If these OTC medications are taken regularly over a long period of time, they can block chemicals that maintain blood flow to the kidneys, causing acute or chronic renal failure. Dr. Eric Wittbrodt, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, says OTC pain killers should be taken in moderation. People who are using OTC drugs multiple times a day for several years have a significantly increased risk of getting kidney disease, says Wittbrodt.
Moderation is definitely the key.
If people have aches and pains, they are going to use medications, but if the pain is constant and they need to depend on these drugs for more than a month, then they need to seek medical attention. According to Dr. Wittbrodt, kidney failure can cause a variety of symptoms, including decreased urine output, swelling of legs, shortness or breath, fatigue or nausea. Acute kidney failure requires emergency dialysis to clean the blood. But normal kidney function often returns after the emergency is over. Analgesic nephropathy is a chronic kidney failure that can lead to renal disease and the permanent need for dialysis or a kidney transplant to restore renal function.