This is one of the oldest myths about saliva oral drug test kits and processes. In fact mouthwash immediately before a saliva oral drug test kit could invalidate the reading, however since you have to wait for 5 minutes before testing this is not an issue. It is essential that nothing be ingested or eaten by the individual to be tested for a minimum of five minutes before administering the test. This includes gum, lozenges, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, or any type of liquids including water, coffee or soda. Will a saliva oral drug test be accurate for all types of drugs? A saliva oral drug test is just like a urine drug test in that they are designed to test for a specific spectrum of drugs. There are some single drug test kits and some that test for more than one drug. Since any drug test only tests for specific drugs, it is important to know what drug your want to test for. Many home users such as parents or guardians as well as businesses prefer to use the six panel test that will include readings for marijuana, cocaine, PCP, methamphetamines, amphetamines and opiates. Like a urine drug test the saliva oral drug test may also detect prescription medications that fall into some of these categories. For example, if the individual tested was on some type of prescription amphetamine, such as some ADHD medications, the test would indicate positive. It is important to know what prescription medications the subject may be taking and check to make sure they won't cause a positive result that may lead to misunderstanding the test results. Do saliva oral drug test kits need to be kept refrigerated? Saliva oral drug test kits or strips come in pre-packaged sealed foil type pouches that do not need to be kept refrigerated. This means that they can easily be taken to any testing area without any concerns for managing and maintaining a specific temperature. All test also have a control line that will appear, usually at the top of the results window. If the control line does not appear on the test the results should be ignored and the test completed again. The control line should always appear on every test to indicate that the test has not been damaged or invalidated. Do I have to have special training to administer a saliva oral drug test? No, there is no specific training required to administer a saliva oral drug test. Most businesses, companies or agencies tend to use someone that is certified only in the event that someone may challenge the test in a court of law. As long as the test are CLIA waived, which means they have been approved for use of the general public, there is no requirement for specific types of training and they are approved for use and considered valid and reliable as long as the instructions are correctly followed.