20/09/2011 by admin.

We are frequently contacted by anxious parents, seeking advice on what to do following events leading to a suspicion of drug experimentation involving their teenage son or daughter.

There is no standard reply, and only the family can decide on the right course of action, but getting to the bottom or truth is often the most challenging issue facing parents (before they decide on what to do, if anything)

Most teenagers when challenged will deny drug use. They know the issues this will cause them to address with their parents, and seek to avoid the confrontation and consequences.

But asking a teenager to take a drug and alcohol test need not be as confrontational as imagined. The ability to negotiate future testing, can be motivational in achieving the avoidance behaviour saught by the parent, while arming the teenager with an acceptable excuse against peer pressure.

Drug testing in a crisis situation can be more problematic, but this is often the situation presented to the parent, and again being able to indentify and quantify the issues allows informed choices to be made by the responsible adult.

What do I screen for is the next question.

Targeted specific single drug tests are available for all the common drug groups recreationally used by teenagers (with the exeption of methadrone (meow meow)) but in the initial screening stage we recommend an multi drug test kit be used as this will cover a range of common drugs and will ensure nothing is missed and may even educate the user on the common contaminants (not everything sold as pills, contains what the dealer suggests)

The best method of testing for drugs is a urine sample as it looks back over a longer period (3-5 days) compare this to saliva testing with 12-36 hrs drug detection at best. If you are going to do a random drug test as part of a contract, then urine testing wins hands down, its cheaper and will need to be done less often. The advantage of saliva drug testing is the convenience and lack of opportunity to adulterate the sample. Saliva testing is great for immediate testing post “at risk” times, ie after parties or night club visits.

Click here for more info on home drug & alcohol testing kits suitable for use by parents

Posted in Drug testing kits for parents, Drug Testing at Home, Drug testing teenagers | 1 Comment »

20/06/2011 by admin.

We received a phone call today from a concerned parent whose teenager was exhibiting some worrying symptoms & signs that the parent was concerned may be due to drug abuse. The parent was wanting to perform a drug test to identify which drug their teenager was taking.

One of the signs the parent was concerned about was dilated pupils ( Mydriasis). This is often referred to as ‘blown pupils’ where the pupils stay excessively large even in a bright light enviroment.

Pupil dilation may be a sign that a stimulant drug has been taken.

The following drugs can cause pupil dilation:

• MDMA
• Cocaine
• Amphetamines (speed)
• LSD
• Shrooms (magic mushrooms)
• Most halllucinogens
• PCP
• Ketamine

However it should not be assumed that pupil dilation is due to illegal drug use as some prescription drugs can also cause the pupils to dilate, and there are also medical causes some of which are life threatening that can cause the pupils to be dilated.

Opiates have the opposite affect on the pupil and cause pupil constriction or miosis often referred to as pin-point pupils. However withdrawl from Opiates may cause a dilated pupil.

Click here for more information on drug testing teenagers

Posted in Which drugs cause pupil dilation, pupil dilation while on drugs, Drug testing teenagers | 1 Comment »

29/09/2010 by admin.

As teenagers start to navigate the Friday night, Saturday night out and party scene, the risk of both alcohol and experimental drug use becomes a real issue for many parents.

Alcohol missuse and abuse amongst teenagers is a real problem in the UK , with unsupervised alcohol exposure often preceeding experimentation with party or recreational ilicit drugs. The effects of these are not always apparent, or specific enough to spot with certainty.

This often leaves parents with the suspicion that a problem exists, but no way of persuing the matter. Teenagers will rarely admit alcohol or drug exposure unless they consider the matter would be accepted by the parent, or the effects are so apparent as to effectively be a crisis episode, with parental confrontation inevitable and unavoidable.

To enpower parents faced with these common issues, we have created a simple drug testing kit for parents pack suitable for instant home drug & alcohol testing. The drug testing & alcohol testing pack gives parents immediate access to accurate alcohol detection, using a state of the art digital hand held breathalyser the DA5000. This breathalyser unit can be re-used indefinately by replacing the pre-calibrated sensor module (good for about 300 tests per module @ around £16.00 replacement cost) The teenager drug testing pack also contains a pack of 5 multipanel saliva drug screening tests which detect exposure to Cannabis (marijuana, skunk etc) and Cocaine (including crack) and Amphetamines (speed and meth, crystal ice etc)

With this drug & alcohol screening pack a simple quick and non invasive breath and saliva test, taking under 10 minutes to complete fully can exclude exposure to a range of common recreational drugs and alcohol.

The parent’s ability to test their teenagers for drugs and alcohol , becomes a powerful motivational tool, empowering the teenager to say no under peer pressure to experiment.

Click here for more information on the drug & alcohol testing pack for parents of teenagers

Click here to see more drug testing kits suitable for parents to use at home

Posted in Drug Testing at Home, Drug testing kits for parents, Teenagers & drugs, Drugs & teenagers, Drug testing teenagers, Teenagers | 1 Comment »

30/03/2010 by admin.

What drug testing kits are available for home use ?

Home drug tests come in a wide variety of options and cover from a single drug test, up to and including 10 drug groups on a single home drug test panel.

Home diagnostic tests, including home drug testing kits for illegal drugs such as cocaine, opiates, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines are available with drug test screen results in 5 minutes.

Also high quality alcohol testing devices are available with either saliva or breath sampling alcohol testing kits.

What should I look for  when choosing an at home drug test ?

When selecting a drug test kit to use at home you should look for test which are easy to use and supplied by a reputable seller with experience and knowledge of the product line. Check for companies with an easy to find UK mainland address and contact telephone customer support line on their web sites.

The home drug test should offer equal accuracy to professional products, so ensure the company is also selling a branded professional product to users such as the NHS etc. Professional diagnostic companies will offer high quality controls standards, and the home drug testing products will be correctly certified in accordance to European standards.

When selecting a multiple home drug test search for the combination which best suits the drugs you wish to have covered.  Professional drug test suppliers will offer a wide range of combinations.

Should you choose saliva drug tests or urine drug tests ?

Most first time testers considering a home drug test would say saliva, as it is easier to collect and less embaressing to collect, however all saliva tests will detect for a shorter period than the same urine screen (12-18 hrs in most cases where as urine detects for 3-5days) 

So if a urine sample can be relied upon, it will detect drug use over a longer period and have to be repeated less frequently.

Saliva drug tests or oral fluid drug testing kits are ideal for drug testing in the workplace or clinic, where detection of individuals possibly under the influence is more the intention. 

Urine dip home drug tests are also the cheapest home drug test option available

Click here to see a range of accurate & easy to use drug testing kits suitable for use at home or by concerned parents

Posted in Drug testing kits for parents, Drug Testing at Home, Home Drug Test, Drug testing teenagers, Drug Testing faq's | 1 Comment »

01/10/2009 by admin.

With drug use on the increase in under 16 year olds in the UK, worried parents are turning to home drug test kits to identify specific drug problems in their teenagers.  Consumers are able to purchase a variety of testing kits which will identify if drug residues are still present in either saliva or a urine sample.

Saliva drug tests are prefered as they are easy to take without a doubt over the sample having come fresh from the donor. Urine drug tests will detect further back in time, but obtaining and handling a urine sample can be problematic for some parents.

The accuracy of both formats is very high at a quoted 98-99% compared to laboratory GC/MS tests methods (the gold standard in drug screening)  Both saliva and urine drug tests give results within 5 minutes which is a great advantage.

Expect to pay between £3 to £10 for single or multipack urine drug tests and a little more for saliva drug tests.

More information on instant drug tests here

Posted in Drug testing teenagers, Drug Test FAQ, Oral Drug Testing, Saliva Drug Test, Cannabis | 1 Comment »