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Due to the common practice these days of many employers instituting drug policies, the practice of testing at home for the presence of substances in the system is gaining interest steadily. Random tests at the workplace are used as a deterrent to drug use on the job.
This is not the only reason that many people are using drug test kits in their home. Alcohol and drug abuse is a concern for many parents who are worried about the influence of substance abuse among their children. Family members of those who have had a history of drug or alcohol abuse may also be concerned enough to take steps in helping to deal with this problem.
Preventative steps can be taken in the privacy and security of the home to address these issues. Whether it is a parent who feels the need to reassure themselves that their child is drug-free or it is a concerned family member who is trying to help someone maintain a life without using substances, drug test kits can be a valuable tool.
Most drug test kits approach this issue in four different ways, using a saliva sample, testing a hair follicle and using two different methods to test the urine. All but one of these tests can produce results that are available within just minutes. Only one of these, the hair follicle test, must be sent to a CLIA certified laboratory to determine drug levels in the body.
These four types of drug test kits are considered non-intrusive, which means that there are no needles used to obtain a sample to be tested. This fact can alleviate the reservations a person might have against taking the test, and can also make it much easier to institute a regular testing program in the home.
The saliva drug test kits require only a sample directly from the mouth or from a container, which is placed in a collection spoon. Results from this test are ready in as little as five minutes. This method tests for four different drugs used in the past 24 hours.
The urine drug test kits use two methods. There are up to ten different drugs that can be tested for, which determines which of the urine drug test kits to be used. Both of these methods will test for any indication of drug use in the past 72 to 84 hours.
The first method uses a cassette which is placed in a cup that contains the sample and provides results in five minutes. The second urine test provides a self-contained collection cup with the drug sensor built in. This kit also has a temperature sensor that confirms whether or not the sample is at body temperature.
The hair follicle drug test kits require the sample to be sent in a pre-paid envelope to the certified laboratory. A variety of substances can be tested for and this test can detect any drug use for the previous three months. The results are confidential since they can only be viewed by the one who has sent in the sample.
These drug test kits are easily obtainable, and will help to reassure parents and family members who have concerns about their loved ones health.
Posts Tagged ‘Valuable Tool’
Drug Test Kits for Home Use
Posted in 
Tags: 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.
