The hormone HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) rise svery quickly if you become pregnant. Therefore, pregnancy tests are made to respond to elevated HCG levels that show you are pregnant.
Control line and test line
Pregnancy tests have two antibody streaks. One is the control line, which gets color when dipped in urine. If the control line comes up with color, then you also know that your test works as it should. The second line is called the test line, and this line only gets color if your urine contains the amount that your pregnancy test is sensitive to. When your HCG during a pregnancy has risen to approximately 10 mlIU / ml, the most sensitive pregnancy tests will be positive and you will have your pregnancy confirmed. However, most normal pregnancy tests only respond to around 25 mlIU / ml, so if you want to test before the day when your period should come, you should buy a more sensitive early test
When to test for pregnancy?
HCG begins to rise once the fertilized egg has set in 5-10 days after fertilization. It then rises rapidly and HCG levels double every three days of pregnancy for the first 12 weeks. It is usually said that it is safest to test on the first day when your period is absent, as at that time you can be sure that the egg has stuck to the uterine wall. But one thing is recommendations and something else is impatience and a longing to get an answer on whether you are pregnant. With several early pregnancy tests, you can already test 6 days before your period should come. Remember, however, that with the early tests, you also risk catching a biochemical pregnancy. That is, a condition in which the egg was fertilized, but in which errors occurred in the cell division, so that the pregnancy goes to waste and delays menstruation for a few days. Here one can catch an elevated HCG level, after which the test a few days later will again be negative. If you test before your expected period, it is recommended that you test with the first urine when you get up in the morning.
What can affect the pregnancy test?
If you have been in fertility treatment and have received medication that contains hCG, then you should be aware that it takes 5-14 days before it is out of the system (read more about testing ovitelle out here: link) until then there may be a false positive answer. Do not drink a lot in the hours leading up to the test being taken. Fluid may dilute the urine and contribute to a wrong answer.
When to test
As a starting point, you can better trust that a positive result on your pregnancy test will be a lasting pregnancy, the longer you wait to take the test. But today there are many sensitive tests on the market with a security above 99%, and it is of course an individual choice when to test
Se our wide selection of pregnancy tests here: Graviditetstests – Gravidtid
Sources: Apoteket.dk, Sjællands Universitetshospital, Køge, Sundhed.dk