DrugTestStrips Articles

Drug rehabilitation programs should are programmed considering the inter-relationship between the state of being of the addict.  The symptoms are considered.  In many cases, the symptoms are problematic and it becomes important for the MD to treat the problematic system and the underlying cause. (more…)

Evaluators are constantly working to achieve a high success rate in the drug rehabilitation and treatment programs. (more…)

If you are a parent who is worried about your kid doing drugs, it is important to justify your worry. Suspecting your kid doing drugs is different from misbelieve your kid doing drugs. It is your duty to see to that your child is not becoming a victim to drugs, but you do not want to wrong-do your duty towards the well-being of your kid. (more…)

The most important way for drugs out of our body is through the renal excretory mechanism. The drugs that are taken orally for systemic absorption and action undergo metabolism in liver or kidney and excreted mainly via urine. This forms the basis of urine drug testing methods in most of the 10 drug test panel, nida 12 panel drug test, drug test 5 panel nondot and several other drug multi panel screen test that are available in online drug testing companies.
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Amphetamine is a psychotomimetic drug that stimulates the central nervous system. It is commonly used to treat Attention-deficit hyperactive disorder and narcolepsy. The drug has the effects of psycho dependence and cause addiction with long-term use. Some of the street names of the drug are ups, wake-ups, bennies, pep pills, etc. amphetamine urine drug screen is commonly used as a primary testing method for amphetamines.

Abusive properties of amphetamine:

Amphetamine is a strong CNS stimulant that blocks the uptake of dopamine, stimulates the release of monoamines and produces effects of euphoria, accelerated respiration, feelings of pleasure, strength, motivation, decrease appetite, and increased wakefulness.

The effects of amphetamine is similar to that of cocaine, but the effect of amphetamine can last for longer hours when compared to cocaine effects which lasts only for less than an hour. The drug can be taken orally, intra-nasally when it is in powder form, intravenously when dissolved in water, and also can be smoked.

Short-term effects of amphetamine include dry mouth, dilated pupils, suppressed appetite, irregular or increased heart rate, increased respiration, increased talkativeness, enhanced power and strength, paranoia, cardiovascular failures, nausea, palpitations, etc.

When the drug is taken in its high doses than prescribed and the usage of it for a long term will have effects such as difficulty breathing, arrhythmias, ulcers, severe psychosis such as schizophrenia, behavioral disorders, skin disorders, seizures, coma, and even death.

Symptoms of withdrawal of amphetamine are excessive sleeping, anxiety, depression, agitation, and tiredness. The withdrawal symptoms are usually treated with placebo agents. The drugs amineptine and mirtazapine are also used to control the withdrawal symptoms, but they have their own limitations.

Drug testing for amphetamine can be done as a single panel test or it can be done as a part of four panel drug test, 10 panel drug screen or as one of the multiple panel tests.

Medical properties of amphetamine:

Initial use of the amphetamine was as inhalers to relieve nasal congestions, asthma, etc. A research has also showed that the drug can be used to treat migraine, muscular rigidity and spasm, dysmenorrhea, and hypotension. The most common use of the drug is to treat Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, obesity, and Parkinson’s disease.

Opiate: Opiate is a narcotic which is derived from the opium poppy flower. It contains opium. This is a psychoactive drug that gives a sedative effect, causes anorexia, and suppresses sexual desire. It is highly addictive in nature and the withdrawal symptoms include hallucinations, vomiting, etc.

Abusive properties of Opiate:
The effect of the opiate depends much on the kind and the quantity of dosage used. The main psychological effect of opiate is that it stimulates the central nervous system and creates euphoric feeling. Opiate when used along with cocaine will prevent a person from falling asleep.

The effect of opiates is decreased heart rate, slow breathing, constipation etc. It decreases the hunger and thirst and also increases the pain tolerating capability of an individual. The use of opiates along with alcohol, antihistamines, and barbiturates increases the risk for respiratory depression. Long term use of opiates can cause drug tolerance leading to more craving for drugs to get the same effect.

Opiates are known to cause serious problems to pregnant women. Pregnant women who use opiates have higher risks for abortions, breech deliveries, still birth, etc. Also, the infants are likely to have withdrawal symptoms.

Some of the other ill effects of opiates include diarrhea, vomiting, insomnia, leg pain, lethargy, drowsiness.

Medical properties of Opiate:
Opiates are mainly used as an analgesic. It is also used to suppress cough and in some gastrointestinal disorders, like diarrhea due to cholera. The last but not least use of opiate is to relieve labored or difficult breathing. Scientists are still researching on the medical properties of Opiates. A recent research on an animal model has showed that the exogenous opioid has proven to reduce the size of the infarct area and the death of cell post myocardial infarction apart from being an excellent analgesic.

Opiate can be found using the single 5 panel urine drug test, ten panel drug screen, twelve panel drug screen test, 10 panel drug screen or any other drug screening test that has opiate testing as a part of the regimen.

There are primarily five types of drug testing methods. They are:

1. Urine Drug Testing: The main advantage of this test is that it is less expensive. This urine drug testing kit can be used even at home. This is a very effective method in case of longer and regular usage of drugs. The disadvantage of this method is that it cannot be used to check the current use of drugs and that there are lot of possibilities that the samples may be substituted or altered. Care should be taken while collecting the sample. In other words, it should be done under supervision.

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The 10 panel drug screen indulge in the rapid detection of 9- tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid(THC/ marijuana), cocaine and its metabolite, benzoylecgonine, PCP (Phencyclidine), Morphine and its related  metabolites derived from opium (opiates), Methamphetamines ,Methadone, Amphetamines, Barbiturates, Benzodiazepines and Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCA) in human urine which are above or below the  optimum concentrations levels established as standard minimum levels  by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and SAMHSA . This 10 panel screen aims at detecting 10 drugs at a time with the help of human urine samples and the standard cut off levels of concentrations.

The cut off levels are expressed in nanograms per milliliter solution. The cut off levels for various drug detection are as follows, D-Amphetamine 1,000 ng/ml , Barbiturates (BAR) Secobarbital, 300 ng/mL, Benzodiazepines (BZO),  Oxazepam 300 ng/mL, Cocaine (COC) Benzoylecgonine300 ng/mL, Methamphetamine (mAMP) D-Methamphetamine1,000 ng/mL, Morphine (MOP 300 or OPI 300) Morphine 300 ng/mL Methadone (MTD).  

This multi-Drug Screen Panel Test is an initial screening test for the presence of drug or drug metabolites at the time the test is performed. As the test requires the visual interpretation and to avoid false results, it is recommended that a person other than the test subject interprets test results. The test results are simple.  The urine of the subject is collected in a clean container preferably a glass container. The screen test kit has 10 absorbent wicks and it is advised not to touch or contaminate the same before use. Each wick is then is dipped in the urine sample for approximately 20-30 seconds or simple penetration and migration up the wicks take place.

The results are to be interpreted within 3 to 8 minutes as the intensity of the colour in the wick would change. For certain other technical reasons also the result is interpreted in 8 minutes. In case of a negative result, Colored lines adjacent to each target drug name and in the control (C) regions will appear. The intensity of colour near the line for the target drug may be thicker or thinner compared to the control line however any line, no matter how faint it is, this should be interpreted as a negative result.

The result development time may vary for each target drug and no result should be analyzed until 6-8 minutes have elapsed. For certain drugs, the test lines would appear within 3 minutes or less producing negative results. A very faint line on the test region would represent that the drug level is close to the cutoff level for the test.

When purchasing a home drug test kit, it is important to analyze your specific needs in order to find the best value and to cover all bases. It might be a good idea to sit down with a pen and paper and think through your objectives for an at home drug test. Once you sort through all of the possible reasons for testing, you may have a clearer idea of what drug screen best suits your needs.

When you buy drug testing kits, you can choose between very inexpensive tests that detect only one or two drugs. For more money you can test for more drugs. If you plan to perform tests on a regular basis, you can purchase in bulk. Either way, there are many types of screening cards, cups, and devices that target different drugs and provide different levels of convenience.

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Children and teenagers are under constant temptation to use drugs. Drugs and alcohol are prevalent. A teen drug test can be one tool of many to help parents, educators, athletic coaches, and organizations to overcome addiction. If you are dealing with a teenager with substance abuse issues, you will need to remain aware and use every helpful resource available to you.

Approximately 80% of high school kids have tried alcohol, and many get drunk and use marijuana on a regular basis. Unfortunately, most teenagers do not view drug or alcohol use as dangerous, even though many people die every day as a result of substance abuse. Approximately half of the people in prison reported being under the influence of drugs or alcohol when they committed a violent crime.

Fortunately there are highly successful treatment programs. Many of these program include a drug test for adolescent recovery. The following drug screens can be used in conjunction with an entire treatment program to raise the chances for success.

8-Drug Test Card (COC/AMP/mAMP/THC/OPI/PCP/BAR/BZO)

An 8-drug test card provides a drug test for child substance abuse for a wide range of drugs. It is FDA approved and ‘510’ cleared. It is convenient and portable so that it can be used at home, in the work place, in school, in institutions, or in law enforcement agencies. Because the test card allows for privacy, it has a wide range of uses. Shipping is discreet and express shipping is available. The cut off levels conform to SAMSHA guidelines.

The fact that this drug test card detects cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamines, marijuana, opiates, phencyclidine, barbiturates, and benzodiazepine makes it a great drug test for parents. It is inexpensive and the ease of administration allows for accurate results at home without the expense, embarrassment, and inconvenience of ‘doing a drop’ at a clinic for testing. With one easy step and for a price of only $8.25, a preliminary test may be performed at home. The test should be verified by gas chromatography or mass spectrometry by a professional.

4 Panel(COC/MAMP/THC/OPI) Integrated Test Cup with Adulteration

Sometimes an 8 panel drug screen is overkill and a teen needs to be tested for a smaller range of drugs. In this case, consider using something like a 4 panel test kit.

A drug test with an integrated test cup allows for an easy, one step method and further simplifies the process by eliminating the handling of a urine specimen.

When performing a drug test for kids, one must consider the level of security when the sample is taken to prevent manipulation of the test results. For example, at a clinic, there are methods used to prevent people from corrupting the sample in order to affect the outcome of the screen. Often there is no running water so that the sample can not be diluted. For at home testing, the options of verifying the sample integrity are limited. Therefore, a test kit with adulteration testing may be helpful. This test indicates if pills or additives have been combined with the urine sample.

This test kit is available for only $8.15 each with discounts for buying in bulk.