
A drug test is commonly a technical examination to determine the presence or absence of specified drugs or their metabolized traces. According to the Chicago land Chamber of Commerce, “Over 70% of all illicit drug users are employed. Small and medium-sized firms employ 80% of the U.S. workforce where drug testing policies & programs are not in place. Absenteeism, increased health care costs and decreased productivity due to alcohol and other substance abuse cost a company $1,000 per employee per year.” It gives the importance of drug testing at work place.
Primarily there are five methods of drug testing. Those are
. Urine drug testing: Urine drug test is the most common, inexpensive, simple and easy to administer. Urine drug tests are reliable and can be tested individually and at other places.
. Blood drug testing: Blood testing is one of the most accurate drug testing but intrusive and expensive.
. Hair drug testing: When used in right time hair testing gives more accurate results and it is most expensive drug testing.
. Saliva drug testing: Oral drug testing is the simplest form of drug testing, which is increasingly used, as it is the least intrusive test procedure.
. Sweat drug testing: Sweat tests are patches attached to the skin to collect sweat over a long period of time (10–14 days).
Drug testing, and particularly random drug testing is not allowed in every state in the United States. There are certain guidelines mentioned by The Federal Drug-Free Work Place Act of 1988. Following guidelines give the minimum requirements.
. Publish a policy statement prohibiting unlawful use, possession, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances in the workplace;
. Notify employees of said prohibition and the penalty for violating it;
. Establish a drug-free awareness program;
. Provide employees engaged in a contract with a copy of the policy statement;
. Notify employees that compliance with the policy statement is a condition of employment;
. Require (in writing in your policy) employees to notify the employer within five
. Days if they are convicted of a criminal drug statute violation occurring in the workplace;
. Make a good-faith effort to maintain a drug-free workplace through these provisions.
In 2004 SAMHSA proposed a new rule that would allow federal agencies to use sweat, saliva and hair in federal drug testing programs that now only test urine. The proposal would also allow selected specimen testing at the time and place it is collected.
Drug testing has an important role in safety-critical and other occupations where the public is entitled to expect the highest standards of safety and probity. In order to make the workforce free from drug use at work places several new methods are in line under the rules proposed by SAMHSA that are unintrusive, inescapable and yield accurate results.
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Drug Testing Methods at Work Place
Comparison Of Urine And Saliva Drug Tests

The major difference between different types of drug tests is the collection of specimen. But the advantages and disadvantages of these distinct drug tests vary in terms of many issues like invasiveness in specimen collection, risk of tampering the specimen, cost of drug test, time taken to produce results, accuracy of the results, etc. Of all the drug tests, Urine and Saliva drug tests are very common because of their efficiency to provide accurate results.
Features of urine and saliva drug testing
Both the urine drug testing and the saliva drug testing have their own advantages as well as some disadvantages.
Collection of specimen:
The major advantage of saliva drug testing over urine drug testing is its least invasiveness of privacy while collecting specimen. This has been a controversy since a long time in all the places of drug testing. The process of collecting saliva for a drug test is obviously less invasive compared to the case of urine drug test.
Chances of adulteration:
The chances of adulteration in saliva drug test are very less, compared to urine drug test. In case of saliva drug test, it is feasible to collect the specimen under legible supervision. Thus, minimizing the chances of tampering the specimen. This is not possible in case of urine drug testing. However, saliva drug test is not completely free from adulteration.
Detection period of drug abuse:
The detection period of drug abuse through saliva drug test is shorter, compared to urine drug test. The detection period in case of saliva drug test is around 20 hours to 1 day approximately, whereas it is around 3 days in case of urine drug test.
Accuracy of results:
The accuracy rate of both, urine and saliva drug tests are deemed by the United States court system. However, the accuracy rate of urine drug test results is much higher than that of saliva drug test results, the risk of false negatives is high in both the drug tests.
Cost of drug test
Cost-effectiveness is the major advantage of urine drug tests compared to any type of drug tests. The cost of saliva drug test is a little higher, compared to urine drug test. However, the cost of saliva drug testing complies with the quality of the drug test.
As both saliva drug test and urine drug test, have their own advantages and disadvantages it is not feasible to use any one of them in all the situations. Based on the comparison of features mentioned above, it will be easier to analyze and choose a drug test according to the situation.
Researches on Saliva Drug Testing

A huge amount of research has gone into the development of saliva drug testing methods. The methodologies used continue to evolve as a result of all this research resulting in more accurate and reliable tests. Saliva drug testing has its obvious advantages but unfortunately, it is not the final solution and it does have its drawbacks.
The major benefit of saliva drug testing is that unlike urine blood tests, it is much easier to collect the sample for testing and it is much more difficult to give a false sample. In urine drug testing the sample is collected in the privacy of a special booth constructed for the purpose or a toilet. The subject has the chance to provide a sample that is clean without the knowledge of the person in charge of testing. This has been the greatest issue with urine drug testing so far.
But the collection of saliva for saliva drug testing is accomplished easily and in public leaving out no space for the subject in question to pull a trick on the tester. The sample required for saliva drug testing is collected by using a scrub that resembles a toothbrush, the only difference being that at the end where there should be bristles, we find a swab that collects saliva. Saliva is collected by placing this collection mechanism between the lower cheek and gum for about two minutes.
Understandably, the collection method for saliva drug testing is obviously simpler than that for urine testing, or blood testing for that matter. Another great advantage of saliva drug testing is that, with the use of some instant testing kits, the result is availed pretty quickly without the need for a lab. In contrast, a blood test would require sample collection by a health care professional and testing in a lab significantly driving up the costs and the time required.
Saliva drug testing cannot be used as a comprehensive drug test for detecting long term drug use patterns. Most drugs do not leave a residue in the saliva beyond a 20 hour period. Saliva drug testing can be used safely to judge whether the person has consumed drugs within the last 24 hours but it won’t detect if the person has any history of drug abuse at all. A hair drug test would beat saliva drug testing at it any given day going back up to 90 days, but a hair drug test takes a month or so to give results.
Saliva drug testing is rather an excellent way by which to test long haul truck drivers on the spot before a trip to determine whether he has consumed any drugs recently that would impair his ability to drive safely. Saliva drug testing could also be employed in case of accidents on the job or on the road to determine whether drug abuse was a factor that contributed to the mishap. With instant results and easy sample collection, no other tests would compare with a saliva drug test in these conditions.
Saliva drug testing has the capability to detect up to 8 different drugs in the body. It is usually designed to detect 5 to 6 drugs at the same time. The results of saliva drug testing are accurate and completely reliable. So the question arises as to why saliva drug testing is not as popular or widely employed as the urine test or the blood test.
Saliva drug testing will eventually replace all other drug testing methods in all cases where a comprehensive drug abuse history is not required to be evaluated. This quick and easy method is poised to take the market by storm. That is unless the labs manage to bury it in propaganda.
3 Reasons Etg Alcohol Testing is the Preferred Method for Testing Accurate Alcohol Abuse

Hair drug testing has been around longer than hair alcohol testing. Because drugs are easier to detect longer after they have been consumed verses the rapid dissipation of alcohol consumption, EtG alcohol testing is an exciting advancement in alcohol testing.
EtG Alcohol Testing Through Hair Testing
The reason it is so difficult to accurately screen potential employees or perform accurate random testing is because the rate that alcohol leaves the body in just hours and minutes makes it extremely difficult to judge how much a person has consumed and how long ago it was that the person consumed it. What else is difficult to uncover is the history someone has of alcohol abuse. With as much as an inch and a half of hair cut from the scalp of a person, a hair alcohol testing laboratory can find out what a person’s approximated consumption of alcohol has been up to a 30 day history and if the hair sample is longer, as much as a year of alcohol consumption can be tested. A series of assessments called FAEE, fatty acid ethyl esters and EtG alcohol testing are done to measure the amount of FAEE and EtG markers that are revealed in the tests. The more alcohol a person has consumed, the more markers will be present on a test. Here are three other reasons EtG alcohol testing is helping to create a more sober society.
Employee Screening for Dangerous or Highly Skilled Jobs
Every day a person with a drug or alcohol problem goes to work and operates dangerous equipment, gets behind a wheel or even operates on a patient in the medical field. The reason so many drug and alcohol abusers continue to work in highly skilled or dangerous jobs is partly due to inadequate testing of these individuals. Using hair alcohol testing with EtG alcohol testing and EtG drug testing technology, employees can be accurately screened for recent and long term drug and alcohol abuse before they are hired.
Alcohol and Drug Treatment Settings
EtG alcohol testing technology is used for tracking the progress of drug and alcohol abusers while in treatment. A hair sample taken after a person has been in treatment can show the progress of sobriety in hair markers, as well as reveal patients who have fallen off the wagon and may need alternative care.
Great Tool for Testing Students For Drug and Alcohol Abuse
High school students and junior high students begin experimenting with drugs and alcohol at an early age and parents, teachers and counselors need better tools in which to test students for drugs and alcohol abuse. Using EtG alcohol testing via hair alcohol and drug testing provides a cost effective and non-intrusive testing alternative to urine alcohol testing or saliva alcohol testing.
EtG Testing Also Helps
Social workers or lawyers trying to prove the lack of alcohol abuse of a parent trying to gain custody of their child.
Hospitals looking to hire a surgeon or an airline hiring a pilot will likely be interested in knowing the alcohol abuse history of a surgeon or pilot before they’re hired.
When it comes to advances in drug and alcohol testing technologies, there is a growing need for this its uses. And just as importantly, the need for hair alcohol testing to prove a history of alcohol abuse is just as necessary to disprove any abuse.
Benzodiazepine Drug Abuse

Benzodiazepines are a type of anti-anxiety drugs. While anxiety is a normal response to stressful situations, some people have unusually high levels of anxiety that can interfere with everyday life. For these people, benzodiazepines can help bring their feelings under control. Benzodiazepines act on the central nervous system, produce sedation and muscle relaxation, and lower anxiety levels. Benzodiazepines are commonly abused. Benzodiazepines abuse is partially related to the toxic effects that they produce and also to their widespread availability. Death and serious illness rarely result from benzodiazepine abuse alone. However, they are frequently taken with either alcohol or other medications. The combination of benzodiazepines and alcohol can be dangerous.
Causes and Symptoms of Benzodiazepine
At normal or regular doses, benzodiazepines relieve anxiety and insomnia. Benzodiazepines over dose causes side effects like drowsy or dizzy. High doses of benzodiazepines can produce more serious side effects. Signs and symptoms of acute toxicity or overdose may include Drowsiness, Confusion, Dizziness, Blurred vision, Weakness, Slurred speech, Lack of coordination, Difficulty breathing and even Coma.
Signs of chronic drug abuse can be very nonspecific and include changes in appearance and behavior that affect relationships and work performance. Warning signs in children include abrupt changes in mood or deterioration of school performance. Chronic abuse of benzodiazepines can lead to symptoms like anxiety, insomnia, anorexia, headaches, and weakness.
Monitoring and Testing of Benzodiazepine
· Benzodiazepines drug abuse can be detected with Saliva drug test.
· Urine drug screens are used to find the addiction levels for Benzodiazepines. Lab tests can detect many of the commonly abused drugs, including benzodiazepines (but may not be able to discover them all). The urine drug screens do not, however, reveal a specific level or amount of the drug taken. However, it is difficult to find the level of addiction for Benzodiazepine as it varies from individual.
· In the case of overdose of Benzodiazepine, in the emergency department, patient will be placed on a monitor evaluating heart rate, blood pressure, and pulse oximetry. An IV line will be started. Oxygen is given if patient is short of breath or has a reduced level of consciousness.
Different Types of Alcohol Testing

Alcohol tests are conducted to know whether the person has consumed alcohol or not. Alcohol testing is conducted in different ways using urine, blood, saliva and breathe specimens. Every test has its own importance and advantages of using it. Results of some alcohol testing can be used as evidence for legal considerations.
Types of alcohol testing
Basically there are four types of alcohol tests. They are Urine alcohol test, Blood alcohol test, Alcohol breathalyzer test and Saliva alcohol test. The following are the different types of alcohol testing.
• Urine Alcohol Test:
As the name goes urine alcohol test is conducted on urine specimen of the person for whom the test is conducted. This test indicates the presence of alcohol in a person’s body, but it takes up to 2 hours for alcohol to show up in person’s urine. Urine alcohol test is less expensive when compared to other alcohol tests. This test can also be conducted at home but for accurate results lab verification is required.
• Blood Alcohol Test:
Blood alcohol test is accurate and expensive when compared to other alcohol tests. Blood alcohol test is conducted on blood specimen and helps in identifying the actual content of alcohol present in blood. Blood tests are least used method in testing for alcohol because of their high cost.
• Alcohol Breathalyzer Test:
The common form of breath alcohol testing is breathalyzer test. Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) is indirectly estimated by measuring the amount of alcohol in one’s breath. There may be inaccurate results due person’s breathing rate may change by vigorous exercise. If law enforcement personnel fail to use the breathalyzers properly or fail to maintain the device properly, then the results may not be accurate.
• Saliva Alcohol Test:
Presence of alcohol is tested through saliva specimen of the person for whom the test is conducted. This test is expensive than urine test and most commonly used test when compared to other tests. Samples are collected at the time of test and chance of tampering the sample is less. There are no nationally accepted cutoff levels for this test. Therefore, the results of saliva alcohol test are not accepted as evidence for any legal consideration.
To prevent road accidents, legislators are using these tests and making high efforts in controlling the accidents which are caused due to driving under the influence of alcohol. Testing for alcohol has become common for evaluation of employee. For avoiding accidents and evaluating employees, alcohol testing has become more important and is implemented more commonly than earlier.
Which Ovulation Predictor Test is Right for You?

Which Ovulation Predictor Test is Right for You?
We’ve collected some facts about the various types of products out there to assist you in your selection.
Remember most of these test will not confirm that you have actually ovulated except the OvaCue (through it’s optional vaginal sensor) and Basal Thermometers.
Basal Body Temperature
What It Tells:
The temperature of a healthy person when taken immediately upon awakening is considered to be the BBT. Basal conditions are defined as being found 12 hours after the following: a restful sleep, eating, with no exercise, and with no emotional excitement, and before getting out of bed.. Ultimately the BBT method will tell you that you have ovulated, and should be used in conjunction with Cervical Mucus monitoring, Cervical Position monitoring and recording your results daily.. We recommend reading a book such as Taking Charge of Your Fertility while using this method, in order to understand the signs that come along with impending ovulation. This method must used every single day for maximum information.
Who Should Use This Method:
Women who are just in the beginning stages of trying to conceive. It helps you understand your own individual cycle.
Who Should Not Use This Method:
Women who have very irratic sleeping schedules and can not consistantly take their temperature the same time each day.
You snore or have apnea.
Ovulation Urine Tests (OPK’s)
What They Do:
They measure the concentration of LH in your urine. A surge in LH levels represents impending ovulation, usually within 24 to 48 hours from a positive result. They must be used daily usually from the 10th day of your cycle until you get a positive result. Charts supplied with these tests will help your determine what day to begin testing on.
Who Should Use Them:
Women who have fairly regular cycles
If you are using fertility drugs such as clomid or pergonal, please check with your doctor as to using this form of ovulation preditction. Using them too soon after your last dosage of clomid may result in a false postive.
Who Should Not Use Them:
Women who have very irregular cycles, as it does become very expensive
Saliva Ovulation Predictor Tests
What They Do:
Your body during the first half of your cycle is Estrogen Dominant. As you approach ovulation the estrogen rises, and so does the salt content in your saliva. These tests measure your fertility by allowing you to view the salt concentration in your saliva after drying. The highest concentration occurs just before ovulation and appears thru the lens as small ferns. Monitoring daily allows you to view the rise and fall of your estrogen. With these units you get more notice of ovulation approaching because you can watch as ferns begin to appear. You should have no food or beverage intake for at least 2 hours before using.
Who Should Use Them:
They are perfect for women with long or erratic cycles, since you can use the product daily without additional supplies needed.
You are fairly regular.
If you are using fertility medications.
Who Should Not Use Them:
Some women with high estrogen levels (many overweight women) will find they appear fertile more often than they actually are.
ClearPlan /ClearBlueFertility Monitor
What It Does:
It tracks 2 hormones, estrogen and LH through urine samples. After inserting the test sticks into the unit, a result will given as to whether you are in a Low, High, or Peak Fertile period. This unit stores your information for several months.
Who Should Use It:
You are fairly regular
You are looking for a method that requires no self interpretation, as it does all the work for you.
You may still use the ClearPlan Easy Fertility Monitor if you are taking Clomid, but please be aware that the Fertility Monitor may not reliably detect High Fertility. However, it may still be possible to detect Peak Fertility. Therefore, if you are taking Clomid and trying to conceive, you may still benefit from using the ClearPlan Easy Fertility Monitor, but consult with your physician first. In a recent study on patients using the ClearPlan Easy Fertility Monitor while taking Clomid, some patients did experience more High Fertility days when taking Clomid but their Peak Fertility days were still accurately identified.
You Should Not Use It If::
Your doctor has determined that you are not ovulating spontaneously
Your cycles are shorter than 22 days or longer than 42 days.
Your cycles are erratic and very irregular
You have been diagnosed with PCOS
You have recently been pregnant, are currently/recently stopped breast feeding, stopped using hormonal contraception. You should have at least 2 natural cycles before using this product.
You have impaired kidney function
You can not reliably take the test the same time every morning.
You are on anti-biotics that contains tetracyclines
You are using hormonal contraception, certain fertility treatments (especially those containing hCG and LH) and hormone replacement therapy.
OvWatch Fertility Monitor:
What It Does:
Measures sweat ion changes that result from rises in estrogen and LH on the surface of your skin and an advanced microcomputer that uses the sensor’s measurement to track your fertility and predict the days when you are likely to become pregnant.
Who Should Use It:
If your cycles are between 24 and 35 days
Who Should Not Use It:
If you have symptoms of menopause
If you have liver or kidney conditions
If you are or have recently been pregnant, are currently breastfeeding, or have recently stopped using contraception.
If you have polycystic ovarian syndrome or other treatments that affect your cycle in anyway, such as hormonal contraception.
Drug testing for the various institutions

The testing of drugs at the work place or in sports teams has become one of the most common phenomenons. Not only that drug testing has got its popularity in probation offices, police departments, schools and many other such institutions. This is a method of detection to discover people having drug problems. This is quite helpful in preventing a lot of deaths in today’s world because of the growing addiction for drugs. This also helps the employers to determine what type of people they are employing and to ensure full efficiency of their employees. This is also an effective tool for the parents who suspect that their children are getting victim of drug addiction. This sometimes becomes really needful, as there is no time limit or age group of getting addicted to drugs. Therefore the invention of drug testing really proves to be a boon for a lot f people and for that reason they are able to help their near and dear ones.
For a company or a sports team the drug testing becomes much essential to ensure the physical health of their players or the employees. In most cases it is seen that the applicants are required to go through a drug test in order to join the team or get a job. This is legal procedure and is been legally accepted by most of the countries. As this is true that a person is always having the choice whether to go under a drug test or not, but in that case the unwilling person will not be hired by that company or will not be allowed to join the team. Thus it is seen that drug testing has been put under the eligibility criteria by most of the companies or sports team before employment or joining the team. And an applicant must fulfill this criterion before getting employment or being accepted as a team member. This criterion has been accepted worldwide. And it is also seen that this is not only helpful for the employer but also for the employee.
But along with that it is also often seen that periodical drug tests are being conducted at work places and also in sports teams. This is done to ensure incase the candidates gets to addiction after joining. This proves the concern of the employers and the sports teams about drug addiction. As for example in case of sports teams while going on a tournament, drug test is been conducted for each team members by the organizers. Therefore in case any single member of any team is found positive, the team is really going to face serious problems. Therefore a strict eye is kept before hand by the teams themselves. Similarly the companies also are quite concerned about this matter and it is obvious that they would always try to get the best out of their employees for their own profit.
As we all know that drugs have negative physical and emotional effects on human behavior. Therefore having an employee or player under the influence of drugs is a dangerous situation. Thus they have plenty of solid reasons to conduct a drug test in order to certify their employees and athletes of their ability of best performance.



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