Dangers of using kidney tonics on your own

The patient was admitted to the emergency room with high blood pressure, difficulty breathing, blurred vision... despite taking regular medication to control it.

The examination results showed that the patient was previously diagnosed with kidney yin deficiency and was taking medication to stabilize blood pressure. He listened to an acquaintance and bought kidney tonics, and his health condition worsened.

Dr. Vo Dinh Hung, Deputy Head of Internal Medicine Department, Traditional Medicine Hospital of Ho Chi Minh City, said that the facility has received many similar cases that had to be hospitalized for treatment because of self-medication with kidney tonics. According to Oriental medicine, the use of drugs must be based on the principle of classifying kidney yin deficiency and kidney yang deficiency to avoid unfortunate consequences.

Kidney yang deficiency often has the main symptoms of pale or dark complexion, cold and painful waist and back, cold hands and feet, mainly cold lower limbs, fatigue and powerlessness, impotence in men, decreased sexual arousal in women, or loose stools, diarrhea once a day around 4-5am, frequent urination, clear urine, nocturia, pale tongue, white coating...

Symptoms of kidney yin deficiency often include back pain, weak knees, dizziness, tinnitus, loose teeth, and hair loss. Men have premature ejaculation; women have scanty or amenorrhea, gonorrhea, insomnia, dry mouth, fever; red cheeks in the afternoon, weight loss, little yellow urine, dry pink tongue, little or no coating...

According to Dr. Hung, the use of Oriental medicine often follows the principle of balancing Yin and Yang. Currently, there are many types of functional foods on the market that have the effect of nourishing the kidneys. Good or bad kidney tonics depend on the medicinal properties of that medicine. If you do not read the medicine carefully, which group of medicines can cause adverse consequences. Although they are kidney tonics, if a medicine specifically states that it can cure restlessness and excessive sweating, it is implicitly understood that it is nourishing the Yin kidney. If the medicine states that it is good for people with cold hands and feet, it is implicitly understood that it is nourishing the Yang kidney.

If a person has kidney yang deficiency, the yin is dominant, and takes kidney yin tonics, the already cold body will become even colder, and may have severe stomachaches and diarrhea... If a person has kidney yin deficiency, taking medicine with kidney yang tonics will make the already hot body even hotter, for example, a person with high blood pressure may make it even higher.

A common mistake is the understanding of kidney disease according to the definition of Western medicine and Eastern medicine. Kidney failure according to Western medicine includes acute kidney failure and chronic kidney failure. Meanwhile, kidney disease according to Eastern medicine is classified according to kidney yin deficiency and kidney yang deficiency. Many people feel pain and fatigue in the lower back and hips, and have to urinate at night, thinking of kidney failure and taking kidney tonics. Others are diagnosed with kidney failure by Western doctors and seek out Eastern medicine to take.

"If the patient has real kidney failure, the kidney function has declined, taking certain groups of supplements can help the body become healthier but in reality it is not beneficial for kidney disease. Patients who are allergic or have a reaction to a certain group of drugs in traditional medicine can make the kidney failure worse," Dr. Hung analyzed.

Dr. Hung recommends that depending on the disease and stage, Eastern and Western medicine can be combined in treatment. This requires consultation with a specialist before treatment.

Some common symptoms associated with kidney disease are changes in urination, swelling, fatigue, itching or rash on the skin, metallic taste in the mouth or breath that smells of ammonia, nausea and vomiting, shallow breathing, feeling cold, dizziness and loss of concentration, pain in the legs or flanks...

According toVnExpress