What does adulterating your urine mean

However, studies demonstrate these practices have no effect on testing methodologies and may present unexpected results. Many of the drugs being tested are pH dependent. When large volumes of cranberry juice or vinegar are consumed, the urine pH is lowered, and the excretion rate of these drugs may increase. If timed correctly, large amounts of a drug may appear sooner in the sample. One potentially effective method which may negatively impact the testing process is to consume large volumes of water, as short term water loading can increase urine volume up to eight fold.

Therefore, if the individual's drug concentration is near the cutoff of an assay, the urine may be diluted enough so that the sample will test below the cutoff level. Other attempted methods of adulteration include ingesting large amounts of vitamin C, vitamin B, niacin, Golden Seal, etc.

All of these practices are ineffective. Adulteration of a urine sample with various chemicals is shown in the literature to inactivate some of the laboratory testing methodologies, most notably, the enzyme immunoassay's. Addition of compounds such as sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, hydrogen peroxide, bleach, alcohols, blood, various soaps, etc. The current list of urine adulterants is ever changing as the Internet provides an informational source, as well as a retail outlet for commercial products capable of affecting the outcome of some urine drug testing methodologies.

Currently, nitrites Klear and Whizzies are adulterating agents commonly found in the industry. RTL is capable of providing testing for these agents. Specimen Temperature: If specimen collection is not witnessed, the most effective means to detect specimen dilution, adulteration, or substitution is to measure the sample's temperature.

Some substances, referred to as oxidizing adulterants can oxidize drugs or drug metabolites in a urine sample or affect the effectiveness of reagents to the presence of the drug. Evidence of adulteration may also be in the form of excesses of expected substances. An example of this type of adulteration would be excessive amounts of water present in a urine sample. This type of adulteration is also called dilution. As an initial step in drug testing procedures, a collection or lab technician will usually conduct a series of tests to determine whether the test sample has been adulterated.

When drug or alcohol testing is conducted pursuant to federal law, specific guidelines must be followed.

For Department of Transportation mandated drug tests, a test specimen will first under go an initial specimen validity test. This test is designed to detect evidence of adulteration, substitution, dilution or other causes to invalidate the test. Glutaraldehyde tests for the presence of an aldehyde. Adulterants containing glutaraldehyde may cause false negative drug test results by disrupting the enzyme used in some immunoassay screens.

Unadulterated urine specimens should not contain any traces of glutaraldehyde. Specific gravity tests for dilution for a urine specimen. The average specific gravity of urine specimens ranges from 1. Values outside this range suggest sample adulteration by dilution with water or other liquid compounds. Normal urine specimens should not contain nitrate, and the presence of nitrates immediately flag the possibility of adulteration.

The iCup drug screen kit is one About DrugConfirm Home Drug Test Cup Urine drug testing is one of the most popular methods of random drug testing for recent drug use, as these tests One of the major challenges of urine drug testing is adulteration, a practice involving manipulation of a urine specimen with chemical adulterants to produce a false negative test result. This problem is compounded by the number of easily obtained chemicals that can effectively adulterate a urine specimen.