How to test whether you are pregnant? How to use early pregnancy test strips?

If you feel you are pregnant but are not sure, what methods can you use to confirm it? Early pregnancy test strips are a very convenient choice, so how to use early pregnancy test strips? What is the reason why early pregnancy test strips cannot detect it?

What to use to test pregnancy after conception

How long does it take to detect early pregnancy? The pregnancy test depends on what tool you choose.

Generally speaking, there are home tests and hospital tests. Hospital tests can get results earlier and more accurately. Home tests generally use early pregnancy test strips. Here are some common methods for testing pregnancy!

The first one is the early pregnancy test paper to test pregnancy

Using early pregnancy test paper, the earliest test can be detected after sex 7 days, usually 18 days, and a few need more than 20 days to detect. 7 to 10 days after menstruation is to make the test result more accurate. The best time to test is 18 days after sex, or 7 to 10 days after the next menstruation.

The second method is the basal body temperature test method

Use the basal body temperature measurement method to measure the body temperature in bed after waking up every morning. The body temperature at this time is called the basal body temperature. Generally, the body temperature before ovulation is below 36.5 degrees. After ovulation, progesterone rises and acts on the body temperature center, causing the body temperature to rise by 0.3-0.5 degrees. If the egg is not fertilized, the progesterone level will drop after about a week and the body temperature will return to normal; if pregnancy has occurred, the progesterone level will remain high, so the body temperature will also remain high. If the high temperature curve phenomenon in the basal body temperature lasts for more than 18 days, it can generally be confirmed that the pregnancy is in the early stage.

The third type is a blood or urine HCG test

It can diagnose whether an unexpected pregnancy is the earliest. When the fertilized egg is implanted in the uterus, a new hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin is produced in the pregnant woman's body, which helps to maintain the pregnancy. This hormone can be detected in urine about 10 days after conception. The early pregnancy blood test tests the amount of human chorionic gonadotropin in your blood, not urine. The blood test can detect very small amounts of the hormone, so it can detect pregnancy earlier than a urine test (usually about 6 to 8 days after ovulation).

How to use early pregnancy test paper

Some early pregnancy test strips have instructions like this: "Urine at one end of the self-test card, with the absorbent tip facing downwards, and the display window should not face the body to avoid splashing urine on it." Some early pregnancy test strips instruct users to "hold the urine burette and drop 3 drops of urine 3 cm above the urine dish at the bottom of the test strip." If you read the details of these instructions carefully several times and think them over, there may be no problem. However, for a woman who is nervous and panicked because of fear of pregnancy, mistakes are inevitable because she cannot calmly and patiently follow the instructions. Moreover, the test results are also confusing. Whether it is the color reaction or the line reaction, it is difficult to explain.

In addition, there are other obstacles to obtaining accurate test results. Like professional medical tests, pregnancy self-tests work by detecting HCG values, that is, human chorionic gonadotropin values. This hormone is produced by the placenta and generally appears in the urine a few days after pregnancy, but because of the small amount, it is not easy to test it at the beginning, and it will not become increasingly obvious until 10 to 14 days. (HCG values ​​can also be measured through blood tests, and they are much more accurate). Although many early pregnancy test strips indicate that women can do pregnancy self-tests after missing a normal period for one day, in fact, not all pregnant women emit HCG hormones at the same speed and amount. This varies from person to person. "If you do a urine test too early, the negative reaction presented may be wrong." Obstetricians and gynecologists say so. Therefore, it is best to do a pregnancy self-test two weeks after the menstrual period is late, so that the results will be more reliable.

If you do a pregnancy test at night, the accuracy will be affected to some extent. This is because the urine in the morning usually has the highest HCG value. Many early pregnancy test strips do not indicate the best time of the day to test. Generally speaking, the first urine excreted in the morning will give the most accurate results. Although a positive result is not as misdiagnosed as a negative result, there are many non-pregnancy factors that can cause a positive test result: such as blood in the urine, recent pregnancy (HCG hormone can be found in miscarriage, artificial abortion or 8 weeks after childbirth), ovarian tumors and other diseases, or taking some fertility drugs.

Why can't the early pregnancy test detect

Some women feel like they are pregnant, but when they use early pregnancy test strips, nothing happens. This may be due to the following reasons.

1. Testing too early

HCG usually appears in urine soon after conception, but its concentration must reach a certain level before it can be detected by early pregnancy test strips. Generally speaking, HCG concentration is highest about 10-15 days after intercourse. If the test is conducted too early, it is likely that it will not be detected.

2. Urine is diluted

If you drink too much water, your urine will be diluted and the concentration of HCG will decrease, which may lead to false negative results and affect the accuracy of the test.

3. Morning urine is useless for testing

The HCG content is generally highest in morning urine, but it is greatly reduced at night. Therefore, the instructions of early pregnancy test strips usually indicate that it is recommended that the tester do the test when getting up in the morning, which can improve the credibility of the test.

4. Urine sample submerges the marking line

If the urine sample submerges the marked line on the pregnancy test card during the test, the test result may be difficult to read. It is recommended to observe the marked line and control the amount of urine.

5. Some special cases

If the person being tested is pregnant recently, or has some tumor diseases, the test results will also be affected. This is because for a long time after termination of pregnancy (including after miscarriage or childbirth), or the presence of some tumor cells, the HCG value will be very high, resulting in a false positive test result.

6. Use expired, damaged, deteriorated, or damp pregnancy test strips

Because early pregnancy test strips are chemical reagents and have a certain shelf life, if they are expired or damaged, they will lose their detection value.

Finally, we need to remind everyone that although it is very convenient to use early pregnancy test strips, you should pay attention to not blindly trust the test results of early pregnancy test strips. Early pregnancy test strips are not 100% accurate. In addition, differences in operation methods and timing may make the test results inaccurate. Therefore, if you want to know whether you are pregnant, you should go to a regular hospital for professional HCG urine test, blood test or B-ultrasound test to accurately determine whether you are pregnant. And if you are really pregnant, a regular examination is also essential for the health of the expectant mother and the fetus.