Modern medical devices have come far, and at-home drug testing is an excellent example of that. Nowadays, you can order a drug test, and use it in the privacy of your home, no questions asked.
But what kinds of at-home urine drug tests are there, and how accurate are they? Also, what’s the correct way to use them to get the most accurate results?
Let’s talk about it.
What Are At-Home Urine Drug Tests Used For
Drug tests used to be heavily bound by social stigma. However, with the legal status of various substances changing (especially THC), having a way to privately and accurately test at home has become a way of health self-checking.
So, we can safely say that there are more than a few reasons and scenarios where an at-home urine drug test can play a vital role. You can use it to:
- Prepare for an employment (or pre-employment) drug test
- Detect accidental substance exposure
- Help a person who struggles with addiction and encourage proactive early action
- Track your detox journey
- Track the progress of tolerance breaks
- Double-check your state before a regulated athletic event
- Prepare for a probation drug test
- Take a test to track personal health and habits
A lot of people also use at-home urine tests to double-check their situation before an upcoming official drug screening. Brands like Exploro actually designed their home tests to match the cutoff levels of official tests, so you can get a perspective (and peace of mind) into how it will all turn out.
Speaking of cutoff levels…
Cutoff levels
In simple terms, a cutoff level of an at-home urine drug test represents its sensitivity. Neither at-home nor lab tests actually test for how much substances are in urine. Instead, they test whether or not their pressence is above or below a certain threshold, which we call the cutoff level.
For example, the standard cutoff level for urine THC tests is 50 nanograms per millilitre (ng/ml). If the THC metabolites in urine are above that level, the test will turn out positive. This threshold is also used in official drug screenings (e.g., in employment scenarios).
Other substances (like cocaine or amphetamines) are tested at different cutoff levels, but the principle remains the same. If a person tests positive in an official screening, then a second, confirmatory, test will be conducted at a much lower (stricter) cutoff level.
Accuracy
At-home urine drug tests are above 90-% accurate, with that accuracy rising to 99%, depending on a few factors. Firstly, the test’s expiration date must be valid, since expired tests drop in accuracy. But, most importantly, to get the most accurate results, the test must be used correctly. It’s not exactly rocket science, but there are a few crucial things to follow.
How to use an at-home urine drug test correctly
Since we are talking about doing these tests yourself, the most important thing is to keep everything clean. The cup you collect the urine sample in, the test strip or card itself, and even your hands should be as clean as possible.
So, when you get your test and decide it’s time to do it, make sure to do the following:
- Make sure that the testing kit isn’t damaged and that it’s not expired
- Before you start, read the instructions from the box carefully
- When you collect the urine sample, make sure that the cup is clean and that you do not touch the inside of the cup with your fingers (this prevents contamination)
- Dip the drug test strip (or card) up to the marked line
- After the time for immersion passes, wait and read the results.
Common At-Home Urine Drug Tests
While there are many types of at-home urine drug tests out there, there are four testing kits that are most sought out:
- 50 ng/ml THC urine test
- 3-level THC urine test
- 5-panel test
- 7-panel test
So, let’s start with the most popular.
Standard 50 ng/ml THC urine test
Due to its similarity with the official screening tests used for employment, the 50 ng/ml at-home urine THC test is quite popular. Not only does it match the official cutoff level, it’s also the simplest one to use and read results off.
It comes in the form of testing strips, and it essentially tells you whether or not you would pass an official THC screening if you were to take it right now.
3-Level THC urine test
The 3-level THC test is somewhat more complex, but the fundamentals are the same. It measures the pressence of THC metabolites on three different cutoff levels at the same time. The least strict is the 100 ng/ml, which only detects recent or heavy THC use. Then comes the 50 ng/ml to match the official cutoff. Lastly, there’s the strict, 20 ng/ml, threshold which detects older THC use, and simulates the cutoff of a confirmatory test.
5-Panel urine test
Now comes the multi-panel urine at-home test that looks for the pressence of 5 substances in the sample:
- THC metabolites
- Cocaine
- Opiates
- Amphetamines
- PCP
A 5-panel at-home urine test is great to use before employment testing (like the Exploro DOT drug test) since it provides the same information that will be tested for in an official screening.
It’s easy to use. Just follow the instructions (and hygiene tips) and dip the 5-panel test card into the urine sample. All that’s left to do is to read out the results.
7-Panel urine test
Lastly, the 7-panel urine drug test is the extension of the 5-panel. It tests for:
- THC metabolites
- Cocaine
- Opiates
- Amphetamines
- Benzodiazepines
- Metamphetamine
- MDMA
This type of urine drug test is used with high-responsibility professions, and is a nice way to check things before the official screening. The dip-card is easy to use, with the only difference being that it’s a bit wider, since it has 2 test lines added. Follow the instructions, and wait to read out the results.
At-Home Urine Drug Testing Is a Form of Self-Care
As you can see, in the privacy of your home, you can use the tests for all sorts of purposes. The accuracy of at-home urine drug tests is astounding, and the cutoff levels are designed to match the official screening tests (or, in some cases, confirmatory tests).
Once you decide which one you need, just make sure to use the test properly. And, in a matter of minutes, you will know how things actually stand.
