Which Commonly Used Substances Are Likely to Cause a False Positive?
Have you been asked to provide a biological sample for drug screening? A positive drug test can have some undesirable repercussions. Your boss may use it to suspend or fire you; it may ruin your reputation or even bar you from participating in various activities such as sporting activities. It also necessitates a rehabilitation plan to ensure you can cope with the urge to use illicit substances.
While a positive drug test indicates the presence of some form of an illicit drug in the body, simple tests such as immunoassay test (IA) often do not suffice to show one’s sobriety or lack thereof. It is possible to possess metabolic forms of illicit drugs in your system without actually taking illegal medication. When you are screened using the IA test, your results are likely to come back positive even though you have not abused the drug being tested.
These results are commonly known as false positives. They show the presence of some form of the illicit drug in the body even though the drug may have been obtained in other ways and not abusing the drug being tested. A test such as IA test is less accurate than Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-SM); hence, more likely to bring back a false positive.
A false positive can be caused by a wide range of items, including everyday products such as poppy seeds and ibuprofen. These substances may be ingested for reasons such as medical purposes or as ingredients for our everyday foodstuffs. However, they are broken down in the body and may present as metabolic forms of illegal substances in simple tests. One requires complex and, often, expensive tests such as GC-SM or high-performance liquid chromatography to accurately establish if the metabolic forms were introduced into the body from illegal substances. Here are ten everyday products that may cause a false positive.
1. Food
Can you imagine your desire to satisfy your need to eat is the reason why you get a positive drug test? Well, it sounds crazy, but food can be a source of a false positive during a drug test. It is possible for your drug test to come back as a false positive for alcohol once you consume a lot of food that is rich in yeast.
During the metabolism of yeast, ethanol is formed as a by-product. Once you are subjected to a breathalyzer after you have consumed food rich in yeast, the ethanol that forms during metabolism can bring back a false positive for alcohol. As such, food such as bread, ripe fruits, and pizza ought to be avoided when you are going to be subjected to a drug screening in a few hours.
Granola bars can also lead to a false positive. Granola bars have hemp seeds as one of their ingredients. The hemp seeds can bring a false positive when testing for cannabis or THC.
2. Sudafed/ Pseudoephedrine
A harmless substance used to treat sinusitis, nasal congestion, and allergies resulting in breathing difficulties, Sudafed can lead to a false positive during the screening of drugs. Manufacturers use manufactured amphetamines to make Sudafed; hence, when broken down in the body, it can lead to traces of methamphetamines or amphetamines being detected in your blood. These compounds are detectable during drug screening for up to two days after consumption.
3. Ibuprofen
Can you believe that curing pain with ibuprofen can lead to a false positive? Ibuprofen is routinely prescribed by doctors or physicians to cure sickness or inflammation in the body. It is a member of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory class of drugs.
Once ingested, it takes around three hours for ibuprofen to lead to a false positive of cannabis, barbiturates, and PCP in your urine. The wrong positive shows for people whose consumption falls within the range of 800 to 1200 milligrams per day. These users of the drug can have a false positive for marijuana use in the IA test. Subsequent confirmatory tests such as high-performance liquid chromatography and GC-SM test are required to ascertain whether the first positive result is genuine or a false positive.
4. Antiretroviral Drugs
These are common drugs and have efavirenz. This component presents itself as an illicit substance during screening. Efavirenz can easily be mistaken for the presence of benzodiazepine and marijuana in the blood. One can easily be mistaken for an illegal drug user even though they are using ARVs. Secondary confirmatory testing is necessary to ascertain if one is abusing drugs or not.
5. Sertraline
When you are seeking employment, your potential employer may subject you to a mandatory drug test as a condition for work. Once the results are back, a positive test result is likely to ensure your potential employer passes up the chance of hiring you. However, it is crucial you notify your employer if you are using sertraline before the drug test. This notification is essential as it will not jeopardize your credibility as you make your case after a false positive.
Sertraline is an antidepressant and leading source of a false positive. Once broken down in the body, sertraline forms traces of benzodiazepine that are detected during drug screening. A majority of antidepressants such as sertraline have similar chemical structures to amphetamines and benzodiazepine. When it is broken down in the body, it results in the same end products as those that are formed after benzodiazepine is broken down; hence, the false positive.
6. Poppy Seeds
Poppy seeds are everyday harmless substances we use for several reasons. It may be an ingredient in making porridge and cake. We also use it as a treatment for constipation, diarrhea, sleeping difficulty, and cough. However, using poppy seeds a day or two before a drug test can lead to a false positive. Poppy seeds contain traces of morphine and codeine in their natural state. A false positive can be brought about by poppy seeds when you are being screened for the use of morphine or codeine.
Can you imagine an innocent bite off that cookie you made causing you trouble at work? Consuming cookies made from poppy seeds can result in a false positive. The breakdown of the wafer can result in a false positive for up to two days since the ingestion of the cookie.
In light of poppy seeds resulting in false positives, the DHHS raised the cut-off point of opiates to 1999 ng/ml. This increase was necessary to distinguish people abusing codeine and morphine from innocent people who enjoyed foodstuffs made with poppy seeds and those who use them for medicinal purposes.
7. Prednisone
Prednisone belongs to a broad category of substances called glucocorticoids and is used in the treatment of inflammation that is caused by rheumatoid or asthma conditions. People also use it to remedy high calcium levels that may be caused by insufficient production by the adrenal gland or cancer and for suppression of one’s immune system. This alternative use of prednisone can alter your drug test to bring back a false positive
False positives can be gotten if prednisone is used up to a day before the drug test. Prednisone brings back a false positive for steroids since it is a steroid itself. Further experiments are necessary to distinguish false positives that are occasioned by a false positive due to the use of prednisone before the drug test.
8. Passive Weed Smoking
Nearly everyone has come across people indulging in some marijuana in their life. The distinguishing difference for a large percentage of people is some come across them regularly while some rarely. These marijuana users can be your friends, neighbors, family, or just strangers. However, your interaction with such people can lead to a false positive.
A false positive happens if testing for marijuana is done a day after exposure. Additionally, there is a high likelihood for a false positive if the person being screened is confined in a similar room as smokers. The smoke you inhale after a smoker exhales can lead to traces of marijuana being present in your body.
9. Cold Medication
It is common practice to rush to the drug store and get some over-the-counter drugs whenever we are suffering from a cold. However, little do we know that these OTC drugs may present a false positive during a drug test.
Common cold medications may present a false positive when screening for amphetamines. These cold medications contain brompheniramine which yields similar by-products as methamphetamines when they are metabolized in the body. Cold medication such as Vicks inhaler, a treatment for nasal congestion caused by flu, has levomethamphetamine which, when tested, shows a similar structure to methamphetamine. This structure leads to a false positive even though one has not actively ingested methamphetamines.
10. Baby Soap
It is no secret that mothers have to wash their infant babies often during the day. While cleaning them, mothers use solvents such as Aveeno Soothing Relief Creamy Wash and CVS Night-time Baby Bath. When babies who use these solvents are tested for marijuana use, their samples are likely to bring back a false positive even though neither the baby nor the mother has come into contact with marijuana. This false positive occurs due to the use of these solvents. The use of marijuana during pregnancy can lead to babies being born with congenital anomalies; hence, when this anomaly shows babies are likely to be screened for traces of marijuana in their system.
It is not clear how traces of marijuana end up in the infants’ system. However, some health professionals speculate that the presence of a marijuana-like substance in their system is due to the chemical structure of some of the components of the solvents. They claim that some ingredients have similar chemical structure as THC, which is an active ingredient in marijuana. Exactly how the soap contents make their way to the infant’s body system is still a mystery.
Steps you can Take after a False Positive
It is advisable for you to disclose all the substances that you are taking that may lead to a false positive before a drug test. However, if you fail to disclose such before the drug test and you are confident that you have not used any illicit substances before the drug test, you may register your protests with the person who ordered the drug screening. Offer your samples for a second confirmatory test.
Confirmatory tests such as Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Test can dispel any doubts as to the reliability of the test results. Many people often rely on these more accurate tests for confirmation. They are not the initial test as they are expensive and require sophisticated equipment.
What Next If the Confirmatory Test Comes Back Positive?
While there are cases when confirmatory test come back as a false positive, at times an initial positive is confirmed by a second positive from the confirmatory analysis. If your sample comes back as a positive in the second test, you do not have to worry as there are courses of action that you can take to get back to sobriety. You may try getting help from a professional rehabilitation center that will help you get back to a healthy drug-free lifestyle.
We at Ebb Tide Treatment Centers have state-of-the-art facilities and professional personnel to help individuals who join our programs recover in a comfortable and supportive environment. We are a full package solution committed to offering tailored rehabilitation regimes to all our patients as we believe each case is unique. We are located at West Palm Beach and Lake Worth. Our qualified staff is committed to helping you recover and avoid triggers that may lead to further drug use. We offer 24-hour services and avail inpatient and outpatient treatment programs to our patients. Our customer service is impeccable.
At Ebb Tide Treatment Centers, we carefully and thoroughly go through your predicament with you to find the best course of action that will ensure once our arrangement comes to an end, you will be ready to stay sober by yourself is outside world. We offer both drug and alcohol addiction treatment programs. We also offer dual diagnosis/co-occurring disorders and medication-assisted treatment. In addition to this each client will have individual and group therapy sessions to help prevent relapse after recovery.
It is a real possibility to get a false positive during drug screening. A false positive can be caused by everyday items such as food, cold medications, and baby soap. However, if confirmatory tests do not come back as a false positive, it is not the end of the road. Drug rehabilitation centers offer tailored solutions and programs that can help you get back to your sober life free of drugs. Drug Rehabilitation centers also provide round the clock services crucial to your well being. Depending on your diagnosis there are inpatient and outpatient treatment programs that are carefully crafted to meet your needs. They can help you get back to your experience of sobriety by ensuring you can cope with the urge to abuse drugs during and long after treatment.
Conclusion
A false positive could result from something as simple as food or cold medication. A positive result after a drug screening can change the course of your life. It can get you fired, cost you a job vacancy, and your insurance compensation. At times, you should not just take the word of the person screening you with preliminary drug tests such as immunoassay test. You should ask for confirmatory testing after the initial analysis returns a positive result. Preliminary tests may bring back a false positive, a case where you test positive for drugs even though you have not used any during the drug detection times of any drug.
False positives are not uncommon after a drug test. They may be brought about by everyday commonly used items such as cold medication, poppy seeds, and baby soaps. Without having your samples retested, you may easily be regarded as a drug user. The silver lining though is that additional tests may clear your name and bring back the right result, a negative for a particular drug. However, an initial positive is not always contradicted by confirmatory tests. If your result comes back as a second positive, do not despair as there is still a way for you to get back to your clean life.
A drug rehabilitation center can be the right place to visit once your second confirmatory test comes back as a positive for any drug. A drug rehabilitation center can help you get back to your clean life with ease. Their qualified professionals provide personalized treatment plans in state-of-the-art facilities that can ease the road to recovery. They will listen to you, analyze your predicament, and offer helpful insights and medication that help you suppress your urge to use drugs.
After making an inquiry and being assessed on your condition allow our skilled experts to walk with you as you seek a clean, drug-free life.
Get help now by reaching out to us today or call us on (844) 430-4357 to learn more on how we can help you get back to your best, clean life.