What Causes a False Positive for Benzodiazepines on a Drug Test?

On occasion, you hear your favourite sportsman or public figure test positive for a certain drug and after some duration, know that its is false positive test. Obviously, this type of news made one think ‘’ why do people get false positives for drug test?’’ Very noticeably, people do face the consequences of the tests. But the question that comes up is, why do these tests fail to give accurate results to a clean person? To elaborate on this matter, today we chose our blog to give you a complete idea of false positive for benzodiazepines.

Understanding False Positive For Benzodiazepines Drug Tests

Information On Benzodiazepine

Benzodiazepines have a wider use in today’s medical field. from sedatives, anxiolytics, anticonvulsants, to muscle relaxants, alcohol withdrawal, sedative-hypnotic benzodiazepines have various uses. This medication works by slowing down the brain’s neurotransmitter works and it also enhances the work of GABA. Benzos are also seen to be effective in the treatment of anxiety and seizure-related issues. These substances are controlled, which means one requires a clinician’s recommendation to get a chance to use this medication. It is habit-forming, which means in the long term, users might fall into addiction. As it is a concerning matter, benzo addiction recovery is hugely accessible.

Information On A False Positive Drug Test

More or less, we all are familar with the term ‘’ false positive drug test’’. A false positive drug test is when a person goes through a drug test, and it yields an inaccurate positive result. Means the result detects a drug in the body, which you have not taken at all. This happens when screening mistakenly identifies any supplement, food, or legal medication as a licit drug. Sometimes this takes place because of laboratory error or cross-reactivity. These tests generally follow along as a urine test, a saliva test, and a hair test.

What Causes A False Positive For Benzodiazepines?

Most commonly, it is noticed that some prescribed, over-the-counter drugs disrupt benzo screening. Typically, Zoloft (sertraline) is the most common reason. It is an antidepressant that has a similar chemical metabolism to benzo, because of this, it takes after benzo in drug tests. Other medications, like some antivirals (used for HIV), and anti-inflammatory medications, which manage arthritis. Some over-the-counter medications have a similar molecular formation, which can cause a false positive result. Few medicines follow as.

• Oxaprozin
• Sustiva
• Diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
• Naproxen
• Ritalin
• Tolmetin
• Promethazine (Phenergan)
• Fluoxetine (Prozac)
• Bupropion (Wellbutrin)
• Propranolol
• Etodolac
• Prozac

How Long Do Benzodiazepines Stay In Your System?

Well, it can come to one’s mind whether a past use of benzodiazepines matters or not. It can matter, but not directly. Some benzodiazepines, like Diazepam or Clonazepam, can even take days or even weeks to leave the system completely. So, in this type of cases if the user goes through a drug test, then there is a chance that it might come positive. For that reason, knowing how long this substance can be detected in various tests is crucial. Go through the table below so that you can be on the safer side, even if you have used benzodiazepines in the past.

Types Of Tests	Duration
Urine Test	Upto 10days
Blood Test	About 1 hour to 8 days
Saliva Test	1-2days
Hair Test	Until 90days

Risk Factors For False Positive Test For Benzodiazepine

While knowing about false positive for benzodiazepines requires knowing the points that might accelerate the chances of an inaccurate drug test. Know them so that you can be aware of certain conditions.

• Smoking
• Overconsumption of vitamin B6
• Root of valenan
• Other imported herbs
• Miracle herbs
• Kava
• Passionflower
• High dose of vitamin B-complex
• Hemp-based products
• Dehydration
• Excessive stress

What To Do If You Receive A False Positive For Benzodiazepine?

If you have gotten an inaccurate positive, instead of panicking, there are many things you can do to get rid of this situation and prove yourself clean. First of all, appeal for a confirmation test to the lab. Sometimes, as the first drug tests happen as a quick screening, they might give inaccurate results, for which confirmation tests exist. Confirmation tests like GC-MS are well known for more accuracy than normal screening tests. Secondly, reveal all your diagnosed prescriptions, and also the over-the-counter medicines, to the laboratory.

If a false positive is your concern than asking for a second test is very important. Also, as we have already mentioned, some medicines do influence a fake positive result, so providing a list of the medications that you take is very important. Another thing you can do is have a detailed conversation with your medical expert to find out where the cross-activity has taken place.

FAQs

Conclusion

As we are at the end of today’s health tip blog, please know that your drug test was erroneous, and that does not mean you have nothing to do anymore. There are ways to prove your cleanness, claim it. If you are ready to go through some procedures, you can easily verify your cleanliness.