Alcohol/Ethanol- Urine

Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to various medical problems, including liver disease, cardiovascular problems, depression and anxiety. Consumption of alcohol may also lead to alcohol dependence and affected individuals may find it hard to withdraw from the substance.

Alcohol abuse causes liver and cardiovascular disease, cancer and nervous system damage as well as psychiatric problems such as depression, anxiety and antisocial personality disorder.

With the consumption of alcohol, you also consume ethanol, the intoxicating ingredient used in beer, wine and other liquors.

You cannot feel the impact of alcohol or ethanol on your health right away. The short-term effects may include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, changes in mood, lack of coordination, among others.

Long-term effects of excessive alcohol consumption will include:

• Persistent mood swings
• Behavioural issues such as anxiety and irritability
• Insomnia and other sleep disorders
• Weakened immune system
• Alterations in libido and sexual function
• Changes in appetite and weight
• Difficulty focusing on tasks and concentration

If you visit your doctor with these symptoms, your doctor will check the alcohol level in your body. For this, he would give an Alcohol/Ethanol Urine Test.

You should visit a reputable clinic for the test. Fortunately, Apollo 24|7 offers Alcohol/Ethanol Urine Test.

This test detects the presence of Ethyl Glucuronide (EtG) and Ethyl Sulphate (EtS) in urine. The primary purpose of this test is to document required alcohol abstinence. The doctor may prescribe additional tests, such as a complete blood count (CBC), glucose, and electrolyte measurement.

EtG, or ethyl glucuronide, attaches itself to different toxins and drugs in the body and is excreted in the urine. It is a by-product of ethanol and glucuronide, a common biological compound produced in the liver. EtG is formed when an individual drinks alcohol, even in small amounts, and traces of it can be found in the urine.

Doctors prefer the detection of EtG and EtS in a urine sample rather than a blood sample because EtG can be detected in the urine longer than alcohol found in the blood. After a heavy drink, EtG will be present in the body for more than 40 hours.

In programs where drinking is prohibited, an EtG test is used often. These could include:

• Programs for alcohol treatment
• Court cases
• Patients undergoing liver transplantation
• Probationary periods
• Educational institutes

Drinking plenty of water and other fluids can eliminate EtG from the body over time. The fluids help to flush it out when you urinate. Since drinking water helps flush EtG out of your system, individuals often try to manipulate test reports with this method. But it is not effective in manipulating drug test results.

For the Alcohol/Ethanol Urine Test, urine samples are collected in sterile plastic containers. Sometimes a single urine sample is collected, and other times two separate samples are collected, with the first discarded and the second collected after a predetermined time. The sample is sent to the laboratory for analysis.