What if the pregnancy test paper shows that I have my period?

When people are not sure whether they are pregnant or not, the first thing they think of is to use an early pregnancy test. Going to the hospital may seem too troublesome, so they will be relieved if the test shows no pregnancy. Although the accuracy of early pregnancy test strips is very high, there are times when mistakes can occur. For example, sometimes the test clearly shows that you are pregnant, but your period comes a few days later. What's going on?

Professionals point out that if you want to check whether you are pregnant, simply using an early pregnancy test strip is not enough, because doing so will not give you the correct answer. Therefore, we don’t need to trust the test results of the early pregnancy test strip too much, as it does not mean 100% that you are pregnant.

So, does a weak positive result on the early pregnancy test mean pregnancy? What are the main factors that affect the accuracy of the early pregnancy test?

Experts from the Gynecological Hospital said that the early pregnancy test strips measure the level of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in urine. Only when the HCG level reaches a certain diagnostic standard will the early pregnancy test strips show a positive result.

1. If the time is too early, the early pregnancy test paper will be inaccurate

HCG usually appears in the 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. For women with long menstrual cycles or abnormal ovulation, HCG can only be detected 40-44 days after the menstruation stops.

2. Doing the test in the morning and evening may have an impact

This is why the instructions for many early pregnancy test strips recommend testing in the morning, because the HCG value is generally the highest in morning urine and the test results will be relatively accurate.

3. A positive result does not necessarily mean a normal pregnancy

If a woman has an ectopic pregnancy, there is a 60% positive rate in the pregnancy test, so a positive result alone cannot reveal whether it is a normal intrauterine pregnancy or an ectopic pregnancy. It is extremely unsafe for a woman to have a medical abortion based on a positive result on an early pregnancy test.

4. A positive pregnancy test does not necessarily mean conception

Many women with pituitary disease, hyperthyroidism, ovarian cysts, endometrial hyperplasia, and uterine cancer will also test positive when using early pregnancy tests. There are also a small number of menopausal women in the early stages of menopause or gynecological patients undergoing treatment who may experience false positives due to endocrine disorders or medication.

5. The degree of urine dilution is related

If women drink too much water before the test, their urine will be diluted, which may lead to a false negative result. Also, if they do not pay attention to the length of the test paper immersed in urine during the test, the test result will be difficult to judge.