An express test is the fastest and most accurate method for diagnosing pregnancy in the early and very early stages. The principle of its operation is based on a method for highly accurate determination of the pregnancy hormone - hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin).
HCG begins to be produced by the tissues of the chorion (precursor of the placenta) from the moment the embryo implants into the wall of the uterus. Typically, implantation is performed 5-7 days after conception, and the better the patency of the fallopian tubes, the faster this process occurs.
How the pregnancy test works
Starting from the moment of fetal implantation, human chorionic gonadotropin levels increase rapidly. During the first 14 days, starting from the moment of implantation, its concentration doubles. In some places, from the 10th day after conception, the level of hCG in a woman’s blood becomes sufficient to determine the presence of pregnancy using a regular and compact rapid test, without even using the services of a laboratory. Upon contact with human chorionic gonadotropin, a dye begins to be released from the absorbent part of the test, which colors the second strip on the diagnostic field. The 1st lane is the control and is colored under the influence of liquid. The brightness of the test strip can be different, it directly depends on the concentration of the pregnancy hormone in the urine, in other words, in the very early stages it can be barely noticeable, but in the future it will become brighter.
Woman's well-being
Signs of early pregnancy are individual and depend on physiological characteristics. Moreover, even for one woman they can differ during different pregnancies. A week after possible conception, a woman may experience fatigue, malaise, drowsiness, a slight heightened sense of smell, or an increased urge to urinate. Sometimes small spotting occurs - the so-called implantation bleeding, which occurs when a fertilized egg attaches to the wall of the uterus. It must be remembered that all these signs are very subjective and should not be relied on.
Types of express tests
- test strip (strip test) - the most affordable;
- jet test (midstream test) - the most convenient to use;
- tablet (or cassette) test is the most accurate;
- The digital electronic test is the most high-tech, involves multiple use and allows you to detect not only the presence of pregnancy, but also its exact duration (up to 3 weeks).
All these types of tests provide the highest percentage of reliability. To minimize the risk of error, you should use test systems from trusted manufacturers.
The gradation of rapid tests for determining pregnancy depends on the sensitivity of the reagent used. Highly sensitive tests (from 10 mIU/l) - allow you to detect pregnancy even before a missed period. Tests with normal sensitivity (from 25 mIU/l) are used from the first days of a delayed menstrual cycle. The only drawback of high-quality test systems with the highest sensitivity is their relatively high cost.
Frautest Express Ultra sensitive
This pregnancy test is very sensitive, so it can be used even before your missed period. The result is within 3-5 minutes after removal from the container with urine. Among the disadvantages of the Frautest Express test is the need to find the right container for collecting urine, so it is convenient to do it only at home. The undoubted advantages are 99% reliability of the result, high sensitivity to hCG and an affordable price.
Frautest Express Ultra sensitive
FRAUTEST Express - Test strip for determining pregnancy.
It is a paper strip impregnated with a reagent (labeled antibodies to hCG) on a plastic substrate, which is immersed in a container with the urine being tested. 5.0 1 review
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Diagnosis of pregnancy using tests
Before considering the principles of proper use of test systems of all types, you must carefully read the instructions for use in order to minimize the possibility of an incorrect result.
- General rules of use
- Storing the dough under the conditions indicated on the packaging.
- Integrity of the dough package.
- Test reuse is not permitted.
- Diagnosis of pregnancy using fresh morning urine.
- The use of expired test systems is prohibited.
- Strict adherence to the time spent in urine and evaluation of test results.
Test strip - To use this test system, you will need a urine collection container. Next, you should lower the strip into freshly collected urine to the indicated level, and place it on a clean and dry horizontal surface. The waiting time for the result is a couple of minutes, usually less than 10. Typically, this type of pregnancy diagnosis is most often used at home.
Jet test - its design implies use in any conditions. To accurately determine pregnancy, it will be enough to place the end of the test indicated in the instructions under a stream of urine. You can evaluate the result of this express test quite quickly - in 1-5 minutes. These tests are considered more accurate than test strips.
Cassette Test - Testing with this system involves placing a precisely designated amount of urine into the test window on the plastic case of the test cassette. In addition, like the test strip, it implies home implementation.
Digital electronic test is a highly accurate (more than 99%) modern test system equipped with a dual highly intelligent sensor. The method of use is similar to the jet test, but has its own characteristics - it should be held under a stream of urine for approximately 5 seconds. In addition, you can use the principle of using a test strip using a urine container, for this purpose the test is placed in liquid for 20 seconds. The uniqueness of the digital test is that it allows, in addition to the presence of pregnancy, to determine its exact duration (1-2 weeks, two to three weeks and 3+ weeks). Another pleasant highlight is the ability to diagnose pregnancy from 4 days before the expected menstruation. The accuracy of the result at this very early date is approximately 65%, it increases every day and reaches over 99% by the first day of the delay. When reusing, you need to change the replacement strip with the reagent (they are sold complete with the digital test).
Premium Diagnostics
This inkjet pregnancy test is highly accurate (up to 99%) if performed from the first day of your missed period. You don't need a container to catch urine, so this is a great option for outdoor use. The Premium Diagnostics test has a special control window: if the test is done correctly, a red stripe will appear in it (regardless of whether the result is positive or negative). In our opinion, this is an excellent test: high sensitivity plus no connection to home conditions. What else is needed.
Premium Diagnostics
Premium Diagnostics, Germany
Pregnancy test for the diagnosis and determination of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in urine.
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Positive result in the absence of pregnancy
Even if a woman is not pregnant, rapid tests can show a positive result from time to time. This happens in the following cases:
- Some time after artificial termination of pregnancy or spontaneous abortion;
- the period after elimination of a tubal (ectopic) pregnancy;
- chorionepithelioma (tumor that produces hCG);
- hydatidiform mole (proliferation of placental villi in the absence of an embryo);
- when taking hormonal drugs that contain hCG (more than 10 days must pass after taking the last dose).
False negative result
False positives are somewhat more common. His reasons:
- application earlier than the time indicated in the annotation;
- consumption of excess water, diuretics, which reduces the concentration of human chorionic gonadotropin in the blood and urine;
- threat of pregnancy failure;
- frozen or ectopic pregnancy;
- some diseases (in particular pathologies of the urinary system);
- a damaged test or non-compliance with the standards for its storage and use.
- Individual characteristics of pregnancy tests in women with different menstrual cycle lengths
With a constant cycle, ovulation occurs exactly in the middle of the cycle. It is worth adding 5-7 days to this time, and the resulting result will reflect the period from which you can start using highly accurate methods of home rapid tests. If the cycle is irregular, then you need to determine the date of ovulation. It can be determined in several ways:
- using an ovulation test;
- assessment of the basal temperature chart;
- monitoring the discharge (during ovulation, the mucous discharge becomes similar in mixture to egg white).
What happens after fertilization
To understand how advisable it is to carry out a pregnancy test before the onset of menstruation, let’s take a closer look at what happens in the female genital organs after fertilization.
- The immutable truth is that in order to get pregnant, ovulation is necessary. A mature egg, ready for fertilization, lives for a maximum of 72 hours. During this time, she needs to meet the sperm.
- Conception is possible before and after ovulation. The fact is that sperm are quite tenacious, their activity lasts up to 120 hours. This means that male cells may well wait for female ones even after ovulation ends.
- As soon as one of the sperm breaks through the membrane of the oocyte and penetrates the cell to fertilize it, other male cells can no longer get there and die.
- When male and female cells merge, a new cell is formed - a zygote. She already has her own set of DNA, consisting of 46 chromosomes. From the very early stages, DNA contains information about the future person: will it be a boy or a girl, appearance, tendency to be overweight, abilities, talents, level of intelligence.
- The formation of the zygote continues for approximately 12 hours. Next, the new cell begins to slowly move into the uterine cavity, pushed by the villi in the fallopian tube.
- After three days, the cell, which has undergone some changes along the way, finds itself inside the uterus and floats there for another couple of days. Somewhere on the 7th or 8th day of its journey, the cell is finally determined by its location and attaches to the endometriotic layer. Pregnancy begins.
- Implantation of a young cell into the endometrium lasts about 2 days. Now, the unborn baby is connected to the blood vessels of his mother and begins to receive nutrition from her body.
And in the female body, the chorionic villi actively secrete a hormone - human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG. Thanks to this hormone, the ovaries continue to produce progesterone, which supports the pregnancy and prevents the mother’s body from rejecting the fetus as a foreign body.
For reference! There is a myth that the female cycle lasts 28 weeks. This is not entirely true: a cycle of 4 weeks is the exception rather than the rule. For the vast majority of women of reproductive age, it is either longer or shorter: 24–36 days.
If conception does not occur, then the corpus luteum, which produces progesterone, dies. Hormone production decreases significantly and menstruation begins. If pregnancy has started successfully, hormone levels remain high.
Additional Methods
In addition to rapid tests, there are other ways to diagnose pregnancy. A blood test for beta-hCG will help assess the correct course of pregnancy in the early stages. This type of analysis allows you to find the exact amount of the hormone in the patient’s blood and track the dynamics of its growth. A very slow increase in hCG indicates difficulties associated with the pathology of embryo development, and a very rapid increase indicates the likelihood of a multiple pregnancy. This is the most accurate way to determine pregnancy; it can be used to confirm the result of the test, which gives the highest, but still not one hundred percent, guarantee. And also, a blood test for beta-hCG will allow you to detect pregnancy at an extremely early stage, which is especially important when conceiving using IVF.
If the pregnancy test is positive, an urgent consultation with an obstetrician-gynecologist is required. Proper support of pregnancy from the first weeks is the key to the birth of a healthy baby. An express test is the fastest and most accurate method for diagnosing pregnancy in the early and very early stages. But if you do not want pregnancy, it is best to use modern methods of contraception.
