dosage and frequency. Make sure you are not overusing drugs
Drink adequate fluids to flush out the toxins
Avoid taking painkillers during pregnancy
Avoid drinking alcohol

Image source: Getty Images

Published: February 5, 2015 6:45 pm

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