Home drug test kits are a fantastic tool for their ease of use, simplicity and quick results. They can be used to test someone else if you suspect they are using drugs, to give you an idea or piece of mind about what may come up in a lab drug test on yourself in preparation for an actual drug screening, or if you are simply curious to see what is in your body. These tests test urine to detect the presence of drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, methadone, PCP, opiates, benzodiazepine, barbiturates, ecstasy, tricyclic antidepressants, amphetamines and oxycodone.
Home drug test kits are fairly accurate, especially if you are looking for some idea of how a true drug screening will come back. These home drug kits are available for purchase in most local drug stores and online stores for a reasonable price, and they have the potential to save you a whole load of hassle. These kits will test hair and saliva, but urine is typically the most commonly tested with home drug test kits.
The home drug kits will all typically include a collection cup, the test which consists of a strip, card, or cassette, as well as the directions on how to use the kit. Sometimes, the home drug test kits will also come with a separate shipping container so that the user will be able to mail out their urine sample to a lab to have further testing done if it is necessary.
Home drug test kits use a lateral flow immunoassay, which is a diagnostic device which will confirm the presence or absence of a particular analyte. The analyte is the drug which you are testing for. The test strips, like a pregnancy test, have a control line which will confirm whether or not the test is functioning correctly, along with at least one more line for the target drug which you are testing for.
Typically, all that you have to do is put the sample on the test and then wait anywhere from five to thirty minutes. When a urine sample is applied at the end of a strip on the adsorbent sample pad, which is filled with surfactants and buffer salts that ensure that the urine sample is appropriate for interaction with the actual recognition method. The sample pad makes sure that any analyte which is present in the sample will be able to attach to the membrane and capture components. The treated sample then travels through the conjugate release pad. This release pad knows which contains antibodies that are specific to the target analyte and are conjugated to fluorescently colored particles. They are usually latex microspheres and colloidal gold.
The sample, along with the conjugated antibody that is attached to the target analyte, journeys throughout the strip into the detection zone, which is porous with specific biological components that are halted in specific lines. From here, they react with the analyte which is bound to the conjugated antibody. When the sample analyte is recognized, results in a fitting response will appear on the actual test line. The response that you see on the control line basically tells you that there was a proper flow of liquid moving through the strip.
Over all, it seems that this home test drug kits are fairly accurate. According to the FDA, “It is very important to send the urine sample to the laboratory to confirm a positive at-home result because certain foods, food supplements, beverages, or medicines can affect the results of at-home tests. Laboratory tests are the most reliable way to confirm drugs of abuse.”
Because home drug test kits are affordable, easy to use and are proven to be extremely effective for the most part, they are a popular and great option to testing yourself or someone else for drugs. It should be noted that any time you encounter a question, you can contact a healthcare specialist. Be safe!