Here is a list of medications to avoid taking too often, as they can seriously harm your kidney health.
Although these medications are available without a prescription, their use can cause pain and disrupt the body's natural functions. For example:
Lithium: Often used to treat bipolar disorder.
See next page.
Eight medications you cannot take because they are nephrotoxic.
Anticonvulsants: for example, phenytoin and trimethadione.
Chemotherapy drugs: including interferons, pamidronate, cisplatin, carboplatin, ciclosporin, tacrolimus, quinine, mitomycin C and bevacizumab, which can cause serious kidney damage.
Propylthiouracil: medication used to treat thyroid disorders.
Medications used to relieve heartburn: omeprazole, lansoprazole, pantoprazole, rabeprazole and esomeprazole.
Antivirals: for example, aciclovir (treatment for herpes), indinavir and tefonovir (treatment for HIV).
Captopril: a medication used to treat high blood pressure.
Drugs for bones and joints: infliximab, which treats arthritis, and chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, which treat malaria and systemic lupus erythematosus.
