How to Test for Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol use is prevalent in our society today more than ever; according to Medline Plus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, "nearly 17.6 million adults in the United States are alcoholics or have alcohol problems." Equally troubling is the fact that "More than 18% of Americans experience alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some time in their lives," according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Analysis. Alcohol can cause health complications when not used responsibly. Thankfully, there are various ways to test for alcohol consumption fairly easily, ranging from personal to medical center tests.

Things You'll Need

• Breathalyzer test
• Hair samples
• Bodily fluid samples

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Instructions

• 1

  Perform a simple breathalyzer test to test blood alcohol content. Breathalyzers function by analyzing the amount of alcohol in the body and are easy to use; all you need to do is blow into the device and it will provide a readout of the subject's blood alcohol content. Breathalyzers can be purchased from several online retailers, such as Breathalyzers.net and are generally very accurate and reliable.

• 2

  Test for intoxication by means of a field sobriety test. These tests generally consist of several simple tasks that cannot easily be performed while intoxicated, such as balancing on one foot and hopping forward. The downside to these tests is that they are not infallible. You may purchase these from FieldSobrietyTests.org and many other websites.

• 3

  Test the subject's blood sample at a medical center or hospital. Blood tests must be done while the subject is intoxicated and are expensive, but are extremely accurate and reliable. To arrange a blood test, contact your local medical center.

• 4

  Perform a hair test by taking a samples of the subject's scalp hair and examining it at a medical center; each hair must be at least an inch long and multiple hairs are needed to obtain valid results. Hair testing does not have to be done while the subject is intoxicated and provides information about past alcohol use. Thus, these are optimal for long-term testing. However, like blood testing, hair testing is expensive and impractical.

• 5

  Perform a urine test on the subject at a medical center. Urine tests are convenient, quick, inexpensive, and accurate, but be wary because the subject may sneak a "clean" urine sample to fool the test.

• 6

  Test the subject's saliva at a medical center. Saliva tests, like urine tests, are quick, accurate and relatively inexpensive, but unlike urine tests, they are difficult to fool because the saliva is taken directly from the subject's mouth.