How to Use Home Drug Tests

Last update July 9, 2019
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Home drug tests help many different people in many different situations. These kits will let you test your adolescent children and/or people close to you who have had issues with substance issues. In the comfort of their own home, they will be able to feel much safer.

How to Use Home Drug Tests: Tips and Recommendations

Tips and recommendations on using home drug tests

A home drug test is any drug-testing kit that will allow you to test any individual for many different drugs within minutes. Generally speaking, these kits are easy to use, practical, and do not cost that much. You will find the necessary instructions inside the package and you will unlikely have any issues following them. That being said, there are still a few general things that you need to know and these are the things that we would like to share with you today.

Though these tests are often different enough, you’ll have to collect the urine of the test subject first and foremost. A small disposable plastic or paper cup should be able to do the trick. Keep in mind, however, that the urine will always be too warm to conduct a proper test. You will have to wait for it to cool to room temperature before you’re able to initiate the test.

After that, you ought to remove the test card from the package and immerse it in the urine specimen right away. It will come with these arrows that should be pointing down.

There isn’t much left to do after that. You place the test card on any paper towel. The towel should be placed on a clean, flat surface. It all depends on the particular test, but, generally speaking, we would recommend reading the test results within the first five minutes for the most accurate results.

Reading drug tests

Reading drug tests is seldom difficult too. Different products have different little design solutions. But, as far as we’re aware, they all stick with the same baseline. You’ll have a C region and a T region. Two lines will always indicate a negative result, even when the line(s) are faint. A single line in the C region means that there are drugs in the urine. On the other hand, no lines at all or a line in the T region will tell you that you haven’t been able to conduct a proper test and should probably try again.

Now, all that being said, it isn’t just about the conductor but the test subject too. That person (for convenience purposes, we’re assuming that person is you) will have to prepare for the test. Sure, more often than not, these tests require very little preparation. Generally speaking, you’ll just have to urinate into the aforementioned plastic/paper container.

However, we would be remiss not to mention that particular medicines and certain supplements are often able to cause false-positive results that will indicate illegal drug use. The person conducting the test should take into account different prescription medications, over-the-counter medicines, herbal remedies, and supplements that the test subject has been using over the last few days.

It will never hurt to clean your hands with antibacterial gel or soap and water before taking the test. Professionals always recommend cleaning your genital area with a wipe too.

4 Reasons to Use a Home Drug Test

Reasons to use home drug tests

We can come up with many reasons to use these tests as well as enough reasons not to use home drug tests. There’re pros and cons to everything and these tests have their advantages but their consequences too. With that out of the way, here are 4 reasons why you might want to consider using a home drug test kit.

1. You Have Good Reasons to Suspect Your Children

Reason 1: Children

This is particularly tricky. You should trust your children. Any healthy relationship is built on trust. That being said, children are children. They do not have your experience. They don’t always understand the consequences. Sometimes, children can get stuck with the wrong crowd and that crowd will be able to influence them in a negative way. Needless to say, you shouldn’t be in a hurry to conduct a drug test the second you feel like something doesn’t add up with your kid. However, if you have very good reasons to suspect your children of using drugs, these home drug test kits will definitely come in handy.

2. You Have an Interview or a Court Appointment Coming up Soon

Reason 2: Job Interview

We can talk about the moral side of the pre-employment drug test question. But, as much as we can talk about it, there very well may come a time in your own life when you’ll have to take a pre-employment drug test and/or take a court-ordered test. Generally speaking, we’re talking about a situation where an individual has previously participated in some recreational drug use not really thinking that they would have to take a test like that any time soon. Going to a hospital to take a drug test without knowing for a fact that you will pass is an awful experience. That’s where these instant drug tests come in. You’ll be able to take the test without paying any hospital a visit.

3. Some People Have a History That You Cannot Ignore

Reason 3: Addiction

Addiction is a disease. You shouldn’t judge people who are going through it and you should definitely never judge people that have been able to beat the addiction. However, there’s a difference between feeling judgmental and concerned. Sometimes, it is a good idea to conduct a little check in with your friend, parent, significant other, or your child who has had a history of substance abuse. Taking them to the hospital might seem threatening. On the other hand, a quick test like that in a private place will be able to give you the necessary peace of mind knowing that the person you care about is still sober.

4. To Make the Right Custody Arrangements

Reason 4: Guardianship

Many divorced parents find it difficult to cope with custody arrangements. No loving parent wants to give up time with their children. It doesn’t make the problem easier when one parent has had substance abuse issues in the past. However, these home drug tests might just be able to help. Using a test like that, you’ll be able to make sure that the other parent is not under any negative chemical influence when taking the child for their scheduled visit, meaning that they will likely be able to keep the child out of harm’s way. That being said, you have to make sure you’re able to trust the test.

Easy@Home 5-Panel Instant Drug Test Dip

Easy@Home 5-Panel Instant Drug Test Dip

Speaking of the home drug test kits that you should be able to trust, let’s talk about this particular product for a moment. There’s a lot we like about the test. We definitely like the affordable price. There’s nothing to dislike about the fact that each test is sealed in an individual pouch. The item codes and expiration dates are printed on each pouch. Its ability to detect many different drugs is nothing to scoff at.

Accurate and Easy to Use

Advantages of Easy@Home 5-Panel

It is all in the title. The product’s biggest strength is probably its accuracy. More often than not, the drug test kit will prove more than 99% accurate in detecting specific drugs according to the designated cut-off levels.

The product is not difficult at all. To conduct any test, you just have to remove the cap and dip the test into urine for about 10 seconds. Make sure you follow our earlier instructions and do not take more than 5 minutes to read the test. More often than not, clear and bold lines will appear quickly. The indicators here do not differ from the industry standards: 2 lines means that the result is negative, 1 line in the C region will tell you that there’re drugs in the urine, and no lines at all/1 line in the T region means that you haven’t been able to properly conduct the test.

Industry-Standard

Easy@Home 5-Panel is industry-standard

The home drug test kit complies with every single requirement and industry standard. It has been FDA 510(k) cleared for home use (meaning over-the-counter distribution) as well as CLIA waived for professional use. The FDA recommended cut-off levels are 50 ng/mL for THC (marijuana), 300 ng/mL for COC (cocaine), 2000 - 2000 ng/mL for OPI (opiates), 300 ng/mL for BZO (benzodiazepines), and 1000 ng/mL for AMP (amphetamines).

First and foremost, the product is advertised as a home drug test, meaning that it is perfectly suitable for parents looking to test their adolescent children. That being said, there are many other applications for the kit.

The product can be used for employment and pre-employment drug testing by employers. You can use it yourself before any interview too.

Medical professionals across the word use this kit for pain clinic drug testing. Sober houses and substance abuse rehabilitation centers in general incorporate these drug test kits in their practices too.

Schools, colleges, and universities will sometimes have to conduct drug testing and that’s where these kits come in handy. Of course, people involved in criminal justice and law enforcement use the product too.

Last but not least, what really separates the product (aside from its accuracy) is the wide range of drugs that it is able to detect, from natural opiates and semi-synthetic to synthetic opioids, including but not limited to morphine, codeine, heroin, hydrocodone, oxycodone, hydromorphone, norcodeine, the list goes on.

There aren’t too many drugs that will be able to deceive the test. Considering the aforementioned modest price tag, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more practical, effective, and overall convenient product.