Drug testing can be done in several ways, out of which one method is to perform hair analysis. This method of testing is currently picking up importance among companies that conduct arbitrary on-location drug testing within the workplace or pre-employment screening. Even parents prefer this approach wanting to test their kids for drug use. Hair testing results are also recognized as the evidentiary weight by the court systems of countries like the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom.
What is Hair Drug Testing?
Hair drug testing is a process which deduces if the individual being tested is a drug user or has a history of drug use. The test requires a small specimen of hair for analysis so as to determine the particular drugs ingested. The long-term drug consumption yields by-products or metabolites which are assimilated into the blood and reserved in the hair. This screening approach provides a chance for an extensive detection window contrasted with other drug tests. This test can determine the drug use for up to 90 days from the last ingestion.
Substances Identified by Hair Drug Testing
Hair screening can determine various substances. These are:
- Amphetamines
- Cannabis
- Cocaine
- Ecstasy
- Methamphetamines
- Opiates
- Phencyclidine (PCP)
Advantages of Hair Drug Testing
There are various explanations for why this type of testing is favored instead of other techniques. Here are a bunch of reasons why hair drug testing is a better option:
- Non-invasive
This practice is easy, painless, and convenient. The collection method does not bring about any hurt or humiliation. All that needs to be done is to remove hair specimen from the head, as close to the root as possible, or from any other part of the body.
- Longer window of determination
The consumed drug is disposed of in the body where metabolites are produced. These are reserved in the bloodstream, and after some time, transmitted into hair follicles where they are settled. Consequently, just a hair cell test can identify a person’s history or pattern of drug use. Hair sample analyses can ascertain for the existence of metabolites of specific substances even 90 days after the last consumption.
- Lesser chances for evasion
In comparison with urine testing, there are very lower chances for specimens to be exchanged. In that capacity, the screening results from a hair test are more exact. Besides, since the metabolites are reserved in the hair shaft, making attempts to falsify the test, for example, extreme hair washing and putting on bleaches or dyes, is less probable to give incorrect negatives.
Procedure of Hair Drug Testing
To perform a hair drug test, a hair specimen is first obtained from the individual to be tested. The samples can come from the hair on the head or any other body part that has hair. Usually, such an analysis requires between 100 and 120 strands. This number is required because hair development is not uniform. Quantity lesser than this may not give precise results.
The specimen is then forwarded to a laboratory to be checked for the consumption of substances. One of such laboratories is Lextox Drug and Alcohol Testing having a team of experts that operate within the UK market. They aim at providing the most accurate and reliable results. The sample is then washed to separate any previously-used sources of drugs. After that, it goes through an initial screening method known as the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) technology.
In case the sample results turn out positive, it further undergoes a confirmation test where the lab facility uses exceptionally particular chromatographic methods to check the apparition of drug metabolites. These mechanisms include GC/MS/MS (gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry) and LC/MS/MS (liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry).
At the point when both the screening and confirmation tests come out positive, the hair test is documented to be positive. On the contrary, samples that produce a negative result during the initial screening are disposed of and filed as negative.
Some Ways to Pass the Test
If you are one of those undergoing a hair drug test, you now know how a drug is detected in the body through a hair follicle. Here are two legal ways you can pass a drug test:
Since drugs are transmitted to hair cell through the blood circulation, it is essential to purify your blood from toxins. Toxins take no less than 30 days to leave your circulation system. Once your blood is purified, your hair shaft will be too. Following 3 months, your hair would grow 1.5 inches more and you will be able to give clean collectible samples.
- Accelerate the cleansing process through diets and supplement
There are a lot of things you have to do to breeze through hair drug test. However, believe it or not, you can abbreviate the purifying process to a couple of weeks by switching to a detox diet and consuming a daily menu of herbal supplements. For example, Niacin or Vitamin B2 triggers the growth of histamines and stimulates blood capillaries to enlarge which then enables more toxins to be disposed of. Drink lots of water, in fact, as much as possible and sweat out all the toxins by going to the gym or sauna.
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