Different Types of Water Pills

Water pills are diuretics that deplete the body of water to stave off the effects of some medical conditions. Water pills can reduce swelling, lower blood pressure and can even take away a few pounds that are the result of excess water in the body. Three types of water pills are available: loop, thiazide, and potassium-sparing. Each one affects the body in a different manner.

Loop Water Pills

• Loop water pills deplete the body of water by affecting the kidney's ability to absorb both sodium and water. The sodium-potassium-chloride cotransporter in the kidney can usually reasborb 25 percent of the sodium that passes through. Loop water pills greatly reduce the transporter's ability to reabsorb this sodium (Potassium is also greatly depleted in the body.) and are often used to alleviate the symptoms of high blood pressure and hypertension. These are much stronger than thiazide water pills.

Thiazide Water Pills

• Thiazide water pills affect the distal tube in the kidney. The distal tube only filters through 5 percent of the passing sodium; thus any inhibiting effects of thiazide water pills will not produce the same sodium-depleting results as loop water pills. The results are much weaker. On the other hand, these are the most common types of water pills used and are strong enough for most patients in need of a diuretic, according to cvpharmacology.com.

Potassium-Sparing Water Pills

• Potassium-sparing water pills are different from both loop water pills and thiazide water pills in that they do not affect the sodium transports in the kidney. The direct result is that sodium is not lost in the body; the lost sodium, or the sodium that is not reabsorbed, is expelled in the urine. These water pills are called potassium-sparing because sodium transporters exchange potassium and hydrogen ions for the loss of sodium when you use loop and thiazide water pills. By keeping the amount of sodium in the body constant, potassium is also "spared."