Common Types of Drug Screening and How they are Done
Drug screening is becoming more of an interesting subject for lots of groups and individuals. With more companies and just recently, schools, adopting a random drug testing program for their own advantages; the drug screening business has become one of the fastest growing industries in the present time. Not only are testing centers start mushrooming, there are now over the counter drug screening kits that can be used in some pharmacies and even in the internet. Today many companies in the United States and UK also make drug screening a requirement for hiring new employees.
Despite the increasing popularity of drug testing and its lengthy history dating back to the early 1980’s, many people remain unaware of the basic facts about drug screening. Many people do not know that a drug test is a general term for a number of specific methodologies to detect the presence of toxins and traces of drugs in an individual’s body. Thus, there is more than one way to test whether or not, the person is into illicit drug use and these methodologies can be utilized for specific aims. Here are the various types of drug screening types being employed in the present:
Urine Drug Screen
The most common type of drug screening is the urine drug screen. This method uses the urine sample of an individual to check if there are detectable traces of toxins in the body. Urine testing is used to detect a wide range of drugs and substances. Today, urine samples need to undergo verification before being accepted as testable. This is due to the different methods that are used to cheat on the sample. Cheating by dilution and drinking excessive amounts of water can cause the urine lose key elements which in turn make it unqualified for testing.
Hair Testing
Drug detection through hair testing is now widely used in UK and Canadian courts. Hair testing not only detects the presence of drugs, but of alcohol as well. New guidelines for this kind of testing were just published recently, making the procedure more effective. Hair testing is used to detect drugs like cannabis, amphetamine, cocaine and others.
Saliva Drug Screen
Another way of testing for drugs is through oral fluids or saliva. This type uses a sufficient amount of saliva from the individual. There are immediately tested to check for traces of drugs. The downside of this method is that the detection times of drugs are much shorter with a minimum of a few hours to two days.
Illicit drugs and alcohol can do far more harm than just cost you a job. Whether prescribed or otherwise, do not drive under the influence. At worst, you risk your own and others’ lives. At the least, you will forfeit your eligibility for cheap car insurance and pay greatly higher rates.
Sweat Drug Screen
In this type of drug screening, sweat samples are gathered by using a sweat patch attached to the skin. To be able to get a sufficient amount of sample, the patch needs to remain attached to the skin from 1 to 4 hours depending on how heavy the person being tested is sweating. This type of drug screening is used by institutions that are concerned with illicit drug use over a long period of time, when urine drug screening is impractical.
Blood Drug Screening
Blood drug testing is considered as the most accurate method to determine whether a person is intoxicated. However, traces of some substances can easily disappear from the blood within hours. Blood drug screening is also costly because it makes use of specialized equipment.