Drugs That Have False Readings on Blood-Alcohol Tests
When a police officer pulls over a driver whom he suspects is driving while under the influence of alcohol, he will likely administer a blood-alcohol test if initial inquiries such as the field sobriety test are failed. There are many arguments regarding why a blood-alcohol test may not provide an accurate reading, including how certain medications effect blood-alcohol test results. In particular, inhaler-administered asthma medications have been found to cause a significant impact on test results.
Other People Are Reading
-
How the Test Works
-
It is important to learn the science behind blood-alcohol tests to best understand the effect medications such as those for asthma may have on test results. The breath analyzer test that is administered in the field determines the amount of alcohol in air exhaled from an individual. The amount of alcohol found is multiplied by 2,100, a number called the "partition coefficient" or "partition ratio." This number is used because the average person is estimated to have 1/2,100th the amount of alcohol to blood.
How Asthma Inhalers Work
-
The asthma medication that has been found to cause the most problems for achieving accurate blood-alcohol test results is the inhaler. Inhalers are portable devices that contain a medication the user inhales and goes directly into the lungs. Inhalers are used to obtain more immediate relief for asthma symptoms. Many inhalers use a chemical propellant to push the medication out of the inhaler device and into the lungs. It is this propellant that can cause false readings.
-
How Inhalers Effect Readings
-
When asthma medicine is administered to the lungs by an inhaler, the chemical propellant that is used to push the medicine out of the inhaler typically contains a significant amount of alcohol. While this alcohol does not effect the blood and is never absorbed into the blood stream, it is held in the lungs for a period of time and can be exhaled into a breath analyzer, yielding false positives.
How to Avoid False Readings
-
The officer administering the breath analyzer test is typically supposed to wait at least 20 minutes before testing, during which time he must ensure the test subject does not belch, vomit, or ingest anything. Because asthma inhalers are found to effect test results only within the first 10 minutes of using, it is imperative that this 20-minute waiting period is observed. Also, testing several times instead of only once can help yield more accurate results.
-
References
- Photo Credit BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images
