Hydrocodone is a fairly common prescription-only painkiller medicine, which is used for the treatment of chronic and severe pain. The severe pain is caused by cancer, arthritis, and other problems in patients, which damages their body parts. It is also used to treat cough when combined with Antihistamine & Chlorpheniramine. But do you know, how long does Hydrocodone stay in your system for blood, saliva, and urine tests?
Now, we are going to provide brief information about Hydrocodone medicine and how much time this medicine takes to stay in the patient’s body.
What Is Hydrocodone?
Hydrocodone is widely used to treat moderate to severe pain. People suffering from severe pain use this medicine for their treatment. The combination of hydrocodone with acetaminophen or ibuprofen consists of several medicines. These include Lortab, Lorcet, Norco, Oxycontin, Vicodin, Percocet, Percodan etc.
Properties of Hydrocodone Medicine
The physical properties of Hydrocodone medicine are as follows:
- It is soluble in chloroform, ethanol, ethyl acetate, water, and acetone but insoluble in ether.
- The melting and boiling points of this drug are 198 degrees Celsius and 506 degrees Celsius, respectively.
- It is a white crystalline medicine.
- Its refractive index is 1.633 and its density is 1.29 g/ml.
How Long Does Hydrocodone Drug Stay in a Patient’s Body After Taking Dose?
The dose of Hydrocodone medicine is taken orally by patients suffering from severe pain. It passes through the digestive system in the body. The dose will take 1 hour to provide relief from the symptoms of Hydrocodone medicine. It reaches its peak concentration in the bloodstream in up to 1.3 hours. This will take longer time to relieve pain in those people, who can build a tolerance to this drug.
When this problem occurs, consult with a doctor to increase the dose or replace it with other medicines. Do not take this medicine without consulting a doctor.
Half-life of Hydrocodone Drug
Half-life is the most common way to determine the duration of Hydrocodone medicine in the patient’s body. The half-life of the medicinal drug defines how much time it takes to get eliminated from the patient’s body.
The half-life of Hydrocodone medicine is 3.8 hours for healthy adults. This means that it can take 3.8 hours to eliminate the drug’s remaining effectiveness from the body in adults.
This estimates that the Hydrocodone drug stays in the body for at least 18 to 24 hours.
How Long Does Hydrocodone Stay For Blood, Urine, Saliva, & Hair?
The amount of time taken by Hydrocodone medicine for each drug test is different. These are as follows:
- Blood Test: After taking the last dose, the time taken to detect Hydrocodone medicine in the blood test is up to 8.8 hours.
- Urine Test: After the last dose is taken by the patient, the time taken for the detection of Hydrocodone medicine in the urine test is 2 to 4 days.
- Saliva Test: After the person takes the last dose of this drug, the time taken to detect the Hydrocodone medicine for the saliva test is 12 to 36 hours.
- Hair Test: After the last dose is consumed by the patient, the time taken to detect Hydrocodone medicine in the hair test is up to 90 days.
Factors Affecting the Time Taken by Hydrocodone Medicine in the Body
Several factors affect the time taken by Hydrocodone medicine to stay in the body. These are as follows:
- Kidney and liver health: The responsibility of the kidney and liver is to process and eliminate the hydrocodone medicine from the patient’s body. Hydrocodone medicine slowly gets eliminated from the body of patients suffering from kidney damage, liver damage, and other problems.
- Dosage: A healthcare provider prescribes Hydrocodone dosage to a patient based on their size and condition. Higher doses will take a longer time to get eliminated from the body.
- Age: Hydrocodone drug will process faster in the body of young patients. The organs of younger patients are stronger and healthier than in older patients.
- Frequency: The long use of Hydrocodone drug will take a longer time to completely get eliminated from the person’s body.
- Percentage of body fat: The excess amount of body fat takes a longer time for the elimination of drugs in the individual’s body.
- Drug Interactions: CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 are the two liver enzymes, which are mainly used for the processing of hydrocodone medicine. This leads to a shorter or longer period of this medicine to stay in the body.
Side Effects:
Hydrocodone medicine also causes side effects in people, when it is taken in high amounts. These are as follows:
- Back pain
- Drowsiness
- Dizziness
- Breathing and swallowing problems
- Stomach pain
- Dryness in mouth
- Tightness in muscle
- Tiredness
- Sleeping problems
- Sweating
- Joint pain
Conclusion
This blog describes the half-life of Hydrocodone medicine in the patient’s body. The duration of this drug lasts for 4 hours. This medicine is tested in four different body parts, which include saliva, hair, blood, and urine.
It also causes side effects in people. Avoid taking Hydrocodone medicine without a doctor’s prescription.