The human body is an all-sufficient engine. Everything we take in comes out as a waste product in a self-cleansing process. Whether it is food or water, the body uses the necessary nutrients and in the right amounts, and it excretes the wastes. The same applies to medicine and drugs.
The amount of time that drugs take to leave altogether the body differs from one person to the other. Depending on the type of drug used, its effects may last longer after a person stops its use. But some more factors influence the rate at which a drug can get off the body when used. The surest way to confirm that you are free from drugs is through drug testing.
These are five of the most critical factors determining the duration that drugs take before ceasing from the human system.
1. The Type of Drug
There are way too many drugs out there. The classification of drugs is mainly according to their effects on the human body. They all fall under various categories like depressants, narcotics, and stimulants. Based on their chemical composition, you can classify drugs as alcohol, cannabinoids, opioids, or many drug types.
Because of the varied chemical composition in various drugs, their effects on the body also vary. This also means that drugs stay in the body for long or short according to what they contain and how they dissolve in body fluids. For instance, a person using liquor gets over the drug faster than the one who uses heroin. Also, THC takes longer to leave the body because it is lipid-soluble.
2. The Amount and Duration of Drug Use
A person who uses any drug once will have it out of the system in a short time compared to the one who is a frequent user. The more you use the drug, the more it gets into your system. More amounts of any substance will require more time to come out of the body ultimately. Everything has to undergo metabolism before the body decides which compounds need to come out and what to retain.
The same case applies to the length of time a person has been on drugs. Due to the same process, drugs can accumulate in the body when taken for a long time. A person who started smoking two years back will have a higher nicotine concentration in their system than the one who started a few weeks ago. This account assumes that they use the same amount of tobacco per day.
3. Mode of Administration
There are many ways through which drugs can get into the body. Alcohol, for instance, is majorly used through oral consumption. Inhaling, smoking, injections, and edibles are other forms that people use to get various substances into their bodies. Some of the methods may induce immediate effects, while others take longer. The same applies to the time the drugs take to leave the body altogether.
Inhaling and smoking substances go directly to the system through the lungs, which absorb the chemical while exchanging oxygen into the blood. The chemicals thus reach the brain faster and dictate what the body experiences. In the same way, the breakdown of the chemicals takes place faster since it is already in the bloodstream.
Chemicals consumed through ingestion take longer because they undergo the digestive tract before they get into the blood. Their chemical and physical formation also make the larger molecules slow to break down. Consequently, the process takes longer. This phenomenon explains why people who consume cannabis via edibles take longer to test free from the drug when compared to those who smoke it.
4. User Age
We understand that the age of an individual so much affects the processes going on in their bodies. Metabolism is one of the things that change with age. Immunity and tolerance also depend on one’s age. That explains why the doctors prescribe different amounts of medicine for their patients according to their ages.
The youth are typically active and their systems work faster. With an improved metabolism rate, it is easier for them to do away with drug presence and effects from their systems as opposed to the elderly who experience slow metabolism.
5. Nutrition
What you eat and when you eat are very critical for the proper functioning of your body. You need various nutrients to enhance various processes. Metabolism affects drug presence but also requires a sufficient supply of nutrients. Various vitamins and energy are necessary for complete the breakdown of compounds for easier absorption and expulsion.
It is beneficial to include all the necessary nutrients in the food, like carbs, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. The time of eating also affects the breakdown of drugs. Eating at the appropriate time helps the body to fuel up and carry necessary processes when you are working, resting, or sleeping. Starving the body will cause the body to fail to complete the necessary breakdown and render it susceptible to drug concentration for a long time.
In Summary
All types of drugs, including medicine and hard drugs, take some time to get into the bloodstream. They also need more time to leave the body. You cannot tell the exact time it takes for drugs to leave the system, but when the conditions are right, they will get over much quicker.
