How to Use Pregnancy Test Kit
Taking a pregnancy test is a big step for women who suspect that they may be pregnant. The woman can take a blood test at the doctor’s office to check for pregnancy.
This method of pregnancy test provides a more accurate result. Still, the Human Chronic Gonadotropin or hCG test kit is easier and quicker to use, but it is private and convenient as well, as long as you take the test the right way.
The pregnancy test kit checks your urine for Human Chronic Gonadotropin. This is the hormone the body makes after a fertilized egg attaches to the uterus wall, usually six days after fertilization.
The hCG levels are known to rise quickly and double within two to three days.
How to Take the Test
Using the pregnancy test kit is not difficult at all. Below are three different ways you can test for pregnancy using the equipment;
- You can take the pregnancy test by holding the stick in your urine stream
- Collecting the urine into a cup and dipping the test stick into it
- Collecting the urine in a cup and use a dropper to put it unto the stick
How to read the results on the test stick
The first and second methods seem pretty unsanitary, but they can work to produce an accurate result. The test stick comes with a small hole on the left hand labeled S, meaning sample.
This is where your urine sample has to go. There is a C and T on the right side, meaning the control window and test window. The results are visible within five to ten minutes when you take the test. A deep red line appearing on the C or control window means you are not pregnant.
A red line appearing on both C and T, no matter how faint, means you are pregnant. A red line appearing on only T or no lines appearing means you are not pregnant. A line appearing on either one of C or T indicates that you are not pregnant; however, if two lines appear on the stick, you are pregnant, and you should call your doctor and take further action regarding your pregnancy. That is if you will be keeping it. If you are not keeping it, you will still need to call your doctor. It is important.
Apart from the visible lines, the results may show a ‘+’ or ‘-‘sign. A plus sign to show you are pregnant and a negative sign to show you are not. Digital tests show the words ‘pregnant’ and ‘not pregnant.’
How can you get an accurate test result?
Your test results can only be accurate if you closely and carefully follow the instructions that have been given on the test kit. It can also depend on how soon you take the test after suspecting you may be pregnant.
A woman can spot an hCG before you miss a period, but the results are more accurate if you wait until you miss your period, advisably, the first day of a missed period. You are also advised to take the test first thing in the morning when urine is more concentrated.
An accurate test result can also depend on the sensitivity of the pregnancy, which is why it is crucial to pick an unexpired and good test kit from the pharmacy. No prescription is needed. You can take the test conveniently at home, school, or even at the office. Discreet and easy.
You can get a fake positive or negative result when you are pregnant. Here is why;
You can easily get a fake positive result on your pregnancy test if there is protein, tranquilizer, hypnotic or anticonvulsant in your urine or blood, but these are rare cases.
You can be pregnant, but the test result will say otherwise. This is because you probably took the test the wrong way, the kit expired, took the test too soon, or drank too much fluid right before you took the test, diluting your urine.
Hence it is important to watch out for these things to get an accurate result on your pregnancy test. Take the test again a week to be sure.
You can get a good test kit to buy at any pharmacy nearby.
Have no access to a pregnancy test kit? Time to play Einstein
There are a few traditional plus scientific ways to know if you are pregnant. This is the time for all the physics and chemistry lessons you had in school to pay off. There is the baking soda pregnancy test.
You need to fetch one tablespoon of baking soda into a cup, pour about two tablespoons of your urine sample on it, and wait for ten minutes for a reaction. A positive pregnancy will turn the solution into blue or foam, but if it is negative, the mixture will gather no reaction.
There is also the toothpaste pregnancy test. Where you place a lump of toothpaste and two tablespoons of your urine sample on top of it, the mixture will foam or turn blue if you are pregnant. If you are not, the toothpaste will gather no reaction at all.
It is important to know that you should do this test early in the morning when your urine is concentrated, and the results are more accurate then.
Takeaway
Take the brave step to test for pregnancy today. The earlier you know, the better. Some of these results even allow the doctors to know if there might be something wrong with you and the baby.
You can make a good decision when you know you are pregnant. If you decide to terminate it, doctors will tell you when it is safe, among other things. The test kit is inexpensive, easy, convenient, and accurate.