6 ways to make early pregnancy test strips more accurate

Once a woman becomes pregnant, she can use an early pregnancy test to quickly detect a specific hormone in her urine - human chorionic gonadotropin - to determine whether she is pregnant or not. If the test result is negative, it means you are not pregnant; if it is positive, it means you are pregnant. This test has the advantages of being fast, convenient, sensitive, and highly specific, but it should not be taken lightly, because when using early pregnancy test strips for self-testing, if you do not pay attention to some unexpected situations, false negatives or false positives may occur.

How to improve the accuracy of early pregnancy test strips?

① Pay attention to the production date on the packaging box and do not use expired pregnancy test strips, because chemical agents will become ineffective over time or if stored improperly.

② Read the instructions carefully before doing the self-test, and then follow the instructions carefully.

③ If you do an early pregnancy self-test at night, the accuracy will be affected to some extent, while using morning urine will produce more accurate results.

④ Many early pregnancy test strips indicate that women can do early pregnancy self-tests 1 to 2 days after missing their normal menstrual period. If the self-test result is negative and menstruation has not occurred after 1 week, you should do another self-test.

⑤ If the pregnancy has just begun, or there is an ectopic pregnancy, the urine to be tested needs to be left to stand for more than 3 minutes (generally only 1 minute is needed), and carefully identify whether there is a weak positive, that is, the color of the test area is lighter than the color of the control area or only appears faintly.

⑥ Pay attention to positive self-test results caused by non-pregnancy factors, such as blood in the urine, endometrial hyperplasia, ovarian tumors, recent pregnancy, missed abortion or incomplete abortion, etc.

It should be noted that using early pregnancy test strips for self-testing can only be used as a preliminary test and must not be regarded as the final test result. Going to the hospital for a comprehensive and specific examination is the most reliable and reassuring.

When is the earliest time to use a pregnancy test?

The working principle of self-testing pregnancy using early pregnancy test strips is to detect the HCG value, that is, the value of human chorionic gonadotropin. This hormone is produced by the placenta and begins to be secreted 10-14 days after conception. After secretion, it first appears in the blood and then appears in the urine through the circulatory system. However, due to the small amount, it is difficult to test it at the beginning. It only becomes increasingly obvious after 1-2.5 weeks of pregnancy. Neither too early nor too late will have good results.

1. Morning urine testing is more accurate for women who have just become pregnant. But for women who have been pregnant for some time, urine from any time of the day can be used for testing.

2. It usually takes about 7 days for the fertilized egg to implant, which means that you can test whether you are pregnant on the day of pregnancy (equivalent to 7 days after having sex).

3. It can be used 7 days after the menstrual cycle is delayed or 10 to 14 days after having sex, or as early as 33 days after menopause. If the early pregnancy test cannot determine whether you are pregnant, you can do another test around 37 days after menopause.

How long does it take for an early pregnancy test to show results?

1. The working principle of self-testing pregnancy using early pregnancy test strips is to detect the HCG value, that is, the value of human chorionic gonadotropin. This hormone is produced by the placenta and usually appears in the urine a few days after pregnancy. However, due to the small amount, it is difficult to test it at the beginning and it only becomes increasingly obvious after 10-14 days. Neither too early nor too late will have good results.

2. For women who have just become pregnant, it is generally recommended to use the first urine test in the morning, as the results are more accurate. But for women who have been pregnant for some time, urine from any time of the day can be used for testing.

3. It usually takes about 7 days from intercourse to pregnancy, which means that pregnancy can be tested on the day of pregnancy (equivalent to 7 days after intercourse).

Are early pregnancy tests accurate?

Are early pregnancy tests accurate? According to experts, the correct testing rate of early pregnancy tests varies greatly, ranging from 50% to 98%. The main factors affecting the accuracy of the test paper are as follows:

1. Performing the test in the morning or evening may have a certain impact on the results. The highest HCG value is generally found in morning urine, so many instructions recommend testing in the morning, but this is not absolute.

2. Detection time: HCG usually appears in urine a few days after the fertilized egg implants, and it must reach a certain amount to be detected. Therefore, for women with normal menstruation, HCG can only be detected in the urine after the menstruation is delayed. Women with long menstrual cycles or abnormal ovulation can only be detected when the menstruation is amenorrhea for 40-44 days.

3. Dilution of urine: Drinking too much water may dilute the urine and may lead to false negative results.

4. When testing, pay attention to the length of the test paper immersed in urine. Sometimes the length of urine that covers the test strip is too long, making the test result difficult to interpret.

It should be noted that positive reactions may also occur in pathological conditions, such as ectopic pregnancy, hydatidiform mole or choriocarcinoma. Therefore, after the early pregnancy test paper tests positive, you should go to the hospital for confirmation.