Drug Testing Facts

A drug test uses technical methods to attain its final result. The purpose of executing such a test is to trace the usage of illicit drugs, and those which are used for performance enhancing in athletes, to gain an upper hand in competition. Some common form of drug testing include urine drug test, hair testing, saliva drug screen, sweat drug test and blood analysis.

Facts About Drug Testing

Hair Follicle Drug Test

• When any drug makes its way into the system, it is processed and introduced into the blood stream. So a trace amount of it can travel into hair follicles. So the sample for the test is obtained from the hair follicle. This is to test the presence of any drug molecule.
• This test is useful in determining the usage of drugs in the previous 90-day period. However, in this period, if only the drug has been used at least 3 times, the results come out to be positive.
• This test is useful in tracing habitual use of drugs, as it can detect drugs for longer periods historically.

Saliva Drug Test

• This test, also known as the mouth swab drug test, is helpful to trace drugs usage which might have taken place from the previous few hours to a period of 1 - 2 days.
• This method is not yet popular, and moreover it can easily be passed with the help of adulteration products, which are available on the Internet.

Sweat Drug Test

• For this test, there are patches which are attached to the skin. This is to collect sweat over a period of 1 - 2 hours. The use of this test is an alternative to urine drug test.

Urine Drug Test

• This test costs less and not as invasive as a blood analysis.
• It is useful for detecting recent use or infrequent use.
• This test is commonly used to detect drug abuse among employees, and to monitor patients' condition in rehabilitation centers.

Blood Analysis

• Perhaps, this method tends to be the most accurate. However, it incurs high costs.

Common Myths About Drug Tests

• Most people think that drinking lots of water may help people bypass a drug test. However, this isn't the case.
• Mixing the test sample with bleach does not help. It might clear out the drug, but the person would still test positive for bleach, which would indicate fraudulence.
• There is this myth that taking aspirin would help. But again, even this would show up in the test.
• The same kind of myth goes with niacin (vitamin B3). It is believed to get rid of the drugs in the system. However, there is no medical evidence that backs this fact.

Out of all the process, the urine drug test is preferred mostly. The best and the only recommended way to pass a test is to abstain from using drugs totally. You can also stop the usage for sometime before the commencement of the test. But then, there are these random tests which might ruin all your preparations. Also, as mentioned above, hair testing is considered to detect drugs for a long period of time in the past. So wise it is to keep yourself clean of this mess and pass any random drug test that you may have to undergo.