From The Southern Illinoisan Marilyn Halstead May 18, 2022
OBDEN — The KidneyMobile visited St. Joseph Catholic Church Wednesday afternoon to bring free medical screening to the area.
Regina White said the event, provided by the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois, tests local residents for diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease.
“Kidney disease doesn’t have symptoms until its later stages. We try to prevent kidney disease,” White said.
Two of the leading causes of kidney disease are untreated high blood pressure and uncontrolled diabetes.
White said those attending a kidney screening event must be 18 or older. They do two urine tests and a blood glucose test. They also perform a hemoglobin A1C on all diabetics. They can do the same test on people whose blood sugar is high enough, according to White.
A blood sugar test measures the amount of sugar or glucose in the blood at the time of the test. A hemoglobin A1C gives measures blood sugar for the past three months.
White said they can draw blood for additional testing if it is needed.
They also measure body mass index and waist circumference.