Medications That Can Impact on Your DWI Breathalyzer Test

Asthma Medicines Can Impact a DUI Breath Test Scientists have shown that Albuterol, Salmeterol, and Budesonide can all cause a breathalyzer test to register alcohol use.

Here are four reasons breathalyzer tests may issue a false positive:

• You took the test too quickly after drinking. Breathalyzer tests measure the concentration of alcohol in your bloodstream.
• Officers did not calibrate the test correctly.
• You ate certain foods.
• You have certain medical conditions.

• Asthma medications.
• Over-the-counter medications.
• Oral gels.
• Mouthwashes and breath sprays.

A common interferent is lactic acid which can enter the blood due to muscle or organ injury or from fluids introduced via IV. Thus, high levels of lactic acid can cause a falsely elevated ethanol result.

Even breathing into the breathalyzer equipment with short breaths can produce inaccurate readings, leading to you unjustly being charged with a DUI.

Frequent use of alcohol-containing hand sanitizer won’t get you drunk, but it may lead you to test positive in a urine test for alcohol consumption, according to a recent study.

The ethyl glucuronide (EtG) test is widely used to detect the presence in the urine of ethyl glucuronide, a breakdown product of ethanol, the intoxicating agent in alcohol. It can also screen for EtG in your blood, hair, and nails, but the urine test is the most widely used.

Most drug tests detect alcohol for between two and 24 hours. Hair tests can detect alcohol for up to 90 days.