A home test strip gives a yes/no answer, while a lab gives a quantified value per substance. For a quick impression a strip can be enough, but in a borderline case or an important question a lab is more reliable.
How reliable are home test strips?
Rapid tests are handy and fast, but have a wider margin of error. They give no value, only a line, and can sometimes register on substances that are not intended. That makes a result harder to support.
What a lab adds
A lab analyses with the same equipment as hospitals, quantifies per substance and confirms a positive result with a specific method. That makes the difference in a borderline case. About the cause of abnormal rapid-test results, read false positive drug test, and about the threshold at cut-off values. If you want to test yourself, you can have an extended 10-panel carried out.
Every test result at Zuivertest includes a professional assessment from a BIG-registered doctor. For treatment decisions, discuss your results with your GP.
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