Acute Renal Failure Due to Pain Medication

Your kidneys, when healthy, are able to filter excess electrolytes, waste material and excess fluid from your blood. With acute renal failure, your kidneys can temporarily lose their ability to remove waste products. Causes, such as pain medication, can impair your kidneys' ability to function properly.

Identification

• There are three causes of ARF. Postrenal conditions interfere with your kidneys' filtering process. Prerenal conditions interrupt blood flow to your kidneys. Renal conditions, however, directly damage your kidneys' structures.

Significance

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like Motrin and Advil, can cause acute interstitial nephritis--a category of renal conditions.This is due to an allergic reaction to the ibuprofen or aspirin. The interstitial nephritis causes the spaces between your tubules and glomeruli to become inflamed, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Symptoms

• Symptoms include drowsiness, edema in your ankles, legs and feet and decrease in urine output. Other symptoms include fatigue, chest pain and confusion.

Treatment

• You'll need to stop taking the medication causing your ARF, according to Yahoo Health.

Time Frame

• With treatment, ARF is reversed within three days to a month depending on the extent of your damage, according to Yahoo Health.