If you are about to have a drug screening, be sure to tell the lab tech about any prescribed medications. In most cases the tech will ask first, sometimes they don’t. It’s in your interest to disclose any medications that your currently on.
It is known that, although the drug screening labs are very advanced in detected certain compounds. They still have trouble with other compounds that can cause false readings. False readings or errors may or may not be in your favor.
What we know for sure is, even though antibiotics may mask urine results, they do not cleanse, flush or detox your system!
Do antibiotics show up in a drug test?
The easiest answer to this question is, No, Antibiotics like Amoxicillin and Penicillin will not show up in a drug test.
Drug screenings are not made to detect antibiotics. They specifically look for certain drug metabolites or markers. That and a few common minerals (creatine) that is present in all normal urine samples.
OK, so no problems there right?
Wrong, although a UA is not able to detect antibiotics doesn’t mean it wont effect your results.
There are plenty of cases in which some people have passed or failed their urine test due to antibiotics and other medications. That is why it is very important to disclose and provide proof of prescription.
Why does it matter?
Usually when urine is collected, its put through a series of tests.
Testing Steps:
- Visual temperature check
- Initial Screening
- Confirm Screening
Contrary to popular beliefs, these steps are created in order to save money, not for accuracy. Anyone of the three parts can result in a fail. If your urine is not the right test, you fail and the screening is over. Saving time and money by avoiding the other steps.
The initial screening is done on the spot and sometimes right in front of you. In this step, you may see the tech place the urine sample into a table top device. This device checks for metabolites at higher than cut off levels. If nothing shows up, you done, if it does, the sample moves on to the last step.
The confirmation test may be done on location or the sample is sent off for testing. This will give them a better idea of what drugs are in your system at the time.
It is the “Confirmation” step that causes problems!
Amoxicillins effect on drug test
Know that we have outline the basics steps, lets go into the details of how amoxicillin and penicillin affect drug test.
No matter what you have heard, taking penicillin will not clean your system. It has absolutely zero effect on the level of drug metabolites in your pee. Antibiotics create their on set of metabolites that may alter the 3rd Confirmation step.
For example, if you have smoked weed recently, your urine will still have THC-COOH along with what ever metabolite is created from penicillin. Initial testing only checks for drug metabolites, thats it. Your pee will fail and be sent off for further testing.
At confirmation testing, the sample is tested for an array of compounds. Antibiotics may cause errors or bad readings, resulting in a “False-positive”. The test may need to be retaking to confirm results.
Can antibiotics help you pass a drug test?
Is it possible to use antibiotics to pass a urine drug test? The best answer to that question is “not usually”. It depends on the type of screening, home screening or lab test.
- Home drug tests are very simple and only test for the labeled metabolites. Since antibiotics have no effect on the level of metabolites from drugs use in urine,you will fail.
- Labs are a bit more complex and results may vary, but in most cases a false positive is equal to a fail.
Unless you know someone that is taking the a AU for the same reason, at the same lab and has passed with a false positive, you will fail. This is why it is important to inform the lab of any medications you have used.
If you are clean and have no history of drug use, you can still fail because of amoxicillin