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How Sensitive Are Drug Urine Tests To Alcohol

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image: doctor discussing drug and urine tests with elderly male alcoholicAs long as employers lose relatively large amounts of money and "person-hours" to alcohol abuse, they will continue to utilize random alcohol tests. 

If you drink alcohol and you work for a company, institution, or for an organization that has random urine alcohol testing, it makes sense that you would ask the following:  "how sensitive are drug urine tests to alcohol"?  Please continue reading for the answer to this and other urine alcohol testing questions.

The Major Characteristics of Urine Alcohol Tests

Urine Alcohol Tests have the following characteristics:

  • They are the least expensive of the alcohol testing methods.
  • They can be used at home, for instance, by parents, though lab verification is required for accurate results.
  • They are considered an intrusive method of testing.
  • They can be affected by abstaining from drinking for a period of time before the test.
  • They detect alcohol ingestion mainly within the past week, or longer with regular drinking.
  • They are often temperature tested to assure sample integrity.
  • They indicate the presence of alcohol in a person's system, but it takes up to 2 hours for the alcohol to show up in urine.

Urine Alcohol Tests Pros

  • They have a high assurance of reliable results.
  • They are relatively inexpensive.
  • They provide the most flexibility in testing different drugs, including alcohol and nicotine.
  • They are the most likely of all drug-testing methods to withstand legal challenge.

Urine Alcohol Tests Cons

  • image: young woman concerned about taking a urine alcohol testThe specimen can be adulterated, substituted, or diluted.
  • They have a limited window of detection (typically 1 to 5 days).
  • They are considered as invasive or embarrassing form of testing.
  • They present a biological hazard when the specimens are handled and shipped to the lab.
  • They indicate the presence of alcohol in a person's system, but it takes up to 2 hours for the alcohol to show up in urine.
  • A positive urine test does not necessarily mean the person was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the test. Rather, it detects and measures the use of alcohol within the previous few days.

The overriding plan of action when experiencing a possible alcohol overdose situation is this: Do not take chances when someone's life is at stake. If you suspect that a person has alcohol poisoning or is overdosing on alcohol, get immediate medical assistance, even if the person is underage.

image: would this elderly alcoholic pass an alcohol urine test?As far as passing alcohol urinalysis tests is concerned, as mentioned above, the specimen can be adulterated, substituted, or diluted.

Not only this, but a positive urine test does not necessarily mean that the person was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the test. Rather, it detects and measures the use of alcohol within the previous two or three days.

Heavy drinking can increase the risk for certain cancers, especially those of the throat, voice box (larynx), liver, and esophagus. Excessive drinking can also cause immune system problems, brain damage, harm to the fetus during pregnancy, and cirrhosis of the liver.

If, for instance, the person has a alcohol urinalysis test on a Monday morning, a positive test would show that this person had alcohol within the past few days.  If this person works a typical work week (i.e., Monday through Friday), this would indicate that the person ingested alcohol on Friday night, Saturday, or Sunday when he or she was not at work.  Such a scenario has little, if anything, to do with passing or failing the alcohol urinalysis test that was administered.

Recent research demonstrates that it is important to treat every person who is experiencing alcohol withdrawal. It can be pointed out, however, that approximately 95% of the people who quit drinking alcohol suffer from mild to moderate withdrawal symptoms and can normally be treated on an outpatient basis by a healthcare professional. The remaining 5% of people who experience withdrawal symptoms, however, suffer symptoms so severe that they must be treated in a hospital or in an alcohol rehabilitation facility that specializes in detoxification.

How Sensitive Are Drug Urine Tests To Alcohol:  Conclusion

As long as companies and organizations lose substantial amounts of money and "person-hours" to alcohol abuse, they will continue to employ random alcohol tests.

If you drink alcohol and you work for an employer that has initiated random urine alcohol testing as part of their drug and alcohol screening procedure, it is likely that you will be asking the following question:  "how sensitive are drug urine tests to alcohol"?

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Codependency is a pattern of habitual self-defeating coping mechanisms. Codependency is typically a result of living in a house with someone who suffers from alcoholism or drug addiction. In these dysfunctional homes, there are three messages that are not explicitly stated but nevertheless, reinforced everyday by unhealthy actions, behaviors, and beliefs. These three messages are: don't trust, don’t talk, and don't feel.

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