Improve Your Health and Fitness

Drug addiction is never good. It not only destroys the life of a drug abuser, but also wrecks havoc on the lives of that person's family and friends. As with any disease, the best cure for drug addiction is early intervention - suspected drug abusers should be tested and subsequently medicated and rehabilitated before they overdose themselves with drugs. So what do you do if you suspect that one of your family members, friends, or relatives is abusing drugs? Test them.



Of course, this is easier said than done. A suspected drug addict will deny their addiction even if they are caught red-handed. They will even refuse subtle suggestions to get drug treatment and rehabilitation, though you have the best intentions. Thus, it may be prudent to use non-invasive tactics to confirm your suspicion. Instant drug test kits are very handy in this kind of situation. Here we describe some instant drug test kits that you can use to test for drug abuse.

* Hair Follicle Drug Test. Perhaps the inconspicuous and most non-invasive way to test someone suspected of drug abuse is through his hair. Law enforcement officials trust this test because of its zero-"tolerance" feature, which means that it can detect drugs used by the individual in the last 90 days, regardless of the amount. Drugs that can be detected in a standard hair test include cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and phenycyclidine.

If you are planning to use this test, you need at least 40 milligrams of hair. This converts to about 50-70 strands that are at least 1.5 inches in length. If there is little hair to be collected from the head, you can try hair from other locations on the body except the pubic areas.

* Saliva Drug Test. Next to hair follicles, saliva drug testing might be your next best bet to confirm your suspicions. However, there is a small window of time to administer this test after recent drug use - saliva drug tests should be administered within 12 to 24 hours of drug use. Marijuana, heroin, cocaine and amphetamines can be detected using this testing procedure. In this test, you need to collect samples of saliva using saliva strips or a mouth pad. There's no need to go anywhere, which makes this test hard to adulterate. Because of its ease of use and non-invasive nature, many employees and parents prefer to use saliva drug tests.

* Urine Drug Test. This is another non-invasive way to confirm drug abuse. It can detect the use of many drugs, including heroin drugs. Unfortunately, its efficacy is a matter of debate. Still, many parents and authorities choose this option when conducting "surprise" drug testing.

These are just a few tests that you can do to confirm the drug addiction of your relative or friend. Once your suspicions have been validated, seek help immediately. Convince the person to get drug treatment, medication or rehabilitation. Your vigilance will, hopefully, save a life.