Every parent has felt the dread which comes from suspecting that your child may be abusing drugs, and while once there was little option for confirming these suspicions, home drug tests have made it simple to conclude if your child is suffering from addiction. Home drug tests are easy to use kits which allow a parent or guardian to accurately test their children for traces of drug use. Results obtained from a home drug test are reliable, accurate and efficiently provide parents with an honest answer regarding their child’s drug use. The ease of use and access to home drug testing kits remove the need for time consuming and expensive laboratory tests. Many drug test kits for home use can be purchased for as low as three dollars and produce 99% accuracy in as little as five minutes.

There are three main types of home drug testing kits; urine, hair or saliva. Each testing method provides distinct individual benefits depending upon the type(s) of drugs being tested for and the length of time since suspected drug use. These home drug tests each require a sample to be submitted, either of urine, hair, or saliva, which will be tested for the presence of trace amounts of drugs. Each testing method provides distinct benefits depending on the goal of the tester, the type of drugs being tested for, and the scope of the drug use being sought.

Home urine drug test kits are cheap and effective at detecting the presence and traces of a single or multiple drugs at once. While urinalysis produces results in only 5 minutes, urine drug tests can only detect traces of drug abuse for 1-3 weeks following the initial consumption. The hair follicle drug test for home use has the benefit of detecting specific drug metabolites, the chemicals created by the body after a drug is ingested which is then stored within the growth of new hair cells. This home drug test method allows results of drug use to seen up to 3 months after the final drug exposure. The home saliva drug test is considered the most sanitary and least invasive testing method, requiring only a cotton swab to be placed in the mouth (instead of collecting a urine sample or plucking hairs). A saliva test can find traces of drug use up to one month after final consumption depending upon the substance being abused. Determining which home drug test to use is vital when considering a child’s safety and prevention from habit forming drugs.