Posts Tagged ‘Hair Sample’

Advantages of Hair Drug Tests

Hair drug testing is one of the convenient means of detecting drug abuse. This test can be performed almost at any place of your choice. Hair drug test is so accurate that it is almost impossible to adulterate the test samples. It is very simple to perform and detect five major drugs that are cocaine, marijuana, opiates, methamphetamine and phencyclidine.

Advantages of Hair Drug Testing:

Hair sample drug test is efficient in determining an individual’s drug use history (up to 90 days) when compared with other drug tests, as the trace amounts of drug chemicals will get trapped inside the cortex of each hair. The following are some of the advantages of hair drug testing.

Ease of use:

The process of hair drug test is very easy. All that’s needed is a few strands of hair, taken close to the root. Once the sample is selected from the donor, it is placed in the specimen container. It is then send to the laboratory for testing. Hair follicle drug testing does not involve embarrassing collection of samples like that of other drug tests, and is most preferred by the corporates.

Long duration of detection:

Hair drug tests can detect drug abuse for longer periods than the other drug tests. Hair sample drug test is efficient in determining an individual’s drug abuse history when compared with other drug tests because trace amounts of drug chemicals get trapped inside cortex of each hair.

Difficult to adulterate:

It is highly impossible to adulterate test samples. Donors cannot cheat the test by changing the samples, because the sample is collected from the donor in the presence of the test supervisors. Adulteration of the specimen cannot beat hair tests unlike other types of drug tests.

Detects five major drugs:

A hair drug test can detect five major drugs, which include cocaine (cocaine & benzoylecgonine), marijuana, opiates (codeine, morphine & 6-monacteyl morphine), methamphetamine (methamphetamine & ecstasy), and phencyclidine (PCP). Hair drug screen is the method for detecting drugs in hair using enzyme-immunoassay (EIA), which is an industry standard for reliable and accurate drug testing.

Employee drug testing programs often incorporate hair follicle drug testing into their plans because of the sheer accuracy of these tests. Likewise, hair follicle drug testing does not involve the embarrassing collection of samples like that of urine or saliva drug tests. In most cases, a few strands of hair is all that is needed to obtain accurate results.



Hair Follicle Drug Test

Hair sample drug testing is a great way to detect whether or not a person has used drugs in the past 90 days. Hair sample drug test is efficient in determining an individual’s drug use history when compared with other drug tests because trace amounts of drug chemicals become trapped inside cortex of each hair. The presence of drugs in hair is based on a simple principle. Drugs that are ingested circulate in a person’s bloodstream that nourishes developing hair follicles. A simple lab test can detect these trace chemicals making for either a positive or negative test result.

Hair Follicle Drug Test:

Hair drug screen is the method for detecting drugs in hair using enzyme-immunoassay (EIA). EIA measures the drug molecules in the hair, which were deposited into the hair follicle after the drug was used. The five drug classes mandated by the Federal Government for hair drug testing are: Cocaine (Cocaine & Benzoylecgonine), Marijuana (THC), Opiates (Codeine, Morphine & 6- Monacteyl Morphine), Methamphetamine (Meth, Amphetamine & Ecstasy) and Phencyclidine (PCP).

Before the hair follicle drug test is actually started, the shell of the hair strands is stripped away to eliminate any external contaminants. The sensitivity levels for hair follicle drug test are different for the drug tested. The sensitivity levels for the hair follicle drug test are measured in terms of Pico grams per Milliliter (pg/ml). The cutoff level for Marijuana metabolite class is 1 pg/ml. where as for Opiates class it is 500 pg/ml. The other three classes Cocaine metabolite, Phencyclidine (PCP) and Amphetamines/Methamphetamine MDMA (Ecstasy) have sensible levels at 300 pg/ml.

Advantages of Hair Follicle Drug Test:

An illegal drugs substance abuser may abstain from using drugs for 3 days to 2 weeks prior to applying for a job. With traditional drug testing, there is a good chance that the applicants will test negative and then start using again once they are hired in. There is also the chance of adulterating the specimen. Companies that implement hair follicular drug testing can be relieved to know that this is not possible with hair testing. Abstaining or adulterating the specimen cannot beat hair tests.

Employee drug testing programs often incorporate hair follicle drug testing into their plans because of the sheer accuracy of these tests. Likewise, hair follicle drug testing does not involve the embarrassing collection of samples like that of urine or saliva drug tests. In most cases, a few strands of hair are all that is needed to obtain accurate results.



Home Drug Test for Teens

In recent years, the home drug tests are getting more popular while it rapidly increases its demand to be available via electronic selling made possible with the emergence of the internet.  Many parents are satisfied with the regular use of drug tests at home because they are thinking that it is an effective way to discourage teen drug use. It is essential to be mindful of the several elements before home drug test is performed.

Look for the home drug test that is saleable on the Internet. Be warned however that almost all of drug tests available online are not permitted by the Food and Drug Administration and may fail to go after the strict guidelines used by medical professionals. Find a test that is recommended by medical experts. Tell your teen of your plan of conducting a home drug test. You are to collect urine and hair sample so it’s better to get first of your child’s consent. Develop a routinely schedule for home drug tests. If your teen agrees, it is advised that you make agreement with your family to perform the test on a specific day on a week or a month planned in advance. Know the possibility of unreliable results of home drug test. Majority of the drug tests are formulated for specific kinds of drugs. So its better that you know what drug your teen might be using so it won’t be hard for you to determine which test to use. Have a consultation with medical professional to obtain for more reliable drug test, regardless of the results of a home drug test. It is not safe to depend alone on a home drug test, so always ask for medical consultation if you are sure that your teen may have a drug problem. Even if home drug test reveals negative result is not enough evidence to do away with medical advice.

The Controversy Over Home Drug Tests For Teens: Will Your Child Need Inpatient Drug Rehab?

Stores are now selling a home drug test for parents who are inches away from calling an inpatient drug rehab center because they suspect their children are using drugs. To use the test, simply pull a hair from the head of your child and run it through the test.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? While the test itself might be simple, the factors and worries behind it are not. In California, drug rehab centers are concerned these new tests might cause a rash of unnecessary calls to the centers among many other family problems and complications.

The Moral Conflict

Many inpatient drug rehab programs feel that if things have gotten to the point that parents are going to take a hair sample for drug testing, it is time to sit and talk with their kids and look for other possible signs of drug abuse. For them, giving your child a drug test without their knowledge brings up questions in terms of trust and betrayal.

The biggest concern is that the focus of talking to kids for the purpose of prevention will be passed over since now, all parents have to do is pull out a strand of their kid’s hair. They can even do it while the kids are sleeping.

On the other side of the fence, manufacturers and many family groups feel the in-home drug tests could help addicts get help sooner and minimize the impact on everyone involved. They feel the test is a valuable tool for those who already strongly suspect drug abuse.

The results can be used to face the teen and convince them to go into a California drug rehab center or other treatment program in the US. It also helps in situations where the child is uncooperative or even violent.

The Accuracy of the Test

In-home drug testing is over 99% accurate, however this does not take contamination into consideration. Say your child goes to a public washroom and runs his hand through his hair. The transfer of DNA can occur that easily and the tests cannot distinguish between the two sets of DNA. In professional California drug rehab and testing centers, precautions are in place to eliminate this possibility.

As if a false positive result isn’t enough, the repercussions of falsely dragging your child to an inpatient drug rehab center only to find out it was a mistake can have life-long, negative effects on everyone. Home tests also cannot detect some drugs and substances, which could lead to false negatives causing severe drug problems to be ignored until it is too late.

In the end, choosing whether to use a home drug test is up to the parents to decide. If you are already considering testing, it may be in your best interest to seek the help of a professional California drug rehab center or other treatment center in your area. This way, even if you end up enrolling your child in an inpatient drug rehab program, you and your child will have the support needed to negotiate through the troubled waters and make it through the ordeal.



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