Painkillers, antibiotics can cause renal ailments

Increased intake of antibiotics, painkillers and non-prescribed medicines leads to chronic kidney diseases, say doctors.  Medical experts said this at a seminar organised at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on the occasion of World Kidney Day last week.

Experts said not only diabetes, high blood pressure and stones cause chronic renal ailments, but factors like high consumption of antibiotics, painkillers, junk food having high salt content and less intake of water also affect kidneys.

“At a time when renal treatment, especially during dialysis, is complicated, decentralised, expensive and inefficient at many hospitals, it is important to understand factors that lead to kidney disorders and ways to prevent it,” said Dr Himanshu Mahapatra, head, nephrology, RML Hospital. 

Mahapatra added: "About 30-40 per cent cases of chronic kidney diseases are reported in people with diabetes and high blood pressure. But factors like kidney stones, which can also caused due to high usage of painkillers, should also be looked into."

Dr Soumita Baghchi of AIIMS highlighted that high intake of painkillers should be avoided and people must take doctor's advice before taking any medicine.

Baghchi added that apart from high intake of antibiotics, painkillers and genetic factors; consumption of contaminated water may also lead to kidney stones. "We must ensure that the water must be RO (Reverse Osmosis) treated," she said.

Dr SK Aggarwal, head of the nephrology department at AIIMS, said people must pay attention to the food they eat. They should avoid food with high salt content. 

The doctors also talked about the problems faced during dialysis and said preventing infection during the process is one of the challenges. Doctors say at time when treatment is expensive, complicated and even limited proper care must be taken to prevent kidney diseases.