7 Common Medications That Can Damage Your Kidneys

seven common medications that can be harmful for your kidneys we live in a time of medications they help us somewhat but they can also kill us silently now as we age our kidneys won't work as smoothly it's important to keep them away from too many chemicals and medicines but it's challenging because aging often brings a host of health issues and more pills to take certain medications can be nephrotoxic meaning they can cause direct or indirect harm to the kidneys as a result the kidney's ability to filter blood diminishes and harmful waste builds up leading to serious health issues kidney damage severity is measured in stages ranging from mild dysfunction to complete failure the risk of kidney damage from drugs or drug induced nephrotoxicity increases as you age and have kidney conditions there are two main types of kidney damage from medications dose dependent toxicity and idiosyncratic toxicity dose dependent toxicity means that damage increases with higher doses in contrast idiosyncratic toxicity is unpredictable and varies greatly between people sometimes it's best to avoid these drugs altogether drug induced nephrotoxicity can result from muscle tissue breakdown or rabdom myolysis kidney tissue death or renal infarction and acid buildup or renal tubular acidosis this can result in decreased kidney function and other conditions like nephrotic syndrome or electrolyte imbalances in this video we'll explore the impact of common medications on Kidney Health and provide practical tips for managing these drugs safely remember understanding the risks associated with them can Empower you to make informed decisions about your Healthcare stay tuned and learn how to protect your kidneys while effectively treating other medical conditions before we dive in kindly note that all information you'll find in this video is produced by humans and for humans you can visit our website at health. com to see our Advisory board and the team Behind these videos we do not use artificial intelligence writing tools like chat GPT to automatically generate content be assured our information is Thoroughly fact checked unbiased and reviewed by qualified professionals all right it's time to swing back to the medications that can be harmful for your kidneys seven antibiotics antibiotics are prescribed often but they are not without risk does your doctor prescribe antibiotics for your sore throat skin infection or other infection if so it could be harming your kidneys first let's take a look at what antibiotics are antibiotics also known as antibacterials or antimicrobials are a group of medications designed to combat bacterial infections they work either by killing bacteria or preventing them from reproducing you can find common antibiotics with the brand names like cpro Augmentin fagil Baum or amoxicillin these drugs could be prescribed to treat strep throat pneumonia urinary tract infections or UTI in short or skin infections antibiotics can treat these bacterial infections but they can't treat viral infections such as colds flu bronchitis most coughs and most sore throats so you should be extra cautious when your doctor prescribes antibiotics if prescribed improperly you might experience side effects such as diarrhea and liver and kidney problems even when properly used some antibiotics such as polymixins aminoglycosides and vankomycin can harm your kidneys simply put your kidneys play a crucial role in removing antibiotics and Other Drgs from your body but beware antibiotics like polymixin may damage kidney cell membranes possibly causing kidney injury similarly another antibiotic aminoglycosides can accumulate in kidney cells causing cell death and harming kidney tubules in general the mechanism by which each antibiotic causes kidney injury is still not fully understood but it might involve inflammation and harm to kidney cells for antibiotics to be effective and Safe For Kidney Health it's important to use them correctly did you know that nearly onethird of antibiotics prescribed in the United States aren't even appropriate for the conditions being treated that's according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and prevention or CDC in short and a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association before you ask for an antibiotic or if your doctor prescribes one knowing which conditions they can treat is important you can ask them is this necessary and most doctors will gladly explain why it's needed if antibiotics are truly needed follow the dosage exactly as instructed and adhere to any food requirements even if you feel better never save antibiotics for future use or give your prescribed antibiotics to someone else as prescriptions are tailored to individual health needs and conditions are you enjoying our video so far if so please give us some hints by dropping a like and we'll make more content like this six non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or nids in short some may not recognize non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs but have you heard of ibuprofen aspirin Motrin cerac telic coxib or Naproxin yes they're all nids and you can purchase some of them without a prescription in fact nids are very common over 30 million people take them daily nids are commonly used to ease headaches sprains and strains colds and flu and pain from arthritis at their core Neds mainly work by blocking an enzyme called cyc oxygenase or coxen short this enzyme helps produce pain causing substances however Cox is also important for protecting the kidneys during stress and helping regulate sodium and water excretion so when nids block Coxs it's a big reason why these drugs can harm your kidneys in fact all nids can cause acute kidney injury or Aki in short especially in older people and when taken in high doses or overextended periods this injury appears in two main ways one because blood flow changes and the other because of inflammation both caused by blocking first blocked can narrow kidney blood vessels reducing blood flow this can lead to fluid retention high blood pressure and even mild temporary kidney impairment if this goes unchecked it might cause more severe issues like acute tubular necrosis where kidney tubules die due to lack of oxygen and acute kidney failure even though this can initially look like acute kidney failure it could eventually progress to chronic kidney disease second although Neds are anti-inflammatory drugs prolonged use can trigger inflammation in kidney tubules the tiny structures that filter waste this inflammation is rare but overall kidney issues stemming from NSAIDs are a big concern affecting 1% to 5% of daily users worldwide this means that each year around 500,000 to 2. 5 million people experience kidney injury from NSAIDs what's worse these drugs are often involved in Hospital admissions because of adverse drug events some of which can be deadly a 2006 study published in the Journal of the American Society of nephrology analyzed data from over 10,184 people who were prescribed nids for various conditions the results showed that nids use raised the risk of acute kidney injury by 26% especially within the first 30 days of use this result emphasizes the need for caution when prescribing and using these medications in another study scientists looked at 99 patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain who took nids for 12 months they found that most patients kidney function decreased after Ned's use but returned to normal after switching to another pain reliever drug for those interested in the evidence the studies supporting our claims are provided in the link in our description box now the next set of drugs on our list might surprise you because they're typically considered pretty good for your kidneys five diuretics diuretics help with conditions like fluid retention or swelling often seen in heart and kidney failure and liver cup osis some diuretics are available over the counter but prescription diuretics are typically stronger common diuretics includes hydrochlorizide or HCTZ banide in bumix furosemide sold as Lasix spironolactone found in alone and acetazolamide in diox they work by increasing urine output they're also good for expelling excess salt and water through urine which can help with hypertension or high blood pressure a leading risk factor for kidney disease thus diuretics are generally suitable for your kidneys while diuretics are beneficial overall they don't come without risks especially concerning Kidney Health in fact they don't directly damage the kidneys or affect their filtering function like nids instead they act further down the kidney's process altering the urine's concentration and composition this increases the amount of urine or changes the levels of electrolytes in it so excessive use or high doses of diuretics can lead to dehydration a risk factor for kidney damage a study looked at 131 patients using diuretics and having acute kidney injury from 1999 to 2010 at a hospital at first 96.

2% of the patients already had at least one health issue before starting diuretics with chronic kidney disease or CKD in short being the most common at at 55. 0% they found that patients who use diuretics had higher rates of kidney disease and its risk factors like hypertension and diabetes the higher the dose the bigger the risk also about 27. 5% of the cases of acute kidney injury were caused by diuretics alone while others were due to a combination of diuretics and Other Drgs so always consult your doctors before starting new medications with diuretics for people with CKD who are taking diuretics it's important to stay hydrated and regularly check for electrolytes and kidney function nowadays there are more home testing options available than ever before so people can now check their kidney function from the comfort of their own homes four proton pump inhibitors proton pump inhibitors or ppis in short are widely used medications available over the counter these drugs effectively treat conditions like gastroesophagal reflux disease or jured in short or acid reflux by reducing stomach acid production this is because ppis Target an enzyme in the stomach called hydrogen potassium atpa or proton pump which is crucial for acid secretion although ppis are generally safe and great at soothing acid related discomfort such as heartburn they still carry risks particularly For Kidney Health for example PPI eyes have been linked with acute interstitial nefritis or Aion in short a kidney disorder characterized by inflammation in the spaces between the kidney tubules even though only a tiny number of PPI users develop Ain this drug has become a common cause of drug induced Ain in developed countries more concerning Ain caused by ppis often shows no apparent signs and often goes unnoticed so long-term PPI use may lead to lower kidney function and acute sudden kidney injury over time this can even progress to CKD an often overlooked side effect of long-term PPI use is low magnesium levels in the blood or hypomagnesemia which is linked to CKD simply put hypomagnesemia can disrupt your electrolyte balance and cause inflammation triggering kidney disease low magnesium can also lead to other serious health problems including muscle spasms seizures and irregular heartbeats a 2019 cohort study in the Journal of pharmacotherapy investigated the effects of ppis on kidney function this study checked how PPI use relates to new cases of acute kidney injury or Aki in short and chronic kidney disease in a large group of people when they examined a group of 93335 people they found that those taking ppis had a 4.

35 times higher risk RIS of Aki compared to those who didn't similarly taking ppis was linked to a higher risk of CKD when researchers examined a group of 84,600 people PPI users had a 1.