Hair Strand Testing
Hair testing is a unique method in its ability to look back months instead of days at drug use in a donor.
Hair analysis provides a secure and retrospective window of detection. It allows all parties to gain a true understanding of a patient’s drug or alcohol use rather than simply relying on the word of the patient.
Once ingested into the body the drug goes into the blood stream and eventually into every hair follicle and remains trapped there as a permanent record of use. Hair tests give a history of both the client’s drug use and abstinence if you are trying to prove your client has in fact not been using drugs.
Hair samples can be taken months after an incident provided there is sufficient hair to complete the required analysis. For example, a 1cm sample of head hair gives you an average history of 1 months drug use and a 3cm sample would give an average history of approximately 3 months. Head hair grows at approximately 1cm per month.
Hair is far less prone to tampering and does not need to be taken as frequently as urine analysis due to the time length in history it can produce.
Hair analysis will provide evidence that is legally defensible in a
Court of Law.
Advantages of Hair Analysis
• Longer window of detection
• Cost effective method of testing
• Less invasive method of testing
• Gives everyone concerned a clear picture of a patients use
prior to the appointment
Hair Drug Testing Explained
Hair testing is the most accurate and effective method of finding
users of drug abuse. Using a small sample of hair cut from the scalp,
hair analysis evaluates the number of drug metabolites embedded
inside the hair shaft.
When compared to more traditional forms of testing (i.e, urine testing), hair samples can detect a longer period of drug use. With urine, most drugs are undetectable if urinalysis is carried out more than 2-3 days after use, with the exception of cannabis, which may be detected for slightly longer periods of time.
After the 2-3 day period, a urine donor will test negative and slip through the urine screening process. With hair samples, the only time limitation for detecting drug usage is imposed by the length of the donor's hair. Every half inch of head hair in length provides a 30-day history of drug use.
The standard for the industry is to test 1.5 inches, which provides a 90-day history of the donor's drug use. If no head hair is available, body hair can
be used.
This provides longer window of detection of approximately 365 days.
Bleaches, shampoos and external contaminants (i.e. cannabis smoke) have no known impact on the results.
Hair Alcohol Testing Explained
Alcohol is not as easily detectable in hair as other drugs. Ethanol is present in all hair including those of teetotallers, however these traces are products of the environment. Simply being in a pub or laboratory is enough for traces of ethanol to find their way into the hair. So these traces of ethanol do not correlate to alcohol, which has been consumed.
In contrast to other drugs consumed, alcohol is not deposited directly in the hair. For this reason, the investigation procedure looks for direct products of ethanol metabolism. One part of the alcohol reacts with fatty acids to produce esters. The sums of the concentrations of four fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) are used as indicators of the alcohol consumption. Other FAEEs are also detected and may be taken into account in mitigating circumstances. The amounts found in hair are measured in nanograms (one nanogram equals only one billionth of a gram), however with the benefit of modern technology, it is possible to detect such
small amounts.
As the hair grows, it absorbs special markers called fatty acid ethyl esters and ethyl glucuronide (EtG) into its structure, which remain in the hair indefinitely. These patented markers are only produced when there is alcohol in the bloodstream (EtG markers are formed almost exclusively in the liver and then deposited into hair mainly from sweat). The more markers there are, the more alcohol you consumed.
Rapid Sample Collections Service
Speeding up the process is not only more convenient but also critical to the outcome of some
cases, such as an employment tribunal or when dealing with proceedings for child custody. If your firm/company requires a collection within 30-60 minutes* please dial 07828791078 - 07921186598 or if you fail to connect, Email “Rapid” with your contact details to info@thequayaddictionservices.co.uk and we will call you back within 10 minutes to arrange your request.
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