How Pregnancy Test Kits Work: How to Use a Pregnancy Test Kit at Home

There are two types of pregnancy test kits -

• Strip Pregnancy Test Kit- This is the most commonly available and used type of pregnancy test kit. The test strip is used by holding it in the urine stream. If a sufficient amount of HCG hormone is present in your urine, you will get two dark lines in the strip, which indicates that you are pregnant.
• Cup Test Kit - This kit also contains a cup for collecting urine along with the test equipment. After taking urine in this cup, dip this test device in the cup. If HCG is present in the urine, its colour will change, which means that you are pregnant.

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An at-home pregnancy test kit is easily available, doesn't cost much and can be stored at home for use at your convenience. It is especially convenient for women who're trying to get pregnant and may need to check frequently. Compared to the alternatives - getting a Beta HCG test or going to the doctor for an ultrasound, a pregnancy test kit is the best option. Additionally, given their accuracy, one can be confident about the results of the test. 

It is also handy for women who are sexually active and may have engaged in unprotected intercourse. Besides all the above factors, in a conservative society like India, it allows you to maintain your privacy.

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If you're actively trying to get pregnant, you should keep this kit handy so that you can check a few days after trying to conceive. Normally, it takes one to two weeks for detectable amounts of HCG to build up in urine after implantation has happened. So, you've had sex during your ovulation, you can do the test as early as a week after having sex.

In addition to the correct gap after having sex, the time of day when the test is done is also important. For best results, you should use the pregnancy test kit when you pass urine for the first time in the morning as that's when HCG is at its highest level the urine. If you do the latest on urine passed later on, the chances of getting an accurate result are much lower.

If you are not trying to get pregnant but have unprotected sex or are worried that protection may have failed, have missed your period and are beginning to see some early signs of pregnancy such as breast tenderness, you should do the test and consult your doctor.

(Read more: Can you get pregnant on your periods)

Chandraprabha vati can be used by both men and women to reduce infection and inflammation, to balance hormones, to cure burning sensation and pain during urination, to prevent PCOD/PCOS, urinary tract infection, abnormal discharge, etc.

The OTC pregnancy kits are mostly easy to use and self-diagnostic. However, a correct technique should be applied in order to get the actual results and avoid false interpretations. To start with, the test should be performed only if the kit is at room temperature and follow these steps:

• Wash your hands with soap and read the instructions given on the kit.
• Take out the sterile container to collect the urine. Most of the tests advise that a midstream sample (taken in the middle of urination) be collected because the concentration of the urine at the beginning of urination is high.
• Place the container on a stable flat surface, take out the test strips from the kit and hold them from the coloured end. The other side of the strip is the test site and is not supposed to be touched.
• Dip the strip into the container up to a quarter inch. There is also a stop line which means that you should not dip the strip into the urine sample beyond it.
• Wait for a few minutes as recommended by the manufacturer and read your results.
• In some kits, instead of strips, there is a small device which has a sample well to dispense the urine. Place the test kit on a flat surface and using the dropper provided, put a few drops of the urine in the sample well. Wait for some time as instructed by the manufacturer and notice the appearance of lines on the other end of the strip.
• Some kits do not have a container and a dropper. In fact, they have an absorbent pad on one end and a test window at the other. You need to directly pee on the absorbent pad, wait for a few minutes and interpret the results.

(Read more: Can you get pregnant on your periods)

If you have done it on the first day of your missed period, then all these home tests can be 99% accurate. Despite this, sometimes even a little carelessness in doing the test can lead to a wrong result, which is also called a false positive or false negative test. This also happens due to wrong testing of HCG hormone.

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Lines On Pregnancy Tests?
If a light pink positive line comes in the test, it means that you are pregnant and in some cases this line is also dark in color, which also means that you are pregnant. Actually the color of the line shows the amount of HCG hormone in your urine. If the amount is high, a dark pink line appears and if the amount is low, a light pink line appears.

Faint Lines On Pregnancy Test?
If you test the next day after missing your period, then there is a high possibility of getting a positive faint line because at this time there is HCG in your urine but in less quantity, so it is called a positive faint test and as the pregnancy progresses, the amount of HCG also increases and then a dark pink line appears on testing.

(Read more - Symptoms of Pregnancy After Ovulation)

Positive Line On Pregnancy Test?
A control line appears in the test stick before testing and another line appears after testing. Before testing, read the instructions given on the kit properly and see the result of the test according to them. The line of positive results is not as dark as the already present line, but if you see a second line, then be happy because it means that you are pregnant. It does not matter how dark or light the line appears.

Negative Line On Pregnancy Test?
A negative pregnancy test shows only the control line which is displayed before the test. Apart from this, no other line is displayed. Sometimes a light line appears as a result but after a specified time. If this happens then it is also considered a negative result because this test has a time limit and after that time limit the test is dismissed i.e. no result is valid.

If your result is negative and still you have not started menstruating, then do a pregnancy test once again because it is possible that you have made a mistake in counting the days of your periods or the level of HCG in the urine is very low. If even after the test again the result is negative and you are not getting periods then consult a doctor. Some women do not get a positive result in this initial stage or some come to know only after getting a blood test done. Every woman's body works differently, so if you think you are pregnant, you can get it checked by a doctor.

(Read more - Homemade pregnancy test with shampoo)

Sometimes, despite taking precautions, you might end up getting the wrong result while testing yourself for pregnancy. Hence, here are a few tips on the things that you need to take care of before performing the test such as:

• Do your research before buying a pregnancy test kit and only buy those which have been proven to provide the true results.
• Check the expiry date of the test kit.
• Bring the test kit to room temperature before starting the test.
• Always test yourself early in the morning because the level of hCG is highest in the morning.
• Do not touch the urine sample with dirty hands.
• Collect the midstream sample.
• Do not dip the strips too much.
• Do not overfill the sample well.
• Always wait for the recommended amount of time.
• Whenever in doubt, take the pregnancy test again.

Most of the widely used kits are inexpensive and the average price is 50 INR. However, depending on the number of tests in the kit and the brand, the price of the test kit may range from 45 to 300 INR. Here are some of the more common ones

(Read more - Homemade pregnancy test with shampoo)

A pregnancy test kit is a device used by women for early detection of pregnancy. The kit detects the presence of the pregnancy hormone, hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), usually by testing the urine. The kit can be used at home and is a simple, quick and accurate method. The kit usually consists of a tester stick or strip that is dipped in the urine or placed in the urine stream. The result is obtained within a few minutes, usually displayed as one or two lines, where one line indicates a negative result and two lines indicate a positive result.