Have you ever been asked to take a drug test? Today, drug tests are often done for various reasons. For example, most job applicants are required to take a drug test at an early stage of the selection process. If you have an accident, the insurance company may also perform special checks to detect the presence of illegal drugs and alcohol. In some cases, drug tests are also conducted randomly in various companies! So, what should you do to prepare yourself? In general, the preparations made are very dependent on the time you have before the examination day, as well as your character as a user.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Preparing to Take Different Types of Tests
Step 1. Stop taking the drug
Although it must be done, this method is actually the most difficult for most people to implement! No matter how short the duration of drug use, traces of harmful chemicals will still be detected from your body system. Legally, drug tests are not designed to differentiate between old and new users.
- Because the tests carried out can detect drug residues in your body, you should immediately stop using drugs to prepare yourself!
- As the accuracy of a drug test increases over time, your chances of getting a "false" positive result are less and less. For example, ibuprofen has often been detected as marijuana in the past! Supposedly, this situation will no longer occur in the modern era as it is today.
Step 2. Check yourself
If possible, use self-checking tools even if their accuracy will not be as high as those of large companies. However, at least you will have the results of a basic examination to estimate the levels of drugs that are in the body. If you have a week or more before the test day, don't hesitate to buy the self-examination kit!
- Take a urine sample as soon as you wake up in the morning, especially since the urine will be most concentrated at this time. If the result is negative, you don't have to worry too much about the upcoming drug test. However, ideally you still need to stop taking drugs until the day of the examination arrives.
- If the result is positive, learn to dilute the urine or apply the other strategies described below.
Step 3. Take as much time as your body needs
While there is always a way to pass a drug test in a short amount of time, ideally you will have time to research the type of examination to be carried out to ensure a high pass rate.
- Do not use any drugs while preparing for the examination! If the frequency with which you take your medication increases when you drink alcohol, avoid alcohol during this period, even if the test is not designed to detect the presence of alcohol.
- Ideally, there should be a gap of several weeks between the last use of the medication and the day of the examination. Of course, this break won't completely remove traces of the drug from your system, but it will at least give you more time to prepare.
Step 4. Choose the type of check that you are more likely to skip
If possible, choose the type of check that you're more likely to pass well. In particular, blood tests are designed to measure the level of damage in your current self, but are not effective at measuring the level of drug residues in your body. Blood tests are also generally the most effective for detecting drug use in the past four hours, although heavy marijuana smokers may still get positive results even if the test is carried out a few days after the last smoking activity.
- If the frequency of your smoking is not excessive, try to do a urine test.
- If you haven't been on medication for a long time, try checking your hair follicles.
Step 5. Understand the drug test method through a urine test
To perform a urine test, you must first remove your outer clothing and remove all objects in the bag. The clothes should then be placed outside the examination room because you will have to carry as few items as possible when taking the drug test. Don't worry, the company will take good care of these items!
- After that, you will enter the examination room, which generally has a toilet. The door to the toilet will be guarded by the person on duty, but the area inside the toilet is completely private for you.
- Generally, you are asked to store a urine sample in a plastic cup.
- Each urine sample will be evaluated based on its temperature, color, aroma, presence/absence of foreign objects or materials in it, validity, presence/absence of additional ingredients to change test results, and the identity of the owner.
- If you have recently smoked, chances are your urine test will be better than a blood test.
Step 6. Understand the method of drug testing through blood tests
Blood tests (or "tox screens" can detect the presence of illegal drugs currently in a person's body, but cannot detect drug residues left in the system. Blood tests are generally performed at the scene of an accident to assess the extent of damage to a person's body). That's why, this method is very rarely used in random drug tests or should be done by people who are going to apply for jobs.
- Make sure you have an up-to-date list of medicines you are currently taking, whether prescribed by your doctor or over-the-counter (such as aspirin or ibuprofen), supplements, and vitamins. Remember, all the drugs you are taking will be detected through a blood test!
- A blood test method may be offered to rape victims to detect traces of drugs that render the victim unconscious.
- Professional athletes are required to perform blood tests to detect traces of performance-boosting drugs.
Step 7. Understand the method of testing drugs through hair follicles
This method is also commonly used to detect the presence of drugs in a person's system. So far, the method of examining hair follicles is considered to be 5 times more effective at detecting the use of drugs!
- Hair samples are generally taken as long as 4 cm from the scalp. Since most people's hair grows at about 1.5 cm per month, what this method can detect is the presence of drugs that were taken 90 days earlier.
- It takes about 5 to 10 days for drugs to be detected by this method. If you haven't been a user for a long time, this is most likely the ideal method to use.
- Most likely, dyeing the hair will not cause any changes in the test results through the hair follicles. However, certain types of shampoo or conditioner may change your test results.
Step 8. Don't rely on excuses
For example, admitting that a positive test result was caused by your roommate being an addict will do nothing. The standard limit for detectable THC in a urine sample is 50 nanograms/milliliter (ng/ml). A passive smoker can only reach that level if he doesn't talk for hours in a room full of marijuana smokers!
- The best way to avoid a positive test result is to be proactive in evaluating your own situation.
- Most likely, the company will not leak your test results. In other words, you have no chance of giving reasons. If your test result is positive, it means you will not be hired by them.
Step 9. Ignore the old-fashioned tips
Remember, today's drug test procedures are more modern. That's why ancient strategies like sprinkling salt in a urine tube or passing fake urine are no longer effective. If caught, the act of manipulating a test sample can be much more severe than being detected positive! In some countries, you can even be criminally charged for it.
- Eating a bagel with poppy seeds will not make your test result positive!
- Don't spend money on products that claim to cleanse your system in an instant. Also don't try to add harmful substances or compounds to a urine sample to alter the results! Remember, you will not get anything, especially since the company will have to deal with the law later.
Method 2 of 2: Cleansing the Body System
Step 1. Drink more water
Instead, drink more water before taking a drug test, about 10 glasses of water per day up to 4 liters.
- While there are other drinks that are also diuretics, water can help flush your system through the bladder, including the metabolites of THC.
- Do not drink more than 4 liters of water in 24 hours, or you risk injury or even death from water poisoning.
Step 2. Take high doses of B-complex vitamins
B vitamins can help turn your urine yellow and make it look less runny than it really is. Contrary to popular belief, there is actually no evidence that vitamin C has similar benefits.
- B vitamins can be taken in the form of tablets or nutritional yeast.
- Do not take B vitamin supplements if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Step 3. Take a diuretic
Diuretics can increase the frequency of urination to cleanse your system. Some examples of drinks that are diuretics are tea, coffee, and cranberry juice. If the test will be done in less than a week, you can also take over-the-counter medications to manipulate the results.
- Pregnant women, or people diagnosed with diabetes, inflammation of the pancreas, lupus, gout, or kidney disorders should exercise caution when taking diuretics.
- Some types of drugs may interact negatively with over-the-counter diuretics. Consult the possibility to the pharmacist, yes!
Step 4. Find more detailed information about the drug test procedure that will be carried out
The standard initial procedure is generally to evaluate the sample using an immunoassay test (such as EMIT® or RIA®), and then confirm the results with a higher-accuracy method, namely the gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GCMS). If the laboratory follows professional guidelines, the results will most likely be completely accurate.
- Various types of over-the-counter drugs can make you test positive for amphetamines and other illegal drugs on the EMIT test. However, a similar error will not occur in the GCMS test.
- If you have to do a random drug test at work, try to get more detailed information from colleagues. For example, ask their experience of having to go through the same process in the past, and also ask about possible changes to the procedure that you need to know about. Are the companies that do the drug tests still the same? Do they use the latest inspection techniques? All of this information can certainly help you to prepare yourself beforehand.
- Don't appear too nervous or anxious when looking for information. Also, ask quietly so as not to attract the attention of people who are not interested!
Step 5. Boost your metabolism through exercise
If all this time you have not been diligent in exercising, start now! Remember, moderate exercise for 30 to 45 minutes every day can help increase your heart rate, burn fat cells, and get rid of THC and all its metabolites.
- Some types of exercise that are worth trying are sit ups, jumping rope, cycling, brisk walking, or light jogging. In fact, any exercise that speeds up your heart rate can increase your metabolism and remove drug residue from your body.
- Do not exercise for at least 48 hours before taking the test. Doing this method will allow your body to reabsorb excess THC levels instead of burning them.
Step 6. Eat fatty foods
Starting from two days before the test, increase the consumption of fatty foods such as fried foods to slow down the body's metabolism. As metabolism slows down, the body will reabsorb THC or other drug residues before they can be processed by the liver (and end up in the urine).
- Slow down your metabolism by stopping exercising at the same time.
- On the morning before the test, you must completely empty your bladder! If necessary, eat a fatty breakfast in large portions with plenty of fluids to empty the bladder maximally. Some people even recommend that you take the Extra Strength 5-hour Energy Shot before taking a drug test. Besides being a diuretic, these drinks also contain B vitamins that can make your urine yellow.
Warning
- Do not manipulate the urine sample. If caught doing so, you will most likely be fired or even charged with a criminal charge!
- Don't try to hand over someone else's urine sample!
- Usually, the water at the detection location will be colored so that you can't dilute the test results.
- If the texture of the urine is too runny, you will most likely be asked to do a second test. If the texture of the urine on the second test is also too runny, you will most likely be considered "failed" on the drug test because of the condition, not because the drug was found in your system. should, the company will ask you to do another detection method.
- For those of you who are pregnant or breastfeeding, do not take drugs that can interact negatively with drug tests because the health of your fetus can be threatened afterwards.
