 What comes to nursing school explained in this video on diuretics, specifically thiazide diuretics. Now in general diuretics work the same way by where they help the body to eliminate excess water therefore to diaries and when we think about losing volume in the blood vessels then we also will in turn decrease the blood pressure. Now diuretics in general work that way however there are three different types of diuretics and it is important to understand the three different types of diuretics and what's similar but also what are their differences. So this particular video will go over thiazide diuretics where there are two other types of diuretics which are potassium sparing as well as lube diuretics. So please watch my other videos about those as well. So for thiazide diuretics their ending is thiazide which is pretty self-explanatory a very commonly used example is hydrochlorothiazide. We're also chlorthiazide so those are very commonly used and diuretics in general and then ide. So that's something to remember whenever you see something ending in ide it is most likely a diuretic and then you'll just have to determine which type of diuretic it is. So these particular thiazide diuretics their mechanism of action is they increase the sodium and water excretion at the distal tubule of the kidney therefore we excrete more water we lose more volume and the blood pressure therefore drops. So indication for hypertension but it's also used to treat edema associated with heart failure as well as renal failure and cirrhosis because all three of those conditions can cause us to retain water and therefore we need to diurese that extra fluid away from the body. Now common side effects because whenever we deal with sodium and water regulation potassium is always involved so it can lead to hypokalemia which can be pretty dangerous. Certainly it can also lead to dehydration from over diureasing so if we lose if we excrete too much fluid now the patient can get dehydrated. They can also cause dizziness, rousiness as is pretty common with most anti-hypertensives. They can also cause orthostatic hypotension again pretty common side effect but diuretics or thiazide diuretics can also cause photosensitivity or Stephen Johnson syndrome so we need to educate our patients appropriately. Thiazide diuretics are contraindicated in pregnancy and then nursing considerations we always have to check the blood pressure before we give any medication to the patient that's going to affect their blood pressure. Also because of the risk or the indication to use for edema and treatment of heart failure and renal failure we need to keep an eye on the patient's eyes and nose as well as their weight. Check them for edema and their lung sounds because maybe if they're in fluid volume excess due to heart heart failure or renal failure or even cirrhosis they could have pulmonary edema and crackles in the lungs and then for lab certainly because they work on the kidney we want to make sure the renal function is appropriate as well as check the electrolytes to make sure we're not depleting their potassium or sodium stores by excreting them through giving them the medication. And then sometimes patients need to be on a daily or prescribed potassium replacement so we also need to teach our patients to take those supplements as needed. So thank you for watching this brief video on thiazide diuretics. Please also make sure to watch my other videos that cover potassium sparing as well as loop diuretics in the pharmacology playlist. Thanks so much for watching Nursing School Explains. See you soon.