Tasty Morsels of Critical Care 062 | Diuretics

As a starter pretty much all diuresis is conducted by convincing the kidney to lose more Na. Lose the Na and the water will follow.

Complete Guide to Diuretics

Ever since antiquity, we've used diuretics to pee more. Some diuretics like caffeine are ubiquitous (think tea or soft drinks). However, it wasn't until the twentieth century that mankind realized the pharmacological potential of diuretics. In 1937, researchers discovered carbonic anhydrase diuretics. By 1957, researchers had discovered much more potent chlorothiazide diuretics.

Tips for taking diuretic medications

Often called water pills, these drugs help lower blood pressure and are a mainstay for treating heart failure.

All water pills not equally effective against heart failure

Loop diuretics, more commonly known as water pills, are the most widely prescribed heart failure medications, but few studies had extensively compared their effectiveness until researchers examined three approved loop diuretics and found that even though one of them might offer more benefit, it is rarely prescribed.

Diuretics and Diets

The connection between diuretics and dieting is twofold. First, many of the conditions that are treated by administration of prescription diuretics—particularly hypertension, CHF, and idiopathic intracranial hypertension—are more common in obese patients, more difficult to treat in the obese population, or both. Thus weight loss and lifestyle change are commonly recommended to these patients along with prescription diuretics. The second connection is that many dieters use or abuse diuretics as a means to quick weight loss.

Diuretics for Hypertension: A Review and Update

The latest hypertension guidelines have underscored the importance of diuretics for all patients, but particularly for those with salt-sensitive and resistant hypertension.

Diuretics: Benefits and Dangers

Diuretics, or "water pills," are the oldest of the pharmaceuticals used for treating high blood pressure, and many doctors still consider them the safest and most reliable. The most common of these are the thiazide diuretics, with Hydrochlorothiazide being so widely prescribed that it is generally just referred to as HCTZ.

Diuretics: More Medical Mischief That Needs To Stop

However, there is one class of prescription drugs that has largely escaped critical analysis on the Internet: diuretics. That is about to change. This article makes the case against diuretics and why you should think twice about taking them.

Guide to Natural Diuretics

Early scientific studies have shown that many of these alternatives help the body excrete excess fluid.

Medicine's Drip of Uncertainty

Water pills are not new drugs, having been around for more than 50 years. The early diuretics replaced a brutal way to eliminate excess fluid through the use of tubes that were placed below the skin of swollen, edematous tissue to relieve the pressure.

Natural Diuretics: Your New Go-To Remedy For Bloat & PMS

You've probably heard the word "diuretic" thrown around in the context of coffee, tea, or certain medications. But what are diuretics, really? And are they a good thing—or a bad thing—for your health?

Quicker Diuretics Not Associated With Better Outcomes in Acute Heart Failure

Door-to-diuretic time in this setting can’t be equated with door-to-balloon in STEMI, experts say. Better to “get it right” than “do it fast.”

Take A Hard Pass On Water Pills If You’re Trying To Lose Weight

You've probably come across commercials that promote water pills as a quick slim-down solution while channel surfing. Whether you want to de-bloat before a big night out, ditch the annoying PMS puffiness, or fit into your skinny jeans once and for all, word is they'll help you shed pounds in no time flat—but do they really work? And more importantly, are they safe?

Deresuscitation: Dominating the Diuresis

This chapter explores how to achieve large-volume diuresis, while limiting iatrogenic complications.

What to Know About Diuretics for High Blood Pressure

Our experts weigh in on these widely used medications.