Tuesday, Jan. 21, 1986
Campus/Area
University Daily Kansan
7
Home health tests not foolproof
By Brian Wheptey
Staff writer
Home health tests have become more popular, but doctors caution that patients should not have total faith in the results because tests can prove wrong.
Self-administered tests for pregnancy, blood sugar and cancer are accurate and cheaper than a physician's examination. However, some physicians are concerned that patients may improperly administer the tests or not confirm the results with their physicians.
Sales of home pregnancy tests have quadrupled in the last year, Jeff Sigler, pharmacist at Raney Hillcrest Pharmacy, 925 Iowa St., said recently.
Scott Gray, a Lawrence obstetrician, said the home pregnancy tests were popular because they were accurate and private and allowed a woman be the first to know whether she was pregnant.
Sigler said the majority of women who bought the tests in his store were between the ages of 18 and 30. Gray said most of his patients who used the home tests were trying to become pregnant instead of being afraid that they had accidentally become pregnant.
Gray said the tests were safe and just as accurate as laboratory tests if used properly. But improper usage can give false results.
The only drawback to the tests occurs if a woman's test results were incorrect and she did not pay attention to physical symptoms, Gray said.
"Most of the time women check with us if their symptoms don't match the results," Gray said. Sometimes patients who have problems with
blood sugar levels don't use the tests available to them and choose to follow their symptoms instead, said Ted Knapp, assistant professor of allied health of the University of Kansas Medical Center.
A Med Center study indicated that many diabetics administer blood sugar tests as often as prescribed when they were first diagnosed with the disease. Later, they may administer the test fewer times than prescribed.
Instead of following the test results, patients follow their symptoms of blood sugar irregularity, which often can be incorrect, Knapp said.
Knapp said studies had indicated that 62 percent of diabetics alter their behavior after noticing their symptoms.
"The danger is they may not be interpreting their symptoms correctly." Knapp said.
Although following symptoms instead of taking the blood tests may not have an immediate effect on a diabetic's health, damage can occur in the long run, Knapp said. Incorrectly interpreting symptoms leads to fluctuations of the diabetic's blood sugar levels. These fluctuations may cause irreversible damage such as blindness or circulation problems, Knapp said.
Knapp is part of a seven-member Med Center team that will study how doctors can get their patients to heal.
The team hopes to come up with a profile of diabetics who can accurately predict their blood sugar levels. By doing so, physicians will be able to determine which patients can follow their symptoms and which can't. Knapp said.
Bill Beeler, a pharmacist at Raney Drug Store, 921 Massachusetts St., said there were several types of home blood sugar tests
A more accurate test uses blood samples that also are put on treated paper, but the results are read by a machine that gives a digital readout of the blood sugar levels. Beeeler said.
available. One is a urine test using chemically treated paper that changes color according to the level of blood sugar.
Beeler, who is diabetic, said that when the machines first came on the market 20 years ago they were expensive and cumbersome. Now, the machines are cheaper and lightweight.
He said the machines were a good reinforcement tool for diabetics because they warned of dangerous fluctuations in blood sugar levels and reminded diabetics of the danger of those fluctuations.
Beeler said, "From my personal point of view, I can tell when my blood sugar is low."
Beeler said he usually just checked his blood sugar level once a day in the morning. When he's not feeling well, he checks more often, he said.
"If I have a normal reading, I think I'm okay for the day," Beeler said.
"People are becoming aware of the importance of early detection of cancer," he said.
Beeler said Raney also sold kits that test for cancer and tests that determined if a woman was ovulating.
For the cancer test, the patient tests for blood in a stool sample that may indicate cancer, Beeler said.
The test for ovulation uses a urine sample, he said. Couples who have trouble having children often use the test to determine the best time for conception, he said. Women also use the test to avoid becoming pregnant, Beeler said.
KU graduate joins U.S. walk for peace
By Tom Farmer Staff writer
Those who have ever felt exhausted after a long afternoon walk may identify with a recent KU graduate who will be walking across the country.
Kim Dougherty, a 1984 KU graduate, plans to complete an $^{8/3}$ month walk across the country in November to heighten awareness of the need for global disarmament.
Dougherty was at Cogburs, 737 New Hampshire St., last night to raise money for PRO Peace, the organization behind the Great Peace March. So far, she has raised $500 and hopes to reach $3,000 before the walk begins, March 1.
Last night's fund raiser was organized by George Abrams, manager of the band, Tapped Roots, which performed along with The Wanks and Screamin' Catfish. None of the bands charged for their performances.
Between a $3 cover charge at the door and donations, Dougherty hoped to raise $1,000.
Although she had no previous involvement in the peace movement, Dougherty said, she thought the world would be a better place without nuclear weapons and that was reason
enough to get involved.
To devote all of her time to prepare for the walk, Dougherty quit her job last week as an administrative assistant for the public relations firm, Simmons Schafer Inc. in Kansas City, Kan.
Terry Newell, also a KU graduate, was in the audience last night and said Kim was getting a lot of support
"It's a difficult decision to quit your job and go on a march," Newell said. "Kim has a lot of guts. She's liberal and willing to make a sacrifice."
According to Peter Kleiner, media coordinator for PRO Peace, the 3,235-mile march would start at the Los Angeles Coliseum and pass through Las Vegas, Nev., Denver, Chicago, New York and Philadelphia before reaching its Nov. 14 destination at the steps of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
An estimated 5,000 marchers will walk six days a week, 15 miles each day, he said. At night, they will sleep in tents set up in advance by volunteers.
More than 20,000 pairs of shoes are expected to be used by the PRO Peace marchers and they will consume nearly 4 million meals, Kleiner said.
The Black Student Union Presents THE WE CONNECTION WEEKEND "Living The Dream" Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Event - Jan. 26
B.S.U. Gospel Choir
Kansas Union Ballroom · 3:00 p.m.
- Event - Jan. 25
Mr. Ebony/Ms. Essence Pageant
Kansas Union Ballroom - 8:00 p.m.
- Event - Jan. 24
Speaker · Dr. John Gaston
Kansas Union
- Alderson Auditorium - 7:30 p.m.
- Tickets are $5.00 per person (all events included) and available at office of minority affairs, Marian's Hair Place, or any B.S.U. officers
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