Analgesic Nephropathy

Alternate Names : Analgesic-Induced Nephropathy

What can be done to prevent the disease?

Analgesic nephropathy can be prevented by limiting the use of pain medicines.

What are the long-term effects of the disease?

Kidney function may improve if this condition is caught early and the person stops taking the pain medicines. However, kidney failure is often present by the time the diagnosis is made. This type of kidney damage is not usually reversible.

A person with kidney failure needs dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive. Dialysis is a procedure to filter the blood. It requires a person to be hooked up to a special blood-filtering machine, sometimes as often as three times a week. This continues for life or unless the person gets a kidney transplant.

What are the risks to others?

Analgesic nephropathy is not contagious and poses no risks to others.