A pregnancy test kit is a stress-free way to check if you are pregnant without going to the hospital. The result of this kit is precise. It is also very easy to use; you pee on a stick or dip the stick in your pee. Pregnancy kits are also not expensive, and you can always find them at the drug stores and grocery stores, so it is easy to get one and use them.
However, there are some interesting tales going round about the kit, such as pregnancy test kits can be reused.
Can you reuse a pregnancy test kit? Once used, a pregnancy test kit shouldn’t be reused because of its high sensitivity.
Pregnancy test kits that are used at home are designed to give accurate results so that pregnant women can prepare options and make the best decisions. Some women believe the pregnancy test kit can be reused. However, this at home kit is simple and effective equipment that is highly sensitive in doing what it is designed to do – detecting HCG, and because of its high sensitivity, it cannot be reused.
The kit contains an absorbent stick that works to catch the urine through the siphon. The testing begins at the siphon. Chemicals that reacts with the urine! The urine has HCG. Once the absorbent stick is filled with the urine, and the substances already react, then you can longer use the kit.
Can You Reuse A Digital Pregnancy Test Kit?
Some women also think it is okay to reuse a digital pregnancy test kit. No, you can’t. You cannot use nay pregnancy kit at all. The digital kit does not give a color indicator; it only shows a digital sign that you need to read. That’s the difference between it and the non-digital pregnancy test.
Both test kits use urine and detect HCG, but none can be reused.
Can A Positive Test Show Up If The Test Kit Is Reused?
In some real cases, women have taken pregnancy tests and got a negative result, but went ahead to reuse it because they weren’t convinced. The second time, they got a positive result. How did this happen?
These cases happen as a result of the condensation phenomenon. The chemicals present it the home pregnancy test kit can change because it can react to other factors in longer exposure time.
If you read the instructions in the test kit well, you will see that the manufacturer instructs you to check the result within five minutes.
So instead of getting a false pregnancy test result, spend a little and get yourself a new test kit to make sure you are getting the accurate result.
Myth About Pregnancy Test Kits
One myth that is going around on the internet is that you can reuse a pregnancy test kit once it is completely dried up because the test strip can reabsorb the urine. That’s a myth!
While the urine will indeed reabsorb through the strip and travel back just like it did when you took the first test, it will not give you an accurate result because, again, the chemicals have reacted, and they can no longer activate from the state they were in when you first used it- which was fresh.
How Home Pregnancy Tests Work
A woman’s body only starts to release HCG when a fertilized egg implants in her uterus. This happens about six days after conception in most women’s bodies. The levels of the HCG increase every day of the pregnancy, and it doubles approximately every two days.
Home pregnancy test kits can detect this hormone from one week after a missed period. Some tests are also able to detect HCG as early as the day after you missed your period, but most of them are not sensitive enough to give accurate results if taken too soon.
Is There Any Type Of Pregnancy Test Kit That Can Be Reused?
No, you cannot reuse any pregnancy test. They are use HCG strips, which can work only once.
Even if the test kit hasn’t been used and it comes in contact with the atmosphere, it gets spoiled, and you can’t use it.
When You Get A Positive Result From Reusing The Pregnancy Test
If this happens, then you have gotten a false positive pregnancy result. Whether you use it once or a hundred times, if you leave it to pass the result reading time, you will get a false pregnancy test result.
This happens because the chemicals now have urine attached. When they have urine attached, they can react to gases in that place to give false pregnancy test results.
Reusing a pregnancy test kit is not an option, and even if you do, the result you get is not accurate.
Why Causes A Used Pregnancy Test Kit Not Work For The Second Time?
A home pregnancy test kit wouldn’t give you a reliable answer because its work depends on the use of organic particles. A pregnancy test kit’s HCH strip has HCG antibodies. Once you open the test kit, these HCG detectors come in contact with the atmosphere. And start to react with the surroundings. The chemicals might react in a way that they would give colored compounds that will show as a positive pregnancy test result if the kit is used the second time.
When Is The Best Time To Take A Pregnancy Test At Home?
Whatever result you are hoping to get, whether negative or positive, taking the test as early as the first day after your missed period might seem best to you. However, taking the test too early may give you a negative result, even if you have a baby growing inside you.
The 90% – 99% accuracy claims are valid once you are further along in pregnancy, not in the first few days. So, it is recommended that you wait for a week after you have missed your period to take the test.
Is Morning The Best Time Of Day To Take A Pregnancy Test?
The time of the day you take your test at home does matter. Taking the test in the morning will more likely give you an accurate result, especially if your period is not late or only a few days late.
These test kits work by detecting the HCG in your urine. Your urine is more concentrated when you wake up in the morning, except you got up to pee often in the night. The amount of HCG in your urine is a bit higher in the morning, and if you are pregnant when you take the test at this time, you are more likely to get a positive result.
You can still take your pregnancy test in the middle of the day, however. You can even take the test at night. It is just that taking it at these times will more likely give you a false negative result, especially if your period isn’t a week late, or if you have been drinking a lot of water.
How To Use A Home Pregnancy Test
Instructions
You can perform the home pregnancy at any time of the day; however, as mentioned above, testing first-morning urine is the best.
- Urinate into a clean, dry bowl or cup.
- Remove the testing kit from its packaging and hold it at the colored end. (Be careful not to touch the arrow end and the test window or the middle part of the test strip)
- Hold the strip vertically and put its end with the arrows into the urine. Be careful not to immerse past the MAX line.
- Remove the strip from the urine when the sample has migrated to the test window (This will be done in 5 seconds).
- Place the test strip flat on a dry, clean, and non-absorbent surface such as a table with the MAX side facing up.
Reading your results
While you are waiting for your test result, you may see a colored solution moving across the test strip. The movement is normal. Wait for 5 minutes to get an accurate result. The test kit shouldn’t be left for more than 5 minutes. The exact color of the line that shows is not important.
1 Line = Negative (Not pregnant)
If you see only 1 colored line as the control line, that means your pregnancy test result is negative, and you are not pregnant.
2 Lines = Positive (Pregnant)
If 2 colored lines appear on the kit, one as the testing line and the other one as the control line that means your pregnancy test result is positive. If the result is positive and you can assume that you are carrying a baby. Even if the lines you see are very light in color, you may still be pregnant.
Invalid Results:
If you do not see the control line, then the pregnancy test is invalid. Invalid results may mean the test strip wasn’t appropriately saturated in the specimen. In this case, retake a pregnancy test and if you still get an invalid result, do another one the following day.
Each test strip is designed to be used once and shouldn’t be reused.
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