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An electronic pregnancy test is a modern express testing system that allows you to determine pregnancy at home. These are innovative devices of a new generation with high sensitivity. Compared to strip tests, electronic tests reduce the risk of getting an erroneous result to a minimum.
How electronic pregnancy tests work
The electronic test reacts to the chorionic hormone hCG, which begins to be produced in the woman’s body immediately after the embryo is attached to the uterine wall. This hormone is present in significant amounts in the blood, but for its detection it is necessary to conduct an appropriate study in the laboratory.
Scientists have found that hCG is also present in the urine. This is what is used for testing. This is possible due to the fact that electronic tests are highly sensitive to the hormone and can detect it at a concentration of 25 mUI hCG. Some manufacturers indicate that their tests are able to detect chorionic hormone in the urine, even if its concentration is 10 mUI hCG.
After urine gets inside the test, its electronic display is activated. After 3-5 minutes, the result appears on it. Depending on the specific device, it will be indicated by words or signs “plus” and “minus”.
Some test systems are capable of not only detecting hCG, but also independently determining its amount. Due to this, it becomes possible to set the gestational age with an accuracy of 1-2 weeks. After all, already 2 weeks after conception, the level of hCG reaches 25 mIU / ml and gradually its concentration increases. However, to obtain the most reliable result, the test must be performed following certain rules.
General rules
Although the reliability of electronic tests remains high, the risk of error if the procedure is performed incorrectly remains.
It can be reduced to a minimum if the following conditions are met:
It is best to purchase tests in pharmacies. The choice must be stopped on the device, which is produced by a trusted manufacturer.
The packaging in which the device is located must not be damaged.
If the test is indicated as a one-time test, it cannot be reused.
The study is best done in the morning, using the first portion of urine.
It is good if there is an opportunity to wash before testing.
When the test is carried out by immersing it in a container with urine, you need to take care of the cleanliness of the container in advance.
Each package with the test must have instructions for its use. Before proceeding with the procedure, it is necessary to carefully read the proposed text.
Rules of the procedure
Using the electronic test is easy and no special skills are required from a woman.
The basic steps for operating the instrument are as follows:
It is necessary to remove the test from the package, and release its tip from the protective cap.
The test is substituted under a stream of urine, or lowered into a container with freshly collected urine. The average exposure time of the test is 5 seconds.
The test is removed from the urine, put on a cap on the tip and placed on any flat, horizontal and dry surface. If there is nowhere to put the test, then you need to hold it in your hands, pointing the tip down.
After the time specified in the instructions (about 3 minutes), you need to evaluate the result. It will be written in words or mathematical signs “+” or “-“.
If the test involves determining the duration of pregnancy, then they will be indicated on the display in weeks. Although the rules for operating the device are intuitive, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the available instructions.
Pros
The undoubted advantage of an electronic device is its high sensitivity. The test allows you to determine the level of hCG in the urine, even when there is a very small amount of it. Therefore, diagnosis can be carried out even 4 days before the onset of menstruation. It should be noted that this option is not available for conventional test strips. All of them are able to give a result only on the first day of a delay in menstruation.
Some electronic tests allow you to get information not only about the presence of pregnancy, but also about its duration. Moreover, if pregnancy has not occurred, the test is able to give out the date that is most favorable for conception in the future.
The result displayed on the display is unambiguous: it is clearly written, all signs and letters will be bright. Moreover, the display will remain active for several more hours. This is very important, because often weak, barely visible lines appear on standard test strips, and after 10 minutes the result may completely change.
It is convenient that you can purchase not only a one-time, but also a reusable electronic test. Such devices come with several replaceable cartridges. This will allow you to clarify the result, and, if necessary, to diagnose pregnancy next month.
Another significant advantage of the electronic test is that it does not have to be immersed in urine. You can simply substitute the device under the jet for a few seconds, and then wait for the result to appear. This allows you to test almost anywhere and in the shortest possible time.
Electronic tests have an elongated shape, which allows you to make the testing process as hygienic as possible.
On sale there are already such advanced models of electronic tests that are equipped with a USB output. After testing, the device is connected to a computer, which displays information not only about the gestational age, but also calculates the expected date of birth. In the case of a negative result, the smart device will calculate the best day to conceive a child in the coming month.
Cons
The most significant drawback of an electronic pregnancy test is its high cost. The price of such devices starts from 350 rubles and above.
Some women consider the negative of the electronic test to be that the result disappears after a day. This does not allow you to save the test for the memory of the day when the expectant mother found out about the pregnancy. Although for many women this criterion is not significant.
It should also be understood that the earlier testing is carried out before the start of the expected menstruation, the lower the reliability of the result.
Like any electronic device, a pregnancy test can be faulty.
Can an electronic pregnancy test be wrong?
Even the most trusted test manufacturer cannot exclude the possibility of an error. The device can give both false positive and false negative results.
The main reasons why the test system fails are:
The device was stored incorrectly, or the device was damaged during transportation.
The test has expired.
The test was not used as directed.
Most often, women are faced with false-negative test results, that is, pregnancy has occurred, and the device shows its absence.
This can happen for a number of reasons:
The study was done too early. Although the level of human chorionic hormone increases in every woman after conception, its levels will be individual. Not always 3-5 days before the onset of menstruation, it reaches a level of 10 mIU / ml in the urine. Therefore, early testing is always associated with the risk of error.
Ovulation came late. It happens that the egg leaves the ovary not in the middle of the cycle, but in its second half. As a result, conception occurs later and by the expected day of the onset of menstruation, the hCG level does not reach the values that the test can consider.
Urine is not concentrated enough. Precisely for the reason that the maximum concentration of urine is reached in the morning hours, most manufacturers recommend doing the test at this time. During the day, urine thins, leaving few hormones in it, but becoming more fluid. This may lead to inaccurate results. Especially if a woman drinks a lot of water or takes diuretics.
The level of hCG may not reach the prescribed values if a woman has a frozen or ectopic pregnancy.
If a woman has pathologies of the urinary system, then this can lead to difficulty in the excretion of hCG in the urine.
Somewhat less often, tests give a false positive result. In this case, the pregnancy was most likely terminated at an early stage, which the woman did not even notice. Therefore, the test in this case, in fact, was correct, but it is almost impossible to prove this fact.
Other reasons for a false positive result are:
The presence of a tumor in a woman that produces hormones.
Hormonal failure in the body.
The woman has recently had a miscarriage or had an abortion.
A woman takes drugs containing hCG.
When is the best time to take a test to get a reliable result?
All manufacturers of electronic tests indicate that the test result that was obtained on the first day of a missed period can be considered the most reliable. The risk of error in this case is no more than 1%. In the case of performing the study at an earlier date, the reliability of the result varies from 51-90%.
Moreover, each organism is individual. In one woman, hCG can be produced in large volumes, and in another woman in smaller volumes, while both of them will be at the same stage of pregnancy. Therefore, if the test gave a negative result, and menstruation did not occur after 3-5 days, then the testing procedure can be repeated.
When to do an irregular cycle test?
Often, a woman’s menstrual cycle can vary. To complete the test in the optimal time, you need to try to remember exactly when unprotected intercourse happened, add 14 days to this number and carry out the research procedure.
Alternatively, you can do a test after the onset of signs of pregnancy: enlargement and soreness of the mammary glands, the appearance of implantation bleeding, etc. Or you can perform the test on the first day of a missed period, focusing on the shortest cycle.