An examination of specimen to detect specific drug presence or to determine prior drug abuse is known as drug test. Several methods have been developed to trace drug presence. Among those Hair and Saliva drug testing methods have emerged rapidly and accepted widely throughout the world.
Characteristics Of Hair Drug Testing And Saliva Drug Testing
Hair drug testing method is usually preferred in forensic studies due to its highly accurate results and many organizations use hair drug testing to find drug abuse for longer periods. Saliva drug testing is used in businesses, schools and in sports as results can be obtained immediately and due to its portability.
Hair drug testing and Saliva drug testing methods, both are donor friendly and difficult to adulterate. However, they have specific characteristics in respect of applications of usage.
• Easiness:
- The procedure followed to test drug presence using hair drug testing is easy. It is required to collect some hair samples and to send to a lab for testing.
- Saliva drug testing is easy to use and test can be conducted at the site of specimen collection.
• Duration For Drug Detection:
- Using Hair Drug Testing method, drug presence can be detected even after 90 days from the time of abuse. This test is widely accepted due to its effectiveness in results.
- Saliva drug testing is considered as an effective method to determine recent drug abuse and the duration of detection is 1-2 days from the time of abuse. Effectiveness of the results in saliva drug testing is based on the collection of the specimen.
• Adulteration:
- Adulteration of test samples in hair drug testing is highly impossible.
- In saliva drug testing, it is harder to adulterate but it is good to collect the specimen under the supervision for better results.
• Detects Major Drugs:
- Five major drugs abuse can be detected using hair drug testing using enzyme-immunoassay method.
- Seven major drugs can be detected using saliva drug testing, and using GC/MS method.
• Easy And Convenient:
- Hair drug testing technique is used at laboratories to detect drug presence from the test samples. Performing this test is easy, and convenient for those who know how to perform.
- Saliva drug testing is easy, and convenient to perform the test. This technique is more sensitive than any other drug testing method.
• Accuracy Of Results:
- Hair drug testing results are 100% accurate and these results are used as evidence for drug abuse.
- Accuracy of results in saliva drug testing is 95-98% and often performed in post accident situations.
• Skills Required For Conducting The Test:
- To perform a hair drug test, the person may need relevant knowledge to conduct the test. This test is usually conducted in highly equipped labs.
- Saliva drug testing can be performed by anyone, and at both home and lab.
This information gives characteristics of Hair drug testing and Saliva drug testing to understand the specific applications and to use both the testing methods effectively.
Posts Tagged ‘Saliva Testing’
Comparison of Hair Drug Testing With Saliva Drug Testing
The Advantages of Workplace Saliva Drug Tests
The drive for a healthier, more positive, and safer workplace is of high importance to each company or organization. The current health of the workplace tells a lot on the outlook of the company. However, the menace of drug abuse has not caught the attention of most employers. Education on workplace drug testing is not given priority. Therefore cracks and gaps that can endanger the workplace environment still occur.
Saliva drug testing
Saliva drug testing is known as an on-site drug monitoring tool. Its matrix of benefits provides a certain niche where saliva drug testing is more advantageous over the traditional urine drug tests. Saliva drug tests is gaining relevance for employers who seek efficient and current drug monitoring that employs a non-invasive approach and quick results.
The advantages of saliva drug testing over urine drug testing are multi-dimensional. First, saliva drug tests are very donor friendly as compared to urine extraction or blood sample monitoring. With a quick dash of padded sample collector, an employee can be tested quickly and without much of a hassle. Saliva drug testing is pain free and quick to administer so that employees can go about their business without missing a step.
Consequently, saliva drug testing is much more difficult to adulterate. Employees under the influence of drugs will not have the time to switch urine cups or hide in bathrooms. This is especially useful in random drug testing. As adulteration is prevented, the accuracy of these monitoring tools will increase while preventing employees to take advantage of the cracks of traditional urine drug tests.
Saliva drug testing also have quicker detection rates than urine drug testing or blood sample testing. Analysis of the results can be done on-site without the need for complex lab material. Because of this, saliva drug tests are viewed as something especially designed for quick facilitation of drug monitoring for employees.
The use of saliva as a biological sample in drug testing also gives higher correlation with traditional samples on among certain drugs. There is a higher presence of the parent drug than metabolites in saliva which gives these tests a better reading on the specific type of drug use. In addition, there is a high correlation between the drug found in saliva and the drug found in blood. As a current drug use monitoring tool, saliva has been found to be effective vehicles of cocaine during a cocaine rush.
Saliva drug testing is useful in scenarios where urine drug testing isn’t. Saliva drug testing is proven useful in detecting the drug use of automobile drivers and victims after a road accident. Saliva drug testing can also be used as a quick tool for safety-sensitive position and industries such as construction, manufacturing, and the health service sector. Ultimately, what saliva drug testing tells us is that there is a relationship between current use and the drug’s temporal effects.
What are Your Rights When it Comes to Workplace Drug Testing?
Hopefully, if your company cares about its employees, your employer would explain the reasons for the policy, how the testing will be carried out, the procedures for consent to testing, the consequences of refusing consent and the type of testing that will be performed and the possibility of medical review of your test results. In addition, a certified agency should carry out the testing, whether it be breath, saliva or urine alcohol testing .
Do you have the right to refuse testing?
Yes, but the consequences if you refuse differ from company to company.
Can I get arrested if my drug test comes back positive?
It depends how much of a user you are and other circumstances involved. Are you also a dealer? Were you high when you took the test? Did you come to work that way? Each employer is different on how they handle a positive test. Perhaps you will get a warning, or you just may not be hired, or be let go, depending on the situation.
Here are the pros and cons of possible testing procedures that could be asked of you for employee drug testing:
Breath Alcohol Testing
Inexpensive
Provides instant results
Accurate only for recent users
Given under supervision
Not as intrusive
Saliva testing:
Doesn’t show metabolites in the saliva as long as they do in the urine or hair
Provides a relatively short window of detection, approximately 10 to 24 hours.
Is taken under supervision to deter tampering
Sample is less invasive then a urine sample
Urine alcohol testing:
Inexpensive
Provides ability to test for several different types of substances
The specimen can be adulterated, substituted, or diluted
Has a small window of detection
Urine can take up to 2 hours before alcohol is present in the system
With EtG testing, urine alcohol tests up to 80 hours only
Intrusive and rather embarrassing form of testing
Hair Alcohol Testing
Probably one of the least intrusive methods
Accurate, safe and fool proof
The only alcohol testing method to prove alcohol consumption of past usage up to 12 months
What is hair alcohol testing?
Hair alcohol testing is also considered one of the least evasive substance tests around. Instead of urine alcohol testing, breath or saliva testing that demands personal body fluids, hair alcohol testing only asks for a small sample of hair, taken from the scalp. This is done by trained nurses that can collect a candidate’s sample discreetly in their home or place of work. As hair grows it absorbs everything we put into our bodies, fed from the bloodstream. What we absorb is stored as chemical markers that are locked in the hair and show a history like watermarks in a canyon, showing the history of time. These markers, including fatty acid ethyl esters, FAEE’s only occur when ethanol alcohol is consumed. The more alcohol an individual consumes, the greater the concentration of these markers in the hair.
So when it comes to employee’s rights, if you still have questions, contact your state or an employment lawyer for assistance.
Drug of Abuse Test: A Hassle Free Drug Abuse Detection
The government is strict in imposing a drug-free country. This could be noted that in all aspects, a Drug of Abuse Test is required. However, no matter how firm the government is in eradicating the use of prohibited drugs, there is still an uncontrolled increase on the number of drug users annually. Thus, the drug testing is set as a pre-requisite before entering in universities in the country, as well as a pre-employment requirement in almost all agencies.
Being a common to everyone, today, drug testing has been made easy and hassle-free. Many methods and drug testing kits without prescriptions are available and have been developed for laboratory and home use. Technically, a drug test is examination done to detect if a person is positive or negative to a certain prohibited drug. The process is done through the person’s saliva, hair, sweat and urine.
The most common medium used in drug testing is the urine. In most medical laboratories, it is through Urinalysis to screen if a person is drug dependent or not. However today, with the use of Drug of Abuse Test kit, in just one step process an accurate result will be obtained.
Also, drug abuse screening is also done with the use of a person’s saliva. This test is likely applicable to detect if a person had inappropriate alcohol consumption. Saliva drug testing is as accurate as a urine drug test. In most cases, certain drug could be detected through saliva even after two to three days, while some drugs need to be tested within 24 hours.
Another means to detect a drug abuse is through hair. This allows a drug dependent person to know the history and quantity of current drug addiction. Furthermore, a blood testing is also another way to detect a drug abuse person.
Moreover, a Drug of Abuse Test kits are available for specific prohibited drug. This drug testing kit comes with an easy instructions and procedures to do it. In addition, immediately after the test, a result is achieved. Then, interpret whether it is positive or negative to a prohibited drug. Surely, Drug of Abuse test is a reliable and less hassle way of drug abuse detection.
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Tags: Accurate Result, Employment Requirement, Saliva Testing 
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