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At Home Drug Tests
Have you ever been asked to take a drug test during a job application? It’s increasingly becoming the norm. In fact, a recent survey pegged around 81% of companies in the US now requiring some form of drug testing for new entrants into their workforce.
While it can feel invasive, it’s hardly arguable. Companies do take serious risks when hiring employees with chronic drug problems. Highly-dependent and addicted individuals, after all, can create grave problems in the workplace, apart from offering a higher likelihood for stealing and similar actions.
Unfortunately, the same tests designed to ward off problem users unable to contain their drug habits from offices also keeps recreational users, like majority of people who fail tests, from getting in. If you’ve engaged in a couple of hits now and then during a party, it can feel a bit harsh to be barred from opportunities you’re otherwise qualified for.
Most drug traces can be detected in either hair or bodily fluids, each one providing different levels of accuracy and longevity for the tested substances. If you’re applying for a new job soon, chances are you’ll be required to take a drug test in some form, either using your urine, saliva, hair or blood as samples.
Passing Your Drug Test
If you want to make sure you pass your job-related drug testing with flying colors, the best thing to do is to test yourself first to hopefully mimic what the lab technicians will find. One way to get your results is to submit to a drug testing in a private facility. Paying for the cost out of your own pocket, you can ask for a similar test as what the potential employer will administer, whether it’s a urine drug test, hair drug test or any other form.
A second, much cheaper way is to self-administer your test by using a home drug testing kit. Many drug test kits are currently available online, coming in various forms. If your employer is looking to do a urine test then you’ll need to find a similar home drug test kit that works its detection abilities on the same sample. Regardless of what kind of test you might be facing, there’s a home kit likely able to capably match it.
Like laboratory-supervised drug tests, home test kits can vary in the range of illegal substances they will detect. Some merely check for common substances like alcohol and marijuana while several multiple-panel test kits can check for a wide variety of drugs including cocaine, heroin, barbiturates, meth and various opiates.
Regardless of what substances a home drug test can identify, though, it usually works in a similar fashion as regular drug screening which run tests both for presence of the actual drugs along with metabolites. Metabolites are the byproducts of the drugs left over in your system.
If you’re only worried about traces of a particular drug showing up in your system, you can ditch the multiple panel kits and go for home tests that only screen for specific drugs. A quick look around the web will show you individual kits available for most common drugs, including amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, THC (marijuana and hashish), meth, nicotine and opiates.
Additionally, if you’ve been doing a body detox to rid yourself of traces of drug use, home test kits can help you ensure that the cleansing is successful before going in to the mandated (either by work, court or any other office) substance screening.
Keeping a couple of multiple panel kits handy should serve you, as well, in case you get into an accident and need to go in for testing by the insurance company. Some individuals opt to wait until traces of any drug are out of their system before walking into a hospital as doing otherwise might nullify their coverage. Bear in mind, though, that most insurance agencies use a blood drug test when evaluating patients so a similar test tucked somewhere at home should be in order.
What benefits can home-testing give you over a professional drug test down at the local clinic?
- Home drug test kits get you immediate, on-the-spot results. There’s no waiting in line at the health center, no need to set an appointment and no waiting anywhere from a few days up to 4 weeks to get your results.
- Drug test kits for home use are incredibly simple to administer. Simply follow the instructions that come with the packaging and you should be fine. Most of the time, it takes no more than five minutes from opening the pouch to getting definite results.
- Home testing kits are highly discreet. Instead of risking public exposure in a drug testing facility, you can do it in the privacy of your own home where no one needs to know what you’re doing.
- It is a highly cost-effective way of getting results. Most home drug tests costs somewhere in the vicinity of $20. Ordering it online also saves you the extra trip.
- Home drug testing kits can offer high levels of accuracy, with some mimicking lab results up to 98%.
Parents And Home Drug Test Kits
Surprisingly, one of the biggest market for home drug test kits are parents of teenage kids.
It’s well known that the teenage years are a time of experimentation, with drugs being one of the easiest available avenues for doing so. Wanting to be sure whether their kids are engaging in worrisome activities when out of their sight, plenty of parents are now enforcing drug testing in their household.
Choosing A Test Kit
When shopping for a drug test kit online, any of the available brands will usually do. Just make sure that the kit you’re buying tests for the drug you suspect might show up in your test. The only off-the-shelf test kits you may want to avoid are those that require you to send in the sample to their own lab for testing - a really unnecessary step as good drug test kits sufficiently mimic laboratory testing outputs already.