The delay in the menstrual cycle makes every woman worried. What is the reason? Pregnancy, health problems or all the fault of recent stress? It is unlikely that immediately someone will go to the hospital to find out the reason, each of the women will find an explanation for what is happening. Someone is holding his fists, hoping with all his heart that at last the desired and long-awaited pregnancy has come. Or maybe the lady, on the contrary, is not yet ready to become a mother. And each of these women of childbearing age, with joy, excitement, fear in their souls or in an absolutely calm state, is likely to immediately go to the pharmacy for a pregnancy test in order to resolve their doubts.
Most manufacturers recommend a test in the morning when the level of hCG hormone is at the highest level. But if you still have to wait so long before the morning, and you are already unbearable, then the question arises as to whether a pregnancy test can be done in the evening. To answer it, first you need to understand by what principle they work.
The principle of the test
Modern tests make it possible to determine pregnancy after 1-2 weeks from the moment of conception.
The test itself looks like a thin strip sensitive to the hormone of pregnancy - human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). It begins to be produced after the fertilized egg is fixed in the body. From the blood, the hormone enters the urine. It is believed that its highest concentration is achieved after a night's sleep.
Will the test show pregnancy in the evening, if you carefully approach its choice? Whether the level of sensitivity of the test depends on its manufacturer, type and price is discussed in the next paragraph of the article.
How to choose the right test
Pregnancy tests are of several types:
- test strip - its popularity is due to its low cost;
- tablet tests are more expensive, but you only need two drops to find out the result;
- Inkjet tests are very convenient to use: you do not need to look for capacity, worry about how not to drop the strip and ruin the test during the test.
If it is necessary to determine pregnancy as early as possible, it is better to use innovative tests, although they cost more. If the timing is not so important, then why guess what to get a pregnancy test, when you can just ask the pharmacist in the pharmacy to advise a suitable option for the price. As for the reviews about these products, the opinion of the majority of representatives of the fair half of humanity boils down to the fact that it is not at all a matter of price, and the cheapest test has never failed them.
What time of day is the pregnancy test result more reliable?
It is known that the sensitivity of tests to hCG is not more than 25 mMU / ml. The hormone itself, as mentioned earlier, begins to be produced in the body of a woman only after the embryo is attached to the uterus. With each subsequent day, the probability of determining pregnancy is higher, since the production of the hormone doubles.
Therefore, the question of whether you can do a pregnancy test in the evening is the following: if early diagnosis is important, then it is advisable to wait in the morning and only then perform the test. With the development of pregnancy, the hormone in the body becomes more and more. And soon there comes a moment when it doesn’t matter what time of day to do it, because the result will be the same - a positive pregnancy test. For early diagnosis, it is also good to take a blood test for hCG. Blood is taken from a vein, analysis should be done in the morning on an empty stomach.
How to use a pregnancy test. Deciphering the results
Terms of use depend on the type of test :
- if it is a test strip, then it is necessary to collect urine in a small container, open the package and lower the test to the line marked as MAX. Hold for 5 seconds, then put the test on a dry surface (for example, a napkin). Usually the result is immediately apparent, but manufacturers are advised to wait up to 5 minutes;
- in the tablet test there are two windows where it is necessary to apply a few drops of urine with a pipette;
- the jet test is placed under the stream for several seconds during urination. The wait time for the result in all tests is approximately the same.
Possible test results:
- only the right stripe appeared - a sign that pregnancy is most likely not;
- two red stripes appeared - a positive pregnancy test;
- only the left bar appeared - perhaps the test is faulty, expired, or the use technique was broken;
- positive pregnancy test: the second strip is weakly expressed - most likely, a very short gestation period.
If in doubt, the test can be repeated after a few days. If it turned out to be positive, then you should visit a gynecologist, who after the examination will prescribe an ultrasound diagnosis.
1%: right to make a mistake
Pregnancy tests show the correct result, usually in 99% of cases. However, very rarely can they be wrong. This happens for the following reasons:
- the matter is in the test itself (expired, marriage);
- the use technique is broken (for example, when a one-time test is used twice);
- pregnancy is, but the test showed a negative result. Not all tests are able to show a positive result even before the delay of menstruation. Perhaps the period is very short, and the test was carried out in the evening, and the level of the hormone in the body was not enough. Returning to the question of whether it is possible to do a pregnancy test in the evening, it is clear that it is possible, but it is better to do it in the morning;
- There is no pregnancy, but the test showed its presence. The reasons may be health problems. Therefore, it is recommended to consult a doctor.
In which cases it is necessary to consult a doctor
It should be remembered that the delay of menstruation is not only during pregnancy. The reasons may be as follows:
- recently suffered stress both in the emotional sense (strong feelings, such as fear, despair), and on the physical level (hypothermia, heavy physical exertion);
- rapid weight loss, exhaustion of the body as a whole with prolonged starvation and improperly selected diet;
- various diseases associated with hormonal failure in the body (ovarian cyst, uterine fibroids, prolactinoma);
- metabolic disease;
- avitaminosis.
In any case, you should consult a doctor and undergo an additional examination, as the reasons can be very serious. A positive pregnancy test should also not be delayed with going to the hospital. A great risk to a woman's life and health is an ectopic pregnancy, in order to exclude it, it is necessary to undergo an examination and make an ultrasound diagnosis.
When thinking about whether a pregnancy test can be done in the evening, it is also important to listen to your body. In addition to the delay of menstruation, there may be other signs indicating the presence of pregnancy: nausea, a change in eating habits, swelling of the mammary glands, and their pain. Hormonal changes lead to a woman becoming more emotional, this can cause increased irritability, tearfulness or unreasonable joy. There is a desire to rest more, as the body will need a lot of strength to bear the baby and further delivery.