Talk:Urinalysis

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"hair may be tested for drug residue that is months or years old" - drug test only mentions months, not years in its table? (clem 19:15, 4 May 2005 (UTC)) what's the relevance of screening for drugs in hairs in an article about urinalysis ? wikipedia at domn dot net

Can viruses be detected in urine? -Fsotrain09 22:01, 8 July 2006 (UTC)was

I refuse to degrade myself in this fashion, and I never will. The following comments should be regarded as constructive criticism and are in no way an attack on the author, who did a fine job otherwise.

Under the "problems" section, while the arguments about private drug use mentioned in the article are certainly relevant, it would nice if there was at least a link to the numerous privacy and dignity issues that have nothing whatsoever to do with drug use, specifically the inherent dehumanizing aspects of submitting to such an invasive search for nonmedical reasons, the embarrassing and degrading nature of such tests themselves, the degree of personal information inherent in one's personal chemistry, the obvious potential for abuses (there are, of course, documented instances), and finally, the inherent unreliabilty of urinalysis in the workplace context, depending on which test is used, chain of custody etc. In the event something is "found," there is also a side issue, particularly in the private employment context, are to whether employers should be empowered to function essentially as DEA agents, wherein the punishment is refusal to employ. The lowered standard of evidence would seem to argue against the wisdom of this, even if the ensuing sanction is not comparable (yes, I am aware of the difference between public and private employment, and "employment-at-will"; I'm talking about ethics, and what as a society we are willing to tolerate).

I regret not being a expert on the subject (I DO know quite a bit, but. . .). Nonetheless, if no one steps forward, I will consider offering some well-considered and hopefully fair revisions.

I would belatedly note that these comments might better be aimed at the "drug test" entry (which has some real howlers), but I think the process is better referred to as urinalysis anyway; "drug test" is a self-evident misnomer. Sorry, but I deleted the soap box rant. It is not appropriate nor germain to the topic, Urinalysis (which is a specific medical test). Even if personal political opinion was appropriate in an encylopedia, it is under the wrong subject heading. You can create a topic of toxicology testing if you want.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.77.126.50 (talk) 10:01, 22 October 2007 (UTC)