Unfettered Letters

Drugs aren’t ‘blood thinners’

The Associated Press article “Promise seen in implant for stroke” (3/29, A-8) correctly identified medications used to prevent clots from forming in the heart as anti-clotting drugs (warfarin/Coumadin) and not as “blood thinners.”

For decades the media and many in the medical profession have labeled these drugs as blood thinners, which is not only erroneous but creates a misconception for most patients. These agents do not thin the blood as if it were 10-40 oil, but prevent clots from forming in vulnerable areas of the cardiovascular system. Unfortunately when the term “blood thinners” is used, patients often attribute symptoms such as lightheadedness or coldness to “thin blood,” which is obviously a misconception.
 
The words we use in medicine have a great impact on patient perceptions, and we should strive to describe treatments or test results in accurate but understandable words and phrases. “Blood thinners” is a major violation of this principle and should be discarded in favor of the more accurate terms “anti-clotting” or “anticoagulant” drugs.

 Robert D. Conn, M.D.
 Cardiovascular Consultants, Mid America Heart Institute, St. Luke’s Hospital
 Kansas City

Another cause of kidney stones

The  article “Kidney stones in kids on the rise” (3/27, A-10) focuses on dietary factors, including high salt intake and drinking too little water.

Parents should be aware of another cause, a genetic disorder called primary hyperoxaluria (PH). This is a rare but serious problem in which too much oxalate is present in the urine, resulting in stone formation and kidney damage. If left untreated, PH can lead to kidney failure and even death. The average age of diagnosis is 5, but PH can go undetected for much longer.

Our daughter showed no symptoms until the age of 19, when an MRI showed multiple, large stones filling almost half her kidneys. After 13 hours of surgery by a very skilled specialist in Indianapolis, her kidneys were saved, and she is now in treatment through the Hyperoxaluria Center at the Mayo Clinic.

Early detection and treatment is critical. The Oxalosis and Hyperoxaluria Foundation (www.ohf.org) provides excellent information and supports research to find a cure.

Mary and Mel Baskett
Shawnee

Pedaling for fitness

Following retirement 15 years ago, I created an exercise plan to keep me healthy until age 85 if possible.

First, I had cataracts removed in both eyes. Now I can read the newspaper without glasses!

Next I bought an exercise bike. My plan lets me exercise one half-hour daily with variations for weather. I bike for 15 minutes. In bad weather I bike for 30 minutes.

Now I’m 85 years old but can walk as easily as when only 70, so I’ll continue.

Roy Ekberg
Ottawa, Kan.

Teen’s football injury

The recent $3 million settlement between Lafayette County C-1 School District and the Frith family stemming from brain injuries suffered by their son Zach highlights the need for education about concussions (3/22, A-1, “Teen’s football injury reshapes future, family; Zach Frith was allowed to keep practicing after a concussion. Now he suffers permanent brain damage”). A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). It cannot be trivialized as a ding. Understanding this is the beginning of long-overdue serious discussions of this common injury.

MTBI is characterized by alterations in brain chemistry that often cause headache, dizziness and difficulty concentrating with potential long-term effects. Athletes must not play at all until fully recovered. Otherwise, they risk permanent brain damage or death from a second, even mild, impact.

If there had been greater understanding of the consequences of MTBI, Zach’s outcome most certainly would have been different. Education is the key. MTBI education for coaches and athletes should be mandatory.

We applaud Zach and his family for their courage in coming forward with their story.

David D. Dyck Jr., D.O.
Lori A. Boyajian-O’Neill, D.O.
Center for Concussion Management, Mid America Sports Medicine and Wellness at Centerpoint
Independence

How sad that a child’s future is jeopardized by continuing to play football before recovering from concussion. But where is the wisdom in giving this child a Cadillac “because he’s suffered so much?”

This is a child with no impulse control. He may be good at the mechanical aspects of driving, but he puts his fist through the living room wall, assaults his father and rages so violently that his parents lock their other children in their bedrooms for safety. His response to people who “piss (him) off” is, “Well, I’ll fight them, dude.”

Giving this child a two-ton automobile is as irresponsible as his returning to football practice. Both decisions are heedless of the consequences. What if this child becomes enraged and, instead of hitting the wall, jumps in his Caddie? What if someone cuts him off on the highway?

Please. We already have one sadly and irreparably damaged child. Where is the sense in allowing this child to act out his rage with a large automobile and damage other mothers’ sons and daughters?

Linda Brown
Leavenworth

Support for medical marijuana

As a business owner, homeowner and taxpayer, I feel our taxes are needlessly wasted. Missouri’s law enforcement officers should spend their time focusing on real crime, not wasting resources on arresting and prosecuting marijuana users.

If Missourians have their doctors’ approval they should be able to use medical marijuana without fear of arrest. They should be able to rely on a safe supply of marijuana without having to resort to the dangerous criminal market.

Studies have shown that marijuana relieves debilitating symptoms including nausea, appetite loss and severe pain. The decision of what medicine is best for an illness should be left up to the patient and the doctor, not the government.

This is not a partisan issue. It is a compassion issue. Please show support for Missouri HB 277.

Chris Smith
Kansas City

Cold-medicine bill

Requiring prescriptions for cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine is a bad idea (2/17, Local, “Measure aimed at meth producers”). The fee to see a doctor here is $80. Most people can’t afford that just to get cold medicine.

There has to be a better way to control this.

Terry Baker
Nevada, Mo.

Tax junk food, too

Although I approve of the federal cigarette tax hike (2/16, A-1, “Will cigarettes end up a lifesaver?”), why not make a full-scale effort to improve children’s health and slap a 62-cent-a-pack bump on, say, snack cakes, candy bars, chips and soft drinks? Encouraging less consumption of junk food would help tackle the epidemic of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol in children.

If we are serious about this issue, healthier eating would surely reduce the cost of children’s care in the future. Prevention is always cheaper than treatment.

Martha Taylor
Shawnee

‘Dental cripples’

As president of the Kansas Academy of General Dentistry, I can state that dentists have been very aware of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) for several years (2/3, A-1, “Drugs create ‘dental cripples’.”). As an organization representing more than 35,000 dentists nationwide, the Academy of General Dentistry has published numerous articles in its peer-reviewed journal General Dentistry and other publications, making sure that dentists are aware of this issue and are receiving the latest research.

As with many things, prevention is the key. I hope patients understand that they should see their dentists regularly for preventative care. Patients should work with their physicians to ensure that they have a comprehensive oral exam by a dentist before initiating bisphosphonate therapy so that dental issues can be resolved.

Lastly, please understand that avoiding dental care because of a concern about ONJ is not an option. ONJ is not caused by dental procedures — it is the inability of the body to remodel bone. It can occur in areas of untreated dental infection.

Please keep your dentist current on any medications you are taking, and together we can be proactive, not reactive.

Ric Crowder, D.D.S.
President , Kansas Academy of General Dentistry
Lenexa

Prescription drug costs

I read George Will’s hand-wringing column about the imminent demise of Medicare (2/7, Opinion, “Obama willing, Congress weak on entitlements”). Maybe if our government were willing to curb corporate welfare for the prescription drug companies, we could save a few billion.

I was shocked to find that my Medicare Plan D cost for one of my prescriptions, for both my co-pay and Medicare, was $392 for a 90-day supply, and another was $265 for 90 days. I checked prices at a Canadian pharmacy and found their price was $110 for the former and $200 for the latter for the same product.

I have heard all the special pleading from pharmaceutical companies about the cost of research being high. But does this mean that the U.S. is footing the bill for it while other countries regulate prices? Maybe, but I think we have a case of what Will euphemizes as “political free speech”— i.e. bribery of Congress.

Drug companies enjoy a monopoly on patented prescription drugs. We should regulate their prices.

Carrol L. Fry
Maryville, Mo.

Nuts to FEMA

Unless you have been living in a cave recently, you have heard about the salmonella-contaminated peanut products. Despite all this widespread coverage, the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent 168,000 emergency meal kits containing peanut butter to Kentucky residents following a devastating ice storm there (2/6, A-2).

Although residents were eventually warned not to eat the peanut butter, FEMA officials were obviously asleep at the switch. Can FEMA ever do anything correctly?

Jane Toliver
Leawood