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Providing Health Care for the Prevention of
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses |
February 1999
Drug Free Workplace Seminar:
WorkPro will be sponsoring the Guernsey-Noble Safety Council on Wednesday,
February 24, 1999, at 8:00am in the Morrison Room at Southeastern Ohio Regional
Medical Center. Our guest speaker will be John Howell, Business Consultant with
the Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Drug testing, creating a drug-free
workplace and the BWC's discount program will be discussed. If you have
questions contact Tina Nicolozakes at 439-8189.
FYI:
Our WorkPro staff is now certified to perform hair collection sampling for
drug screening. If you are interested or have any questions regarding hair
analysis for the purpose of drug screening, contact Gaye Rogers at 439-8191.
"False Positive" Urine Drug Tests:
We hear all the excuses in the book! Over the past year we have been
inundated with questions regarding "false positive" urine drug testing
results. New excuses for "false positive" urine drug tests arise
daily. Some are partially true, the majority of them are the result of a very
creative individual. The following presumptions are several that we thought we
would share with you:
#1. "My cold medicine gave me that positive test for Amphetamines(uppers)."
Amphetamines, which produce a high effect, thus the street name
"Speed", belong to a classification of drugs called Betaphenethylamine.
When analyzed, the urine cut-off level is lower. Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine,
which are found in a variety of cold and cough medications, are not converted to
amphetamines in the donors body. Therefore, they should not be found, and the
test must be reported as negative.
#2 " My dentist used Novocain, and that is why my test is positive for
Cocaine."
Just because their names end in "cain", does not mean they are
similar. Their molecular properties are quite different, and Novocain will not
produce a positive result for Cocaine.
#3 "I tested positive for Cocaine because I'm taking Tylenol with
Codeine."
Cocaine is not found in any prescription or non-prescription medications.
Cocaine is a topical anesthetic agent used in minor surgical procedures or
dental procedures. Codeine is an opiate that is found in cough or pain
medicines. Only Cocaine will test positive for Cocaine!
#4 "I ate poppy seed rolls today. Will that give me a positive test for
Marijuana?"
No, poppy seeds contain a small amount of Morphine (opiates), not Marijuana. The
Department of Transportation recently lowered the cut-off for opiates to
2,000ng/mL. This will assist in cutting out "false positives" because
of the lower levels. In addition, a donor would have to consume a colossal
amount of poppy seeds to test positive for opiates.
#5 "I was just in the room when my friends were smoking pot. I didn't!
Honest!"
Study upon study confirms that second hand smoke or passive inhalation does not
give you a positive urine drug test for Marijuana (THC). The donor that has
passively inhaled has a level in their urine that is far below the THC cut-off
level. There is never a "false positive " for passive inhalation.
#6 "I don't smoke pot, I only take ibuprofen. Why did I test positive
for Marijuana?"
Only Marijuana tests positive for THC! The properties of ibuprofen (Advil,
Nuprin) are not even closely related to THC.
#7 "I drink CocaTea- that is why I tested positive for Cocaine."
Wake up and smell the coffee! The production of beverages containing Cocaine is
illegal! Ingestion of Inca Tea is not a valid excuse for a positive urine drug
test for Cocaine. Only Cocaine test positive for Cocaine.
#8 "Can the antibiotics I'm taking test positive for Heroin?"
Heroin is an opiate. In the body opiates are converted to Morphine. Laboratory
studies cannot effectively detect Heroin in urine drug specimens. Urine Heroin
tests are never performed. Therefore, antibiotics do not test positive for
Heroin(opiates).
Community Health Link:
The staff of Women's Healthlink has announced a name change to Community
Healthlink. In response to the health care needs of our communities,
Healthlink's services and programs have been expanded to include men, women and
children of all ages.
A special week of activities is being planned for early February. Watch your
newspaper for more information, or call Community Healthlink at 432-LINK.
February is National Heart Month!
Þ Eat healthy - cut down on salts and fats.
Þ Exercise regularly - at least 30 minutes three times a week.
Þ Keep stress under control - take a few minutes out of your hectic schedule to
do deep breathing exercises.
Þ Take care of your heart and it will take care of you.
For any questions regarding a healthy heart, call Cathy Chendraj at Community
Health Link at 432- LINK.
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