Drug testing involves several practices, all with an aim of identifying drug strains from urine, blood, sweat, hair, and/or saliva. Each test is done differently but regardless of the test, repercussions of being found under drugs are not mere whatsoever!
You should hereby note that, you can lose your job with positive results from a drug test, and many more may follow like spending your life behind bars for a particular period.
Most of the tests screen for marijuana, and it is unfortunate to some and in particular if you are working for a particular organization. Marijuana is legal in some United Sates like Colorado and California, and many more, but even though that being the case, there are working organizations that do not allow usage of drugs, and marijuana is not an exceptional.
Consuming illicit substances comes with a lot of fear especially in the case where you know you cannot escape a drug test and in the same case you cannot escape a weekend puff. Well, worry not, there are ways you can use to pass a drug test, and in this case a mouth swab drug test.
What is a mouth swab test?
Commonly referred to as saliva test, or oral drug screening. As its name implies, it involves testing for saliva to deduce any THC usage. Saliva screening is different from a urinalysis test since urine test may detect drug metabolites for at least 10 days of drug usage while saliva testing may not detect any toxins from the last 2 days of consumption.
Oral fluid screening is cheaper than most of drug tests, it is easy to administer, gives instant results and may require 2-3 days of drugs abstinence before the swab test is done. The good thing with saliva test, you can act quick to an impromptu test and come out negative.
Saliva test can be used to detect several substances either being tested individually or using multi panel drugs testing. Drugs that can be detected includes; marijuana (THC), amphetamines, barbiturates, opioids, alcohol, phencyclidine (PCP), benzodiazepines, and methamphetamine.
How is saliva screening done?
A mouth swab test is the easiest to go by, it does not involve squeezing blood or peeing in a laboratory cup for lab test. Simply, a mouth test involves:
- A stick with a sponge at the end or any absorbent pad to absorb some saliva from the mouth. Mostly collected from inside part of the cheeks. In other occasions, ear bud is used for the same purpose.
- The saliva sample is then analyzed for any substance’s detection. This can be done in a lab or at the point of test like road side, done to drivers. It takes a few minutes and the results will be out.
Saliva test do not require a lot of preparations, what you will be advised is avoid eating or drinking anything 20 minutes before your test. It is so lucky that you could have consumed cannabis the previous day and still test negative the following day with a saliva test. Note that, it would not be the same with urine drug test; you will need a kit of synthetic urine or else be ready for testing positive after submitting your urine for testing.
The accuracy of a mouth swab drug test
With appropriate kit and the personnel carrying out the test, the accuracy is around 98.88%. However, there are factors that may affect the accuracy of results;
- Type of the test done
- Quality of a testing kit
- The ability of personnel carrying out the test
- The drug being tested for
- Falling for a test withing detection window
Substances consumed do not stay in the saliva for long, and therefore, having a test within the shortest detection window is the best for accurate results.
With an upcoming test, abstain from marijuana few days before the test. Not forgetting alcohol or smoking cigarettes. The reason why you should quit smoking is because smoking may open up cells, hence releasing more saliva and THC as well.
Another important point is making sure you maintain a healthy mouth and breath by brushing more than your normal routine, at least 4 times a day. This helps in flushing out THC remains in the mouth and again maintaining your teeth and the gum. Remember that tongue is also a main part of the mouth, so have it well brushed.
How to pass a saliva test without a prior notice!
The product in question is the Toxin Rid Rescue Wash. It is a mouthwash containing 1 oz of fluid. There are several products you can use for the same purpose like chewing gums (oral clear gum) that has hydrogen peroxide.
Note that the mouthwash will not permanently remove the toxins from being traced in saliva, but rather masks them to avoid being detected within the testing period, the toxins later build up and you can test positive later even after using the mouthwash. The product helps with an emergency test.
Employers that use mouth swab test
Typically, most employers use mouth swab test but varies with the company’s protocols. Each company has its own ways of doing it and explains well to employees when and why they should undergo illicit substances testing.
Most of drug tests regardless of what kind, are done to the most critical areas of work. For instance, in transport and in energy production companies, and a mouth swab is administered in these companies. Other sectors include; food production, law enforcement, health, safety and oil companies. The best idea is to know what type of a drug test your company undertakes.
Final Verdict
Mouth swab tests are of no difference to other tests since the aim is testing for illegal substances. The only difference is that a mouth swab is quick and may not detect drug metabolites of drugs consumed days ago.
Whatever drug test gets you, you don’t have to worry, all you need is information on how to go about and concur. Here, you will learn about all types of tests done and how to avoid any mistakes during preparation processes.