Hair Drug Testing Procedure

!: Hair Drug Testing Procedure

Hair drug testing is one of the commonly used methods of drug testing to determine the presence or absence of the specified drugs or their metabolized traces. It is considered as accurate and can indicate drug use as far back as 90 days. Because the bloodstream feeds hair growth, analyzing a small sample of hair reveals the ingestion of drugs of abuse. Hair testing can test for Amphetamines, Cocaine, Marijuana, Opiates, and Phencyclidine.

Sample Collection

Human hair grows 0.5 inches in a month on average. Hair drug testing gives results approximately 30 to 90 days after drug abuse, as testing laboratories normally require 0.5 and 1.5 inches for testing comparatively. The donor's hair is cut near the rear of the crown and as close to the scalp as possible. A sample of approximately 120 strands is required. If the test subject has little or no hair, or head hair is less than 1/2 inch long, a body hair collection may be conducted. For drug testing, hair sample is possibly collected from chest, underarm, leg or facial hair. If you are conducting for yourself, do not combine hair from different sites on the body.

Testing Procedure

Using a small sample of hair, hair drug testing analysis, and evaluates the amount of drug metabolites entrenched inside the hair shaft.

Testing Procedure includes the following steps.

· Clean the scissors with an alcohol wipe before obtaining hair sample.
· Collect the sample.
· Put the testing sample in the foil. Keep the root end out just about 1/4 inch from the slanted end of the foil. Fold the foil sideways and place the sample inside the envelope with root ends to the left.
· Take the security seal from the left side of the CCF and place it on the bottom of the envelope where indicated. Instruct the donor to initial and date the seal and envelope after the collector has placed the seal on the envelope. The collector then initials and dates the seal and envelope.
· Place the sealed specimen bag into the overnight shipping package and send the specimen to the designated Quest Diagnostics laboratory.

Hair drug testing method is accurate and effective. Lab confirmation tests are also often used to technically confirm the drug presence. Hair testing provides up to 2.5 times the number of positives, when compared with urine specimen testing, and also a longer detection window.