Hence, kidney failure may trigger some life-threatening conditions. There are three categories of kidney failure, or renal failure, such as acute, chronic and end-stage renal disease.
The kidneys are very important organs, which perform a crucial function in our body. They are responsible for filtering waste products from the blood and regulating the body’s balance of salt and water. However, when the kidneys don’t function properly, they slow down the production of urine and as a result, water and waste products accumulate in the body.
The former two categories can be caused by many different reasons. Some of the possible culprits for acute and chronic kidney failure are the following:
Illnesses, such as diabetes, and uncontrolled high blood pressure
Inflammation
Exposure to certain toxins or drugs
There are several drugs and medications which can lead to kidney damage. In order to categorize them better, we decided to list them by type of drug.
Top 10 Drugs which Damage Kidneys
- Antibiotics
Here belong several drugs, such as ciprofloxacin, vancomycin, methicillin, sulfonamides.
- Analgesics and Anti-inflammatory Drugs
There are several, such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, aspirin, naproxen, etc.
- Antiviral Drugs
In this type of drugs, there are many drugs, like drugs used to treat HIV, such as indinavir and tenofovir. Moreover, drugs used to treat for herpes infection, like acyclovir or Zovirax.
- Anticonvulsants
Here are some drugs for seizures and other conditions, like trimethadione and phenytoin.
- COX-2 Inhibitors
These drugs are also detrimental to the kidney health, such as celecoxib, with brand name Celebrex, rofecoxib (brand name Vioxx), and valdecoxib (brand name Bextra).
- Chemotherapy Drugs
Drugs, like quinine, interferons, cisplatin, pamidronate, carboplatin, tacrolimus, cyclosporine, mitomycin C, bevacizumab, propylthiouracil, can also cause kidney failure.
- Drugs for High Blood Pressure
Here belong drugs, such as captopril (brand name Capoten).
- Heartburn Drugs
Drugs, including pantoprazole (brand name Protonix), omeprazole (brand name Prilosec), esomeprazole (brand names Nexium, Esotrex), lansoprazole (brand name Prevacid), and rabeprazole (brand names Rabecid, Aciphex) should also be taken with precaution.
- Lithium
The drug used in the treatment of bipolar disorders.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs
Here are drugs, which are used for malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus, such as infliximab (brand name Remicade), hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine.