Women who dream of motherhood often use ovulation pharmacy tests to determine favorable days for conception. But the very use of such systems raises a lot of questions, despite the apparent ease of use. In particular, not everyone understands when to have sexual intercourse after the test shows a positive result, as well as what the result looks like with a "+" sign.
Principle of operation
To understand which result is considered positive and what to do next, you need to understand exactly how ovulation test systems work. Conception is theoretically possible if a couple has unprotected intercourse during the fertile window - on the days most favorable for procreation. But fertilization itself is possible only on the day of ovulation and a day later, while the egg is alive. If the fusion does not occur, pregnancy will not occur in this cycle.
Ovulation is the process of the release of a mature female reproductive cell from the follicle on the surface of the ovaries. Usually this event occurs in the middle of the cycle, dividing it into two halves - the follicular phase and the luteal phase. Ovulation is regulated by hormones. The hormone FSH contributes to the maturation of the follicle, and the hormones LH and estrogen contribute to its rupture and release of the egg. About a day before ovulation, a peak in the concentration of the hormone LH in the female body is observed.
All tests, regardless of whether it is a paper strip, cassette, inkjet or electronic test, have an area covered with a luteinizing hormone (LH) sensitive reagent. As soon as the substance in quantitative terms reaches its peak values, the test reacts to this by coloring the second strip (electronic tests can depict a smiling smiley).
It means that ovulation will occur very soon (within about 1-2 days), the egg will be released and will live for about a day. Then the fertile window "closes" until the next cycle. Therefore, the appearance of two bright stripes on the dough or a laughing face is a signal that it is time to have sex.
Immediately after ovulation, the LH level drops, and after 2 days, a correctly performed ovulation test shows a negative result. Some believe that such a test can also determine pregnancy at the end of the cycle. The test before the expected period can really become weakly positive, since the hormones hCG and LH have a similar chemical structure and the reagent can be perceived almost the same, but such a positive test is considered a mistake.
Ovulation mini microscopes work differently. They are based on the determination of the crystallization pattern of dried salivary fluid. It is affected by estrogen. If at the beginning of the cycle the saliva, when dry, looks like scattered dots, disordered or more or less ordered, then during ovulation the pattern has clear characteristics - it looks like a frosty pattern on glass or fern leaves.
This effect becomes possible due to the fact that a large amount of estrogen leads to a temporary retention of potassium and sodium in body fluids. Thus, the appearance of a "frosty" pattern indicates that ovulation will occur within 1-2 days.
How do I get accurate data?
To ensure that a positive result is not in doubt, you need to use the test correctly. Each type of such systems has its own instructions, and therefore you need to familiarize yourself with it even before you start using strips or electronic devices.
Testing is carried out for several days in a row, one day of diagnosis is too short to draw conclusions about the phase of the menstrual cycle. Therefore, the manufacturers of such systems, if the tests are disposable, put five strips in a package.
Do not think that you need to start testing immediately after the next menstruation is over. LH levels have to rise to peak levels to be detected, and this happens towards the middle of the cycle.
Task number one - correctly calculate the time to start the tests, and then do it every day. To do this, subtract 17 from the duration of your female cycle. It turns out the day of the expected start of the fertile window, when you can start testing. With an irregular cycle, a woman needs to calculate the average duration of her cycle by adding up the data for the last 4-6 months and dividing the amount by the number of months. Then make the calculation as indicated above. This rule applies to absolutely all types of ovulation test systems.
Much in the accuracy of the result depends on how well the woman approaches the test. The strips should be dipped into the previously collected urine for 10-15 seconds, and then laid out on a dry surface and wait for the result to appear within 5-10 minutes, no later than. Jet tests are placed under the jet during urination, the results are evaluated after the time specified in the instructions. Mini microscopes involve applying saliva to clean glass and evaluating the result in optics after it has dried.
Each subsequent test after the first test is desirable at the same time with an allowable error of 1-2 hours. If a urine test is used, then you should avoid drinking plenty of fluids 4 hours before testing, about two hours before the diagnosis, you should not go to the toilet for little need. It is believed that urine collected during the day is more informative. Otherwise, it may turn out that the evening test turns out to be positive, and the morning test is negative, or vice versa - the concentration of LH in the urine in the morning and evening fluctuates in different directions.
With proper testing, usually 3 days after the first diagnosis, the strip shows a positive result, but other options are possible - early or late ovulation.
What means?
The absence of a second stripe or a subtle second stripe, which a woman rather wants to see than she actually sees, is a negative result. There is no LH in the right amount, ovulation will not happen so soon, or it has already passed and testing is carried out late.
A positive test is a strip with two bright transverse stripes, which indicates the approach of ovulation (it will occur within 12-48 hours).
The absence of any stripes is an erroneous result, indicating the use of a low-quality, expired, unsuitable for diagnostic test.
Despite the fact that manufacturers claim high accuracy of their products, false positive and false negative results are quite possible. And therefore the test readings must be compared with the basal temperature data, with the nature of the discharge - before ovulation, BT decreases, and the discharge becomes abundant and stringy. If there are no such signs, there is a high probability of a false positive test.
Electronic and reusable devices are generally more accurate than strip strips.
A false positive result is the presence of two stripes in the absence of ovulation. Such results can be obtained by a woman who decided to use tests that are too highly sensitive, catching even minor hormonal fluctuations. For ovulation, the level of the LH hormone will clearly not be enough, but for a positive test, it will be enough. Ovulation may not occur at all, this happens with every woman. The basal temperature chart will help to confirm or deny such results. A false positive is also called the result of an ovulation test system obtained during an actual pregnancy after a missed period.
You should also be aware of the possibility of a false-negative result, when there is only one strip, but the oocyte is still released. Usually the reason for this phenomenon is a violation of the requirements of the instructions for using the system.
Any variants of false results can be in women who only in the last cycle refused to use oral contraceptives who are in the IVF treatment cycle with hormonal support, as well as in women with severe hormonal imbalances due to pathologies of the pituitary gland, hypothalamus, adrenal cortex, with polycystic ovary.
Planning time
Experts recommend that those planning to conceive do not wait for the appearance of two bright stripes on the test and have intercourse every other day, starting from the period of opening the fertile window (cycle duration minus 17 days). The appearance of a positive result will rather be a confirmation that ovulation has occurred, that there are chances of conception.
If sex every other day due to some circumstances is not possible, wait for a positive result on the ovulation test and have sexual intercourse that day, the next day and every other day.
But in this case, pay attention to the brightness of the second strip - its weak color cannot be considered positive, and there is no such thing as "weakly positive".
For ovulation tests, see the next video.
