First point to remember: no medication truly destroys the kidneys. “However, certain treatments can weaken kidney function when misused, overdosed, taken for too long or in patients at risk. It is therefore not the drug alone that damages the kidney: it is the drug in the wrong context,” recalls Dr Aurélien Tesson, doctor of pharmacy. Here are three treatments to watch out for.
Anti-inflammatories
The most classic case in pharmacies remains that of anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen or ketoprofen.
“Taken during dehydration, gastrointestinal illness, a heatwave or in an elderly person taking multiple medications, they can lead to acute kidney failure. So, a simple ibuprofen taken at the wrong time can sometimes do more damage than we imaginee…
and we often notice it in pharmacies“, admits the pharmacist.
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)
Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) (omeprazole, esomeprazole, etc.) are also regularly singled out. However, if the renal risk exists, it remains rare.
“The real problem is above all that they are too often continued without re-evaluation for months, even years. The danger is not always in the medication… but in never asking ourselves if it is still useful,” explains Dr Aurélien Tesson.
Other medications require special monitoring
Other treatments require strict monitoring, because their renal toxicity is well known: lithium, certain antibiotics, chemotherapies and immunosuppressants… But one essential thing must be remembered: “a potentially nephrotoxic drug is not a dangerous drug: it is a drug that simply needs to be monitored“, underlines the expert.
The right attitude to adopt is therefore not to be afraid or to throw away all your medications, but simply to keep in mind that:
- Self-medication is never harmless;
- Dehydration greatly increases kidney risks;
- Certain profiles must be particularly vigilant: elderly people, diabetics, hypertensive people, people with kidney failure or those taking multiple medications.
“In summary, the kidneys are not damaged ‘silently’ because of a medication taken normally: they become weakened especially when we trivialize treatments which in reality require caution and monitoring. And no treatment is trivial”, concludes Dr Aurélien Tesson.