This is a simple saliva test to detect the presence of alcohol in saliva and so can provide an estimation of blood alcohol levels.
Gives a quick and easy to read equivalent blood alcohol level result in 2 minutes
results read on simple pad colour change match
0.0 if no alcohol detected
20 mg/100ml
80 mg/100ml
300mg/100ml
How accurate is this test?
It is well established that the concentration of alcohol in saliva is comparable to that of blood. The relationship between the amount of saliva alcohol and blood alcohol is 1:1 while with breath it is .000048:1, making saliva a more sensitive testing medium than breath.
Test procedure
Nothing should be placed into the mouth for at least 10 minutes prior to saliva collection. This includes food, drink, tobacco products or other materials. The saliva specimen can be collected in a cup or a clean container, or directly applied to the reaction pad of the test strip.
Open the foil package and remove the test strip.
Saturate the reactive pad by dipping the reaction pad into the saliva specimen collected in a sputum cup, or by applying saliva directly to the reaction pad. After 10 seconds, shake off the excess saliva.
Immediately start timer and at 2 minutes, compare the reactive pad with the provided colored chart.
Results after more than 2 minutes may be not accurate
It is possible to detect the presence of alcohol in other fluids, such as drinks. However, if used in this manner the colour chart on the outside of the package does not apply. If alcohol is present in the fluid a colour change ranging from a yellow/light blue/dark blue/black will occur as the alcohol concentration increases. Little or no colour change may occur with pure alcohol due to the absence of water, which is required for the colour change reaction.
Results
Negative: Almost no color change by comparing with the background. The negative result indicates that the BAC is less than 0.02%.
Positive: A distinct color developed all over the pad. The positive result indicates that the BAC is 0.02% or higher.
Invalid: The test should be considered invalid If only the edge of the reactive pad turned color that might be ascribed to insufficient sampling. The subject should be re-tested.
This test ranges from zero alcohol present to the legal driving limit and above. The legal limit at the current time in the UK is 80milligrams of alcohol per 100millitres of blood. This is marked as 0.08% on the packet.