Adults and children with GN need to be very careful when they get sick with another illness—for example, a cold, flu, or stomach bug. Some illnesses can cause the body to lose too much fluid (get dehydrated). This is especially a risk if a person is throwing up, has diarrhea, and can’t eat or drink normally. Being dehydrated can affect how well the kidneys work, affect blood pressure, and make some medicine unsafe. Contact your healthcare provider if you or your child gets sick, because they may ask you to stop some medicines for a few days. These medicines include:
- ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors—to lower blood pressure (medicines that end in “pril,” like ramipril, perindopril)
- ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker)—to lower blood pressure (medicines that end in “sartan,” like candesartan, irbesartan)
- diuretics (water pills)—to stop the body from holding too much fluid (medicines like furosemide, metolazone, spironolactone, hydrochlorothiazide, chlorthalidone)
- calcineurin inhibitors—to help lower the immune system to reduce inflammation (medicines like cyclosporine or tacrolimus)
- diabetes medicines you take by mouth—to help manage your blood sugar (medicines like metformin, glyburide, canaglifozin (or other SGLT-2 inhibitors)
If you or your child gets very sick and you can’t manage at home, contact your GN healthcare team. If you can’t do this, go to your nearest emergency department.
