Taking ibuprofen along with high blood pressure medication can severely dehydrate a person and cause significant kidney damage, the study found

The common over-the-counter painkiller ibuprofen forms a dangerous combination with some popular high blood pressure medications, a new study shows.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada - just 60 miles west of Toronto - used a computer simulation to determine that the mix of drugs could cause significant kidney damage.

High blood pressure medications contain a diuretic - which makes a person urinate more frequently - and remove some water from the body. Combine kidney dehydration with the effects of the other two drugs, and permanent liver damage can occur.

The team warns that many people are likely taking this combination of medications without realizing the potential harm.

Using ibuprofen with common high blood pressure medications can be dangerous because the drugs dehydrate the body, leaving it vulnerable to potential permanent and serious kidney damage, a new study finds (file photo).

"Diuretics are a family of medications that cause the body to hold less water," said Dr. Anita Layton, researcher and professor at the university, in a statement.

"Dehydration is a major factor in acute kidney injury, and then the RAS inhibitor and ibuprofen hit the kidney with that triple whammy. If you're taking these high blood pressure medications and need a pain reliever, consider acetaminophen instead."

Researchers who published their results last week in Mathematical life sciences s, set up a computer-simulated drug study to determine the effects of combinations of drugs on the kidney.

As part of the simulated study, they gave hypothetical patients various medical profiles and tried to estimate how the drugs would affect their bodies based on known risk factors.

They combined a two-part high blood pressure medication with the common painkiller - commonly sold under the brand name Advil - and gave it to a simulated test subject.

High blood pressure medications often contain a combination of a diuretic and an RSA inhibitor, the drug that helps regulate blood pressure.

Any medication a person uses has effects on their kidneys, although they are often minimal and short-lived. This is the case when standard high blood pressure medications are used normally.

Dr. Anita Layton (pictured) said not everyone who combines the drugs will suffer kidney damage but that those taking medication for high blood pressure should be careful

Ibuprofen is a relatively safe painkiller, although it is known that taking too much in a short period of time can cause significant kidney or liver damage.

For this reason, an overdose of a popular over-the-counter pain reliever sometimes requires a transplant of one of the two organs.

Water serves as a natural lubricant in the body and can protect the kidney from suffering some of this damage.

However, if a person is dehydrated from a diuretic, their body may not have the water needed to protect against ibuprofen.

In some special cases, a patient may suffer significant and permanent kidney damage.

“It's not like everyone who happens to be taking this combination of medications is going to have problems,” Layton said.

“But research shows it’s enough of a problem that you should exercise caution.”

A Boston University learn A study published in 2018 found that nearly 90 percent of Americans had used a drug like Advil in the past year.

Combine that with that almost half of Americans who suffer from high blood pressure - a large proportion of whom take medications that use a diuretic - and many Americans may accidentally harm themselves without even knowing it.