Looking to test for oxycodone in your next round of drug screenings? The wide range of drug tests on the market can be hard to decipher and sift through. When your budget and location limitations come in, the process of finding the right drug test product becomes even more difficult.
To help you find the right drug test product for the substances you’d like to screen for, we’ve put together this guide specifically on oxycodone. In this blog, we’ll answer the question, “Does oxycodone show up on a drug test?” and how to correctly screen for oxycodone use.
Let’s begin.
What Is Oxycodone?
Oxycodone is a substance that interacts with the opioid receptors in the brain. Oxy comes from the poppy plant, like other forms of opioids. Prescription oxycodone often comes combined with other pain relievers, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen.
Medical professionals typically prescribe it as a form of powerful pain relief, but it can be habit-forming and is commonly abused. Using oxycodone for long periods of time can cause users to experience withdrawal symptoms after stopping use.
Those who have recently undergone surgery, serious injury, or trauma might still be legally and responsibly using oxycodone or recently stopped. When choosing to test for oxycodone, it is important to be aware of the test subjects’ prescribed medications.
Does Oxycodone Show Up On Drug Tests?
The short answer is yes, oxycodone shows up on drug tests. To screen properly for oxycodone, however, you’ll need the correct test and technique. Otherwise, you’ll either miss the opportunity to get a positive screening or you’ll invalidate the test.
To check for this substance in a subject’s sample, you’ll need an oxycodone drug test. Oxy drug tests come in a number of different forms, and which one you choose will depend on your budget and needs. You’ll also have to ensure you are testing the subject within a certain window of time after the suspected substance use and follow the exact directions on the test.
What Is OXY On Drug Tests?
To find the right drug test for screening oxycodone use, you’ll need to check for drug tests that list “OXY” as a substance. You can choose to either buy a drug test specifically for oxycodone, or you can buy a multi-drug test that includes OXY in its list of substances.
For How Long Does Oxycodone Show Up On A Drug Test?
When someone uses oxycodone, the substance lingers in their system. Each part of their system can rid the substance over a set period of time, but these periods differ greatly.
For example, oxycodone only stays in the bloodstream for about 24 hours after use. Other parts of the system, however, hold onto this substance for much longer. Saliva can show detection of OXY for 1-4 days, while urine can show detection of OXY for 3-4 days.
What type of test you use will determine the window of time in which you must administer the test. If you get a negative result, it does not necessarily mean that the person has never used oxycodone, but that there isn’t enough in their system to alert the test.
Many biological and environmental factors can also affect how long it takes oxycodone to leave the body. Age, gender, organ function, length of use, and combinations of other substances can affect the body’s ability to flush out oxycodone.
How to Test for Oxycodone
The most standard forms of tests for oxycodone are urine tests and saliva tests. Saliva tests come as swabs while urine tests can come as either test cups or test strips. Both saliva and urine samples can help detect oxycodone use for a few days after the last use.
Both tests utilize a control line and test line function. Regardless of the number of strips available, you’ll need to read each test strip separately to find out which substances are positive and negative.
You can read these tests by finding the control line and test line on the strip. The control line should always be visible next to the letter “C.” If the C line is not there, the test is invalid.
When the C line is there, then find out whether the line next to “T” has appeared. If the T line is there, the test is negative. If the T line isn’t there, the test is positive.
Remember that even the faintest T line indicates a negative test. Any positive tests must be reconfirmed by a lab test.
Saliva Oxycodone Tests
Saliva oxycodone tests come as a kit with a tube and a swab. Performing saliva drug tests can be great because it eliminates the need to use restrooms for testing and is much less messy than handling urine samples.
A 10-panel saliva drug test includes testing for oxycodone. The subject must refrain from eating or drinking at least ten minutes before the test to get accurate results.
The drug tester will use the swab to sweep the gums, tongue, and cheeks of the test subject’s mouth several times until the swab is completely saturated. There is a saturation indicator on the test swab for ease of use.
Then, the tester will insert the swab into the test tube and screw the top down. Results appear in 10 minutes, but you shouldn’t wait longer than 20 minutes to read them.
Urine Oxycodone Tests
Urine tests come as either individual test strips or drug test cups. Individual test strips are affordable and easy to store in bulk. They allow you to test for one drug at a time, but you must have the subject provide a sample in a regular cup.
Drug test cups are all-in-one tests that do not require your further handling beyond accepting the sample. The drug test cup has test strips built in so that the test begins as soon as urine is collected in the cup. The test subject can screw on the cap so that the urine is contained.
You can test for oxycodone with the 6-panel, 13-panel, 16-panel, and 18-panel drug test cups. These drug test cups also come with built-in temperature strips, helping to deter test subjects from providing false samples.
Oxycodone Results On Other Drug Tests
Many other drug tests check for oxycodone or opioids in conjunction with other substances. You might already have some opioid tests in your inventory, and hope these tests will detect all opioid substances.
To better understand how you can perform a comprehensive drug screening, including detecting oxycodone use, you’ll need to know which drugs cross-react with each other on drug tests.
Does Oxycodone Show Up On A Drug Test For Opiates?
Digging through your drug test supplies, you might find some standard opiate drug tests. These tests are great because you can determine if the subject has used any number of opiates with one test. Unfortunately, oxycodone is not one of them.
While oxycodone reacts with the brain similarly to other opiates, this substance’s molecular structure is too different from other opiates. A standard opiate test can detect morphine, codeine, heroin, and hydrocodone at substantial levels.
To detect oxycodone, the subject will need to have an extremely high amount of the substance in their system to trip the test. The usual opiate test will only alert you to oxycodone use if it is detected at levels of 75,000 ng/mL, which is over 8 times more than the normal level of prescription use.
Can Oxycodone Show Up As Hydrocodone On A Drug Test?
That being said, oxycodone levels would have to be extremely high in the subject’s system, to result in it showing up on an opiate drug test. This opiate drug test can also test for hydrocodone, but it’s highly unlikely for this to happen. Even without that limitation, a study by Pubmed.gov showed that low to moderate levels of opiates is likely undetectable by standard tests.
Oxycodone and hydrocodone are also too dissimilar in molecular structure and create completely different metabolites. While oxycodone creates oxymorphone and noroxymorphone, hydrocodone creates hydromorphone and norhydrocodone.
Drug tests are able to differentiate between these two drugs. If one happens to trip the test of another, results never stop at a urine or saliva test, anyway. Any positive results must be sent to a lab for further testing and confirmation.
As an answer to the question, “Will hydrocodone and oxycodone test the same?” you can rest assured that the answer is no, not likely.
Buy Oxycodone Bulk Drug Tests
Understanding what oxycodone is and how it interacts with different drug tests will help you streamline your drug screening process. You’ll no longer have to ask, “Does oxycodone show up on drug tests?” Instead, you can perform comprehensive and accurate tests for the best results.
For drug testers like yourself who need a steady supply of tests, bulk buying oxycodone drug tests is your best bet. You’ll be able to save money with discounts and bulk deals, and always have a sufficient inventory.
Contact us for our bulk drug test order pricing.
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