How do drugs get into hair?
A. As drugs circulate in the blood stream, they enter and nourish hair follicle cells. As the cells grow, they trap the drug molecules within the hair cells and are eventually “sealed” in the keratinized hair shaft. Thus, the amount and time the drug(s) are in the blood stream is proportional to the amount of drug detected in the hair. Q. What is external contamination ? A. Drugs that are deposited on the hair shafts by any means (dust, sweat, combs, etc) are considered external contaminants. These contaminants must be removed prior to testing. False positves can result from external contamination. If the hair is not “washed” well, drugs can adhere to the outside of the hair and be falsely considered as an internal drug. Omega will analyze the last wash to determine if there is still drug present. When the amount of drug present is less than 10% of the total, the hair is considered a valid positive. If the amount of drug present is greater than 10% of the total, the hair is considered
• What is the difference in Hair Drug Testing compared to urinalysis? • Can hair be affected by cross-reacting substances such as over-the-counter medications? • 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 th
After a substance is ingested, whether orally, smoked, snorted, or injected, metabolites are produced as the drug is processed by the human body. As these metabolites circulate in the blood stream, they enter and nourish the hair strand and are then inserted into the hair strand. For more information on this process go > here <.
