Drug screening tests for the presence of drugs in bodily fluids or tissues, including illegal and prescription drugs. It is used in the workplace and medical settings, and can be done with oral swabs, blood, urine, and hair. False positives can occur, and different drugs show up in different amounts of time. Drug screening kits are available for home use.
Drug screening is a test in which a tissue or fluid sample is analyzed to look for the presence of drugs. A number of drugs can be searched for in the sample, including illegal drugs and prescription drugs that are sometimes abused. This test may be required for some types of jobs, with people passing a drug test when they start work and being randomly tested periodically. Refusal to undergo drug screening can mean job applications are denied work and can result in suspension or termination for people already in employment.
In addition to being used in the workplace, for both public and civil works, drug screening is also used in a medical setting. Hospitals may take a sample from a patient believed to be under the influence of drugs or from a patient who may be in danger by taking drugs and not informing hospital staff. In this case, the test is done because information about drug use may be relevant to your medical treatment. Drug screening is also routinely done as part of some autopsies, in which case technicians also look for traces of toxins and other unusual substances that could shed light on a death.
Oral swabs, blood, urine, and hair are all used for drug screening. The test can screen for the presence of drugs and their metabolites. Some labs will confirm positive results with the use of mass spectrometry, as false positives do happen and taking the time to confirm can avoid confusion. The test results will indicate that the blood does not contain traces of drugs or that traces have been detected, in which case the drugs will be identified.
It can take different amounts of time for different drugs to show up in the body as they are metabolized. The drugs tend to manifest more rapidly in oral swabs and stay longer in the hair. Urine tends to be used more frequently for drug testing, because it shows signs of recent drug use. Care must be taken when collecting specimens to ensure they are not contaminated. One problem with urine is that it is possible for the test subject to tamper with it, whereas something like a blood sample is more difficult to tamper with.
Several companies make drug screening kits that people can use to collect samples at home and send the samples to a lab. These kits are often sold to parents who fear their children might use drugs. Such kits are also sometimes used by workplaces that do not wish to contract with a local workshop.
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