A drug is a term used in the field of medicine. It plays a vital role in suppressing different types of disease. But here is a twist: a drug is designed in that way that it suppresses the problem in one part, but it can create another problem in other parts of the body if consumed for a long time. There are drugs for cancer, pain, and kidney transplant treatment that cause damage to our kidneys. In this blog, you will learn about the top 10 drugs that cause kidney damage, including how to protect your kidneys from being damaged.
What do you mean by Kidney Damage from Drugs?
Renal damage from drugs occurs when any medicine or drug affects the normal function of the kidneys. This activity decreases the kidney performance and creates many problems in the kidneys, like damaging kidney tissue, blocking urine flow, or reducing blood flow. Those patients who are suffering from diabetes, dehydration, and heart failure have a higher chance of kidney damage due to drug intake. Nephrotoxic drugs are those that damage the kidneys.
Top 10 Drugs that Cause Kidney Damage
Here are some drugs that cause kidney damage:
Neoral & Prograf
The original names of these drugs are cyclosporine & tacrolimus. These immunosuppressant drugs are used after an organ transplant so that they can reduce the chances of transplant rejection.
But it comes with a higher risk of high blood pressure & kidney damage. These life-saving medicines can be dangerous for people who have a past kidney problem. The side effects on the kidneys increase with higher doses of this medicine.
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
NSAIDs like meloxicam & Ibuprofen are used to treat fever, menstrual pain, and inflammation. These are common medications that you can find in every pharmacy. These drugs reduce the blood flow, which impacts the function of the kidneys and results in kidney failure.
The risk is higher for those patients who have a kidney disease, heart disease, or liver disease. The best way to take these medicines is in low doses and in rare conditions to reduce their side effects.
Reclast
This is a drug used to treat the problems related to weak bones in the human body. But these are the drugs that cause serious kidney problems, and the worst problem for those who already have a kidney disease.
The Food & Drug Administration also issued a warning about these drugs. Doctors avoid giving these drugs to patients who have kidney problems. These drugs can solve the problems of your weak bones, but damage your kidneys in a shorter period of time.
Diuretics
These are water pills like hydrochlorothiazide and spironolactone that are used to treat problems like heart failure and high blood pressure. These drugs are best in their work, but have problems for other organs, such as the kidneys.
Spironolactone reduces the blood flow that negatively affects the function or filtration process of the kidneys. Like all other drugs, it also has some side effects on the kidneys, but taking these drugs in low doses does not create a problem for the kidneys.
Antiviral Medications
Medications like ganciclovir & zovirax are also responsible for causing kidney disease. These drugs create crystals that do not pass through the urine and are stored in the kidneys. These stored crystals can cause a blockage in the kidney and affect the filtration process.
The side effect is seen more in those people who have an existing kidney disease or are dehydrated. Doctors suggest taking these medicines in low doses and rarely to reduce the chances of kidney failure.
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors
These are medicines like lisinopril, enalapril, and ramipril, which end with “pril”. These medicines you can easily identify by their names. The main work of this meditation is to manage the blood pressure and reduce the chances of heart failure in the body.
But when it comes to filtering out those drugs from our body, the kidneys play a crucial role. In the filtering process, these drugs do not filter properly and affect the kidneys’ filtering process. In the long run, this problem increases and sometimes causes kidney failure.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Medicines
The medicine, like stribild and truvada, can cause serious kidney problems. Those patients need to know about these medicines in advance who are taking it in high volume. If an HIV patient already has a kidney-related problem, then they should reduce the consumption of these medicines, or they can reduce the doses.
The patient with HIV can go for safer options, like curing HIV without damaging the kidneys. For this, they can take alternative medicine like tenofovir, which is less harmful to the kidneys but best for HIV treatment.
Iodinated Contrast Media
These are the drugs used in medical imaging to enhance the quality of images of organs and blood vessels from a CT scan or X-ray process. Drugs are given to the patient before imaging so that doctors can see a clear view of organs and blood vessels.
But this medicine also has a side effect on the kidneys. The radiocontrast agents in the drug damage the kidneys and create problems in kidney functioning. For patients who have an existing kidney problem, the low doses are recommended by doctors.
Aminoglycoside Antibiotics
Antibiotics like gentamicin, tobramycin, and streptomycin are also known drugs that cause kidney damage. Those patients who are taking these drugs for a longer period of time or those who have a kidney problem already have a high chance of kidney injury.
These medicines are mainly used under a doctor’s supervision, but if a doctor does not have an idea about your existing kidney problem, then they also fail to give you the right quantity of drugs. So it is important to consult with your doctors in advance for any problem related to your body.
Vancomycin
This drug is commonly used to prevent an infection caused by bacteria. It is used normally in hospitals for those patients who are suffering from a serious infection. Mainly, these drugs are also given by doctors, but using these drugs regularly can damage the kidneys.
Patients who have undergone this medicine cycle should check their kidney health so that they have an idea about their kidney health. Taking these medicines in low doses and at intervals is best for kidney health.
How to Protect Your Kidneys While Taking Medications
Here are some points for protecting your kidneys while taking medication:
- Consult with the Doctor: It is best to consult with your doctor before consuming any medicine. It is because these medicines can cause problems in the long run in different organs.
- Stay Hydrated: Drinking 3 liters of water daily reduces the chances of kidney damage because water also helps the kidneys in cleaning the system.
- Limited NSAIDs Use: The use of painkillers should be reduced so that they cannot damage your kidneys further.
- Manage Chronic Condition: There should be proper management of your chronic health, such as checking blood pressure and diabetes daily, which is good for knowing more about kidney health.
- Monitor Kidney Function: The proper monitoring of your kidneys is very important so that you can take any medicine according to your kidney conditions. This is done in the field of urology and nephrology.
Conclusion
As we all know, drugs are important for supporting our treatment or surgery. But it is also important to take these drugs in a limited amount so that they do not cause further damage to other organs like the kidneys and liver. I believe that this blog will help you understand the cause of kidney damage through drugs. In this blog, we explained to you in detail about the top 10 drugs that cause kidney damage, and we are hoping that you will follow these important tips for reducing the chances of kidney damage.