Whether you’re preparing for employment, a general medical screening, or tracking your detox process, you’ve probably heard of home drug testing.
This quick process allows you to test for illicit substances in your system, at your leisure, and in the privacy of your home.
So, what are home drug tests, what are their pros and cons, and how accurate are they? Let’s talk about it.
Main reasons to drug test at home
Most people opt for home testing for professional (aka employment) reasons, making sure that they pass the official tests demanded by the employer. However, an advanced home drug test can help you:
- Understand your consumption habits better and address them
- Keep track of your detox journey
- Support a family member who may be struggling with substance use and encourage early action
- Monitor recovery and prevent relapses
- Detect unwilling exposure to substances
By having the option to test for drugs at home, without having to wait too long for the results, you take more control over the whole process.
Types of Home Drug Tests
All home tests require some sort of sample – saliva, hair, or, most likely, a sample of your urine. The two main types of home drug tests are self-collection tests and self-tests. While both serve as a drug detection device, the way they’re executed differs to a degree.
- Self-collection test
As the name suggests, this type of test involves collecting the sample (by yourself) and sending it to a lab for analysis. The rules are simple – you get the kit from the lab, follow instructions on how to collect the sample, and send it back to the lab for analysis (usually GC-MS or LC-MS).
This type of home testing can be quite precise when it comes to results. But if you need to test more often or need faster results, you should consider the other method – self-tests.
- At home self-test
By using a self-test, you can get results much quicker. With self-tests, you collect the sample AND do the testing yourself. This type of test usually comes in the form of home urine test strips. You collect your sample and use the strips to test it for the presence of drugs (at an appropriate cut-off level).
Additionally, instead of waiting for results for days, you get to see whether you’re positive or negative within minutes.
Benefits and Limitations of Home Drug Testing
There’s no doubt about the impact that having a home drug testing option has, both from a health and a privacy perspective. Home testing comes with its own benefits and some drawbacks as well.
Benefits
The first benefit would have to be privacy. With home testing, you get to do (and repeat) the test at your own home. On top of that, you get the benefit of testing speed. As mentioned earlier, you only have to wait minutes, instead of days, for the results.
Home testing also plays a key role in the early detection of substance use patterns and the prevention of abuse. By raising awareness early, you get to address the issue with fewer challenges.
Another crucial factor to consider is the cost-effectiveness of the whole process. Home drug tests are much more affordable compared to lab tests, especially if you need to re-test.
Lastly, one of the biggest benefits is – peace of mind. Being aware of the true state of things, instead of second-guessing, is a real anxiety relief.
Limitations
There are a few home drug test limitations to have in mind once you decide to do it.
Firstly, home testing can lead to false positive/negative results. This can come from several factors: incorrect sample collection or contamination, test expiration date, your medication, or dietary routine.
However, with modern testing technology, if you follow the test instructions, the chances for a false result become minuscule.
Remember, this type of testing is an excellent method for detection and pre-screening for substances.
Home Drug Testing Accuracy
Home drug tests are designed to detect substances that our body creates after consuming certain substances. They don’t detect the drugs, but the metabolites that appear in their presence. These metabolites react with the test in a binary way – positive or negative.
The results rely on something called a cutoff level. This marks the minimum concentration of metabolites that the test can detect, and it’s usually measured in nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml). Or, to put it simply, if there’s an amount of substance above the cutoff level, the test will give a positive result. For example, the most common cutoff level for THC is at 50 ng/ml.
We can safely say that home drug tests are pretty accurate as a screening test from a qualitative perspective – you will get a clear picture of whether the drug is present or not in your system. Just be careful to follow the testing instructions and not to contaminate the sample.
Lastly, it’s important to note that the tests become inaccurate after they expire, so make sure to double-check that “best before” date.
In Conclusion
Modern medical devices, like home drug testing kits, are becoming more powerful and precise by the day. They help us paint the bigger picture of our own bodies and allow us to address the challenges early on.
Having the right info on hand can sometimes make or break the situation, especially when it comes to pre-employment drug screening.
Being prepared is about avoiding the stress and anxiety of not knowing, and home drug testing is a proven way to help you achieve that.