If you decide to drug test at home, there is a variety of drug test kits on the market. It can be hard to choose kit which will be reliable and accurate. Drug testing used to be something that could only be done in a hospital or police station. With the advent of home drug test kits, that has changed. While some organizations advise against home drug testing, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, others advocate it.
Urine Drug Test Kit
Urine drug test kits are easy to use and provide quick results, but their accuracy is questionable. Urine drug tests can be easily manipulated by a prepared teen. The cup test is the most difficult to manipulate. There is also only approximately a three-day window for drug detection. However, if you plan on randomly drug testing your child on a regular basis, these may be the way to go. They're not cost-prohibitive and they last a long time. Another benefit is that no lab is required.
Saliva Drug Test Kit
Saliva drug tests are also easy to use and provide immediate results. They are harder to manipulate than urine drug tests but also have a smaller window of detection: roughly one day. A saliva drug test kit can also be inconclusive if your child smokes or produces saliva quickly. Saliva drug tests are best for detecting immediate drug use. Saliva drug tests are often used because they are non-invasive and you can supervise their use throughout the process.
Hair Follicle Drug Test Kit
Hair follicle drug tests have a long window of detection: up to ninety days. Manipulating the test is the most difficult with the hair follicle drug test kit and a sample is easy to collect. The biggest downside to hair follicle drug test kits is that lab testing is required, meaning you won't have results for at least a few days. It is also the most expensive type of drug test kit.
Alcohol Breath Test Kits
Alcohol breath test kits can measure the alcohol on a person's breath. This test requires one to blow into a breath-alcohol device to determine the person's Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC). These tests can measure BAC ranging from .02% to .08%. There are disposable, one-time use alcohol breath tests as well as digital tests which are reusable (but more expensive). Alcohol breath test kits are not particularly accurate, in part because they measure the alcohol in the mouth rather than the lungs, but also because a breath mint or mouthwash can disturb the results.
 | Kids have found a new place to get high: the family medicine cabinet. Teenage drug abuse and Pharm Parties where kids swap stolen pills are on the rise. |
 | Drug abuse among teenagers starts earlier and occurs with around one third of kids. While alcohol is still the drug of choice, meth and pharmaceuticals are becoming more popular. |
 | There are many causes of teenage drug abuse, including a lack of parental involvement, a lack of education on the dangers of drugs and an atmosphere of tolerance at schools. |
Even as the number of kids using alcohol and illegal drugs dropped, the number of teens getting high with cough syrup abuse has been increasing. |
You may think it is ridiculous to provide your child information about alcohol, illegal and prescription drugs at a young age. In fact, it is one of the most important conversations you need to have with your child. |
