Can hair be affected by cross-reacting substances such as over-the-counter medications?
Enzyme-immunoassay antibodies (EIA), similar to those used to test urine, are used for the initial drug screening in hair; therefore the potential for substances such as over-the-counter medications to cause a false positive screening result does exist. To eliminate the possibility of reporting a false-positive result due to cross-reactivity, our laboratory performs Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) for all specimens that screen positive.
• How effective is hair follicle testing in detecting drug usage? • Does treatment of the hair affect test results? • What is external contamination? • How fast does head hair grow? • Can tests be run on people with little or no hair? • Can hair collected from a hairbrush be used? • What are the different domains in a hair fibre? How they can affect hair drug testing? • How soon after use can a drug be detected in hair? • Does external exposure to certain drugs like marijuana or crack smoke affect the Hair Test results? • Does hair color affect results? • How a hair follicular Drug test is peformed in Laboratory? • What are the different means by which people try to cheat Hair Drug Tests? • What if some detoxifies the ingested drugs? • What are the different prescription type drugs? • What are opioids? • How do opioids affect the brain and body? • What are the possible consequences of opioid use and abuse? • Is it safe to use opioid drugs with other medications? • What are CNS depressa
Enzyme-immunoassay antibodies (EIA), similar to those used to test urine, are used for the initial screening test for drugs of abuse in hair; therefore the potential for substances such as over-the-counter medications to cause a false positive screening result does exist. To eliminate the possibility of reporting a false-positive due to cross-reactivity, Omega confirms all positive results by GC/MS for methamphetamine, opiates, PCP,cocaine and marijuana.
