For most people, recovering from an addiction to heroin is a long road, and slip-ups may happen, especially at the beginning of the journey to recovery. In many cases, those who have to take a drug test but have recently used heroin may attempt to cover up their heroin use by altering their test results.
Altering a Saliva Test
Because heroin metabolizes quickly, saliva tests generally aren’t reliable in determining whether someone has recently used this substance. Even so, a common method of beating a saliva test in the days leading up to it is to combine drinking a lot of water with a lot of exercise in an attempt to speed up metabolism. Alternately, an individual may use mouthwash to clear out toxins.
Altering a Urine Test
The urine test is the most popular, and people have come up with numerous ways to beat it. There are many so-called “detox drinks” on the market today that are designed to dilute the user’s urine. To mask the fact that the urine is diluted, these drinks are packed with Vitamin B, which makes urine look more yellow, and creatine, which is a naturally occurring chemical in the body that is flushed away in urine. Together, Vitamin B and creatine make the urine look less diluted than it is.
Some people may alter their urine sample with eye drops, which changes the pH level of the urine. Alternatively, they may add some bleach to their drug test to attempt to pass the test or make test results inconclusive.
Altering a Hair Follicle Test
A hair follicle test is the most reliable test for detecting heroin, and it’s also the most difficult test to beat. To avoid a positive test result, some who use heroin may take drastic measures and shave their head and all the hair on their body. A more subtle method of beating a hair follicle test is the Macujo method. This seven-step hair cleansing process, which opens the hair cuticles to allow heroin metabolites to be washed out of the hair, is reportedly effective for some people.