Companies That Hair Test

This will sound bad... But, the situation: Broke a tooth in half, exposing cavity and nerves, took several over the counter meds that wasn't working. And, had a dentist appt scheduled. But, was given a couple pain meds, that a dentist probably wouldn't prescribe for that, hydro or oxy, don't remember I don't keep up with pills. Anyways, getting prehired with a company that does hair, pain meds 1 of the top 5, to be tested?

Welcome aboard Mickey!

At this point you almost have to assume that all major companies are hair testing. We did a thread a while ago to see who was doing hair and who was only doing pee test and the overwhelming majority of major companies are doing both.

There wasn't a solid consensus on how long you have to stay clean to pass a hair test but the best we could figure was about 90 days if you have short hair. Now they're going to take it from anywhere they can get a hair that's about 1 1/2 inches long. If it's not on your head they'll find one somewhere. If they can't then you can't take the test. I don't know if they "fail" you for not being able to test, but you won't pass either way.

As far as what they test for - pretty much everything. Almost any prescription meds will show up along with the usual suspects for illegal drugs. But certainly any type of strong painkillers, muscle relaxers, or nerve pills are going to show up.

So the best we can figure is cut the hair on top of your head short and stay clean for 90 days. Let it grow back to at least 1 1/2 inches for the test and make sure none of the hair left on your head is more than 90 days old. That should get you through but as always there are no guarantees.

If anyone has anything at all helpful to add to this please do. There are a lot of people that aren't "druggies" but have taken someone else's prescriptions for one reason or another and need to know what it takes to clean up and pass the tests properly. The information I've just given is the best I could come up with based upon the contributions of numerous people in recent months during similar conversations.

Here's the link to the big conversation we had about it:

Drug Testing: Urinalysis or Hair Follicle?

"Almost any prescription meds will show up "

Brett, I don't think this is correct for the hair tests that the trucking companies do. If your prescription is in one of the five classes of drugs that are mandated to be checked by DOT , then yes it will show up. But, for instance, if you were taking acne meds, those wouldn't show on the analysis that the trucking companies pay for. For them to screen hair for every possible drug would be cost probibitive.

At least this is my understanding of it. If I' m wrong please correct me.

No you're right. I wasn't thinking about stuff like that. I was thinking more along the lines of pain killers, muscle relaxers, and the "recreational types" that people might use. But you're right, a lot of stuff wouldn't show up. They're mostly going to be looking for anything that would affect your judgment or alertness.

I can speak first hand that Celadon does not do a hair test.

From the DOT website:

§ 40.85 What drugs do laboratories test for? As a laboratory, you must test for the following five drugs or classes of drugs in a DOT drug test. You must not test “DOT specimens” for any other drugs. (a) Marijuana metabolites. (b) Cocaine metabolites. (c) Amphetamines. (d) Opiate metabolites. (e) Phencyclidine (PCP).

Also, I can tell you that Prime only does a urine test, not hair.

If you get a letter from the doctor that prescribed the meds..showing the date you were prescribed, and what for, you should be just fine. If you got them from a friend....well, then you may have a problem. Companies understand that medical issues happen...and they understand that people tkae pain meds for a temporary issue.....You just have to document.