Another
form of testing that is not very popular is a sweat drug screen.
This test works by affixing a patch to someone’s skin. This
patch gathers a person’s sweat over an extended period of time
(10-14 days) The patches have a security feature that will show
signs that it has been tampered with and then reaffixed without
the knowledge of the one doing the testing. These sort of tests
are only really used by CPS, parole departments and government
offices. The reason for using this sort of test is when there is
a concern over someone using over a long period of time, when a
urine test would not prove as effective. However, this form of
test has fallen into disuse by the government because of
documented issues with this test regarding certain drugs.
Pros: Sweat
test are non-invasive and donor friendly. Specimen collection is
easy and no bathroom is required for specimen collection. The
detection window is prolonged and most of the time can
detect drug usage for a time period of a couple of weeks. They
are pretty much tamper proof because they are difficult to
manipulate. There is no lab needed and results are obtained
within minutes.
Cons: The
main disadvantage is the fact that they are open to
contamination. Also, there are large differences in sweat
production rates of donors that can make some test results
inconclusive. There is also little variety in these tests due to
their lack in popularity. Cost for these test are usually a
little and they are limited by the number of drugs that they can
detect.
