Are Water Pills Healthy?

利尿剂，有时也被称为水药片，帮助排除体内钠和水的你的身体。按照德州心脏研究所, water pills are used to treat congestive heart failure (CHF),高血压（高血压）, edema (water retention) and kidney and liver disease.

Harvard Health Publishing描述了三种类型的水丸剂：袢利尿剂，噻嗪类利尿剂和保钾利尿剂。每种类型的利尿剂会影响你的肾脏的不同部位，具有不同的用途，副作用和注意事项。哈佛健康说分化是：

• 襻利尿剂作用于肾小管数以百万计的组成肾脏特定的“循环”。

• Thiazide diuretics act on a different part of the kidney tubules but give the same result as loop diuretics. These diuretics cause the kidneys to increase the amount of salt and water in the urine. Both of these diuretics can deplete potassium levels, and this can increase the risk for abnormal heart rhythms.

• Potassium-sparing diuretics leave more potassium in the blood than the two other types. However, this can cause potassium levels to become too high, which can also cause irregular heart rhythms.
  

Read more:10 Ways to Beat Belly Bloat

哈佛健康指出，利尿剂通常规定为一线治疗high blood pressure.Water pills lower the volume of fluid in the bloodstream, reducing pressure on artery walls.

According toCedars-Sinai, diuretics can be useful for people who are older or obese, who also have congestive high blood pressure, swelling or water retention (edema) or heart failure. They may also be prescribed for certain kinds of kidney or liver disease. In addition, the妇女健康办公室suggests water pills as a treatment for premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms like bloating and breast tenderness.

不要忘记服用水丸前咨询你的医生。西奈建议，如果利尿剂规定或建议，医生应该知道任何其他药物，维生素，矿物质或草药补充剂的患者服用的。这些措施包括但不限于：

• Antidepressants
• Cyclosporine
• 洋地黄
• Lithium
• Other medications for high blood pressure

Because diuretics can worsen or negatively affect patient health, people who have the following health issues should make their doctors aware of their condition before taking diuretics:

• Tendency to become dehydrated easily
• Allergies to other medicines
• 怀孕（或考虑怀孕）
• Diabetes
• 痛风（或有发展痛风的高风险）
• Kidney problems
• Lupus
• Pancreatitis

Read more:How to Get Rid of Belly Bloat and Water Weight

梅奥诊所writes that diuretics are generally safe, but that they do have side effects like increased urination and mineral loss and can affect blood potassium levels. If you take a potassium-sparing diuretic, you can develop too much potassium, which is called hyperkalemia. If you take a thiazide diuretic, you run the risk of developing a low level of potassium in your blood which is called hypokalemia.

Other side effects listed by Mayo Clinic include:

• Low sodium in your blood (hyponatremia)
• 头晕
• 头痛
• Dehydration
• Muscle cramps
• Joint disorders (gout)
• 性无能

Read more:What Causes High Diastolic Blood Pressure?

Two populations are most at risk for abuse of water pills:那些饮食失调和运动员。进食障碍患者buse water pills do so because these drugs rid the body of excess sodium and water, which results in weight loss.

按照National Eating Disorders Association，利尿滥用可导致低钾血症和收缩性碱中毒。具有低血钾水平和增加的血液pH值。这意味着。在极端情况下，利尿滥用可导致肾功能衰竭。

在出版的具有里程碑意义的2010年9月的研究British Journal of Pharmacology研究人员发现，运动员在利尿滥用的风险，原因有二：水丸可以用来排泄水快速减肥和掩盖其他违禁物质的存在。