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How Drug Tests Work
Basically there is little difference between a blood, urine
or a saliva analysis. The analysis types all look for small concentrations
of contaminates, called metabolites, that can be used to determine which
specific products have been used.
The body naturally stores metabolites in the fatty cells and
fast growing cells in your body. These metabolites leach out into the blood over
time and are expelled mostly through the urinary tract.
Metabolites stay in the fat for different periods of time
causing you to fail an analysis many weeks or months in the future. Your
fat content, activity level and your metabolism all have a major impact on how
long chemicals can be detected in your system.
Being your hair is a fast growing tissue it also stores
metabolites. This is why a hair analysis can detect metabolites for an
extended period of time. Trace amounts of metabolites become entrapped in the
core of the hair as it grows out from the body. These metabolite residues cannot
be washed, bleached or flushed out of the hair follicles and are stable over a
long period of time. It takes approximately 5 days for metabolites to show
up in a person's hair.
Contaminates in your system do not stay permanently.
You might want to check out how long each
toxin remains in your system in our
>
Drug Use Time Tables
<.
The Tests
There is no
perfect drug testing method and, like most things in life, each
method has some advantages and disadvantages. What makes a drug
testing method good or not good is more related to the needs of
the testing entity
Urine Drug Testing
Pros: Urine
drug test kits are available as on-site tests, or laboratory
analysis. Referred to as "the gold standard", urinalysis is the
most common test type and used by federally mandated drug
testing programs.
Cons: The
main disadvantages of urine-based drug test kits is are (1.) the
ease at which they can be "cheated" via sample adulteraion or
substitution, unless specimen collection is directly observed,
(2.) inability to detect current / on-the-job drug abuse, and
(3.) the need for bathroom facilities.
Hair Drug Testing
Pros: Hair
Drug Testing kits have a very long drug detection window. For
most drugs it can detect drug use about 90 days or more. This
testing method is very donor friendly. Adulteration is a lot
more difficult in hair drug testing than any other test method.
The hair test is very dependable and accurate.
Cons: The
main disadvantages of hair drug testing is the fact that you
need a lab to run the test and generate the results, and it can
only detect historical drug use. Hair drug test kits are usually
the most expensive drug test kits due to the need for lab
testing. Also, subjects may easily avoid detection of past drug
use by shaving off hair. Lastly, drug abusers with darker hair
provide a higher rate of positives.
Drug Test Information
Over 81% of all companies surveyed perform
some kind of analysis to determine whether you are a user and possible hazard to
their company.
The First Type Of Analysis and Most
Popular is for Urine. Known
as urinalysis, this procedure requires a sample of ones urine. Either a
special card is used for immediate results or the sample is sent away to undergo
more complex testing at some lab.
Why Masking And Adding Does
Not Work. Sample substitutions or adulterations have become a
significant issue due to the prevalence of synthetic and/or clean urine and a
wide range of adulterants on the internet. One of the methods to check for
adulterants is to add some amount of an actual substance to a small portion of
the sample and then recheck that portion. If a masking agent is present in
the urine, the resulting urinalysis will have a negative result despite the fact
that a substance was added. You just failed.
Some diuretics and herbal
extracts, such as goldenseal, are marketed as a quick "detox" from controlled
substances, but their effectiveness is very questionable. Many types of
urinalysis can detect the use of these "detox" products. You are taking a
big risk. Click here for >
Drug Test Myths <.
Drinking A Great Deal of
Water is Detectable. Some people drink copious amounts of water.
A sufficiently diluted sample may be rejected due to its lack of Creatinine.
Creatinine is a natural protein created by the body and is usually excreted in
the urine at fairly constant concentrations. When the urine is diluted by
frequent urination, the creatinine level in the urine will drop.
Creatinine levels can be tested for and a low creatinine level may indicate you
have attempted to flush your system. If the product does not reestablish your
overall normal balance, including Creatinine, you fail. Click here for more detailed
information on > Urine
Drug Tests <.
The Second Type Of Analysis Is For Hair. Hair
analysis is very accurate and can show any controlled substances used in a sort
of timeline. As hair grows out, contaminates are encased in the hair
shaft, so the longer ones hair the longer back a detection can occur.
Most facilities only use hair
within about 3 - 5 cm of the scalp, and discard the rest. This limits the
detection history to about 90 days. Some people attempt to circumvent this
through shaving their heads. Well, any body hair can be used as an acceptable
substitute. Click here for more detailed information on
>
Hair Drug Tests <.
The Third Type Of Analysis is for Blood.
Blood analysis is usually performed for
serious employment positions or when you are applying for insurance policies.
This is expensive and not very common. Click here for more detailed
information on > Blood Drug Tests <.
The Fourth Type Of Analysis is for Saliva.
This is not common and can only detect
toxins used 3 - 4 days prior. Click here for more detailed
information on >
Saliva Drug Tests <.
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