amiloride vs potassium chloride
Side-by-side comparison of amiloride and potassium chloride. Data from FDA drug databases (Orange Book, NDC Directory, recalls, shortages) covering 20,000+ approved drugs, plus CMS pricing; see our methodology.
major Known Drug Interaction
7 DRUG INTERACTIONS Triamterene and amiloride: Concomitant use is contraindicated (7.1) Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone inhibitors: Monitor for hyperkalemia (7.2) Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: Monitor for hyperkalemia (7.3) 7.1 Triamterene or amiloride Use with triamterene or amiloride can produce severe hyperkalemia.
Recommendation: Do not take these two medications together as the combination is restricted.
Midamor
Klor-Con, K-Dur
Amiloride is a water pill that helps your body hold onto potassium. It is often used with other water pills to prevent low potassium levels.
Potassium Chloride Extended-Release Tablets help treat or prevent low potassium levels in your blood. It comes as a tablet that slowly releases potassium into your body.
Amiloride treats high blood pressure and heart failure. It helps restore normal potassium levels if you develop low potassium while taking other water pills. It can also prevent low potassium if you are at risk, such as if you take digoxin or have heart rhythm problems. Amiloride is not usually prescribed alone.
This medicine treats or prevents low potassium (hypokalemia). Low potassium can happen when you don't get enough potassium from food or if you lose too much potassium. This can occur if you take water pills or other medicines.
Amiloride blocks sodium channels in your kidneys. This action reduces the amount of potassium lost in your urine. This helps to maintain or increase potassium levels in your body.
Potassium is a mineral that your body needs to work properly. This medicine replaces potassium in your body. It helps keep your heart, muscles, and nerves working right.
- • Headache
- • Nausea
- • Loss of appetite
- • Diarrhea
- • Vomiting
- • Nausea
- • Vomiting
- • Gas
- • Stomach pain or discomfort
- • Diarrhea
- Shortness of breath 69
- Diarrhea 57
- Feeling sick to your stomach 49
- Throwing up 39
- Tiredness 37
- Diarrhea 7,871
- Difficulty breathing 7,758
- Feeling sick to your stomach 7,558
- Feeling tired 7,531
- Death 5,491
Amiloride can cause high potassium levels, which can be dangerous. You should not take this medicine if you already have high potassium, kidney problems, or are taking other potassium-sparing diuretics or potassium supplements. Your doctor should check your potassium levels regularly.
Taking potassium chloride tablets can sometimes irritate your stomach or intestines. If you have severe vomiting, stomach pain, bloating, or bleeding, stop taking this medicine and call your doctor right away.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. It is not known if amiloride can harm an unborn baby or pass into breast milk.
Talk to your doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Potassium supplements are not expected to harm your baby if your potassium levels are normal.
How to Read This amiloride vs potassium chloride Comparison
amiloride is classified in the Potassium-Sparing Diuretic drug class, while potassium chloride sits within the Electrolyte Supplement class. Drugs from different classes work through distinct mechanisms, so a head-to-head comparison illustrates trade-offs rather than equivalence. Both drugs are split between OTC and prescription status, which affects access and supervision.
Adverse event totals above are pulled from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). For these top-ranked reactions alone, amiloride has 251 submissions while potassium chloride has 36,209. Those figures reflect cumulative reporting volume, not per-patient risk, so older, widely dispensed drugs typically look worse on count alone. These two drugs have a known major interaction flagged in FDA labeling, attributed to both of these medicines increase the amount of potassium in your blood, and taking them together can cause potassium levels to become dangerously high.. Serious warnings, pregnancy guidance, and contraindications can differ even when indications overlap.
A table cannot substitute for clinical judgment. Effectiveness, tolerability, drug-drug interactions with your other medications, kidney and liver function, pregnancy status, insurance formulary, and price all feed into a decision that only a licensed prescriber can make responsibly. Data here is sourced from FDA Structured Product Labels (SPL) and FAERS, both of which update as manufacturers and clinicians submit new information. This page is for educational purposes only, is not medical advice, and should not be used to self-switch between amiloride and potassium chloride - always consult your physician or pharmacist first.
Important: This comparison is for informational purposes only. Drug effects vary between individuals. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist for personalized medical advice.