Pregnancy Test Rating
Desired pregnancy is a great happiness and a big responsibility in the life of a woman, especially the first pregnancy. But how to make sure that this event happened? Many do not know, but obstetricians believe that only fetal heartbeat, movement, or the presence of a fetal skeleton during an ultrasound scan are reliable signs of pregnancy. Even symptoms such as an increase in the mammary glands and uterus in the absence of menstruation are only likely signs. And those symptoms that young girls consider to be convincing are generally considered questionable by specialists. These include nausea and vomiting, addiction to “salty”, increased sensitivity of the mammary glands, an increase in the abdomen, and other conditions that can be based only on the personal opinion of women. However, there are laboratory tests for pregnancy. What can they be based on, even if uterine enlargement and the disappearance of menstruation is not enough evidence to confirm pregnancy? On a special hormone - HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin.
This hormone begins to be produced within a few hours after fertilization of the egg, and its concentration after a month and a half increases several thousand times. The presence of this hormone in the blood or in the urine of a woman is convincing evidence of pregnancy. There is another type of this hormone that can appear in the blood for various diseases - neuroendocrine tumors, and not only in women, but also in men. But during pregnancy produces a special form of this hormone, which allow to identify various tests.
In order to determine the elevated level of hCG in the blood, it is required to pass an analysis in the laboratory. All pregnancy tests that are sold in pharmacies determine the presence of hCG in women in the urine, and none of them is designed to determine this pregnancy hormone in the blood. They are sold freely without any recipe. These tests are affordable, even for people with low incomes, it is very easy to apply them, and testing is done independently at home.
Although all tests are based on a single principle, they are different in the way the hormone is detected. There are test strips, or strip tests. You can purchase tests for inkjet, in the form of a tablet, and even digital electronic devices. What is the difference between all these types of tests? Which of them is the most convenient to choose, and which way is preferable to use? Finally, what is the cost of individuals from these different groups? This rating presents the most popular pregnancy tests, one for each group. It makes no sense to list many different tests within the same group, since they are practically the same among themselves, apart from the manufacturer, the packaging and the small price fluctuations.
Rating of the best tests for pregnancy
| Nomination | a place | Name of product | price |
| The best strip tests, or test strips for pregnancy | 4 | Frautest express | 100 ₽ |
| The best cassette, or tablet tests for pregnancy | 3 | Frautest expert | 150 ₽ |
| Best Inkjet Pregnancy Tests | 2 | Frautest Exclusive | 250 ₽ |
| Electronic digital devices | 1 | Clearblue digital | 391 ₽ |
| How to choose a pregnancy test | |||
The best strip tests, or test strips for pregnancy
Pregnancy test strips, or strip tests, are the easiest to use. Each girl will most likely be able to lower the test strip in a jar with fresh morning urine to the mark on the strip, count off the required number of seconds, in accordance with the instructions, pull out the strip, hold the set time to “show” the necessary signs, and then look at the strip. In the event that one strip of red is visible on it, then there is no pregnancy. If the strips are two, then the pregnancy happened. Such tests belong to the first generation, but for all their shortcomings, they are extremely easy to use and are very inexpensive, so they are always in demand. Typical representatives of strip strips for determining pregnancy are frautest tests.
Frautest express
Rating: 4.6
This is a whole family of pregnancy tests, and two of them belong to strip tests. These are plastic strips for determining pregnancy. The easiest of them will be Frautest Express. This is one strip, it is immersed for 10 seconds in a clean container with morning urine, and, on average, after 4 minutes the result is already evident.
Frautest Double Control is already sold in a set of two strips. This, of course, is more convenient, and is done so that a woman can not worry, not worry, and not run again to the pharmacy, do not wait for the next morning to receive a portion of morning urine, and check the probability of pregnancy again.
Frautest is made by the German company Axiom, the simplest test - Express - can be purchased at Russian pharmacies in September 2024 prices from 50 to 99 rubles. We remind you that this is the cost of one strip. As for the Double Control test, the cost of packing from two strips ranges from 104 to 170 rubles.
Advantages and disadvantages
As mentioned above, the test strips are extremely easy to use, quickly get results, and are very inexpensive. There are also disadvantages, and many women consider them essential, preferring to use more advanced pregnancy tests. The disadvantages include the use of only the morning portion of urine. Therefore, if something went wrong, then the next test can be done only in a day, which can be extremely exciting. A container is needed to collect urine. It may not be clean enough, it may be shallow to immerse the strip to the desired mark. Finally, she can slip out of her hands and have to wait another day. In the end, it is necessary to follow the recommendations fairly accurately, and if either an underexposure or overexposure of the strip occurs, the result may turn out to be incorrect. Finally, a reagent that reacts with chorionic gonadotropin in this type of pregnancy test is adsorbed on plastic or, in the worst case, on paper, and this is not the best way to fix the reagent, which, if improperly stored, can lose activity.
The best cassette, or tablet tests for pregnancy
These pregnancy tests are second generation. The mechanism of action remained exactly the same, but now the method of application has changed. The test strip is no longer taken in hand, it is in a special tablet, which is made of plastic. In this plastic packaging there are special slots in the form of windows. In one of them the morning urine is dripped, then it spreads along the strip, and the result will be visible in the second window. The price of this small modification, which makes the application more convenient, and does not require a large consumption of urine, is already significantly higher than that of strip strips.
However, you still need to collect urine.A special plastic container is attached to the packaging with cassette dough. Morning urine is also used, since the concentration of chorionic gonadotropin in it is the highest. Then, using a special pipette, which is also in the kit, usually 4 drops of urine are dropped into the desired window. Wait a few minutes and read the result. If one lane is visible, then the pregnancy did not occur, but the presence of two lanes indicates the occurrence of pregnancy.
This method allows you to avoid touching the strip with your fingers, which can be not only traces of sebum, which is always present on the fingers, but also various unwanted substances. This allows for a higher sensitivity, although not too superior test strips. Essentially, here we are simply talking about the same strip strips that only escaped accidental pollution. However, cassette tests can reliably determine the presence of pregnancy already 3 days before the start of the planned menstruation, and not only if it was delayed, if their sensitivity is 10-15 mMe / ml.
Frautest expert
Rating: 4.7
An example of a cassette test is the second generation Frautest called Frautest Expert. Its use can show the presence of gonadotropin in the urine if its concentration exceeds 15 mMe / ml. This is a high sensitivity. At the same time, the existing accuracy of determining pregnancy with proper application of the test reaches 99% and even higher. The brightness of the appearance of the second strip depends on the concentration of hormones. But even if the second strip is and looks albeit extremely pale, but if it is visible at the same time with the eye, this means that a new life has appeared. This test is made by the same German company. The cost of one cassette is from 130 to 220 rubles.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantage of tablet tests will be slightly higher sensitivity (due to the packed strip) and ease of use. The set has everything you need, and you do not need to stock up your own jars and other material. This is rarely written about, but the use of cluster tests allows you to save a portion of morning urine, because only a few drops are taken from it. The rest can be passed for analysis if necessary.
The negative side can be attributed to a fairly high cost, which is almost four times higher than the price for the same test in the form of a simple strip. At the same time, no qualitative changes were made in the process of testing and perception, only in the “structure”. The carrier is the same strip with the same reagents applied on it, and the eye with the eye evaluates the same two lines. Therefore, you will have to pay extra cost, undoubtedly, for convenience.
But some do not think so, and rightly think that we can regard the packaging of a strip in a special tablet as a clever marketing move, since the cost of production has increased slightly, and the retail price has increased significantly. Some women complain that it is unusual and inconvenient to drop a certain number of drops of urine in a small window. There is a danger of dropping a few extra drops, and over-wetting the test strip. It also causes the need to continue to use the morning urine. In a sense, it is even harder than just using a test strip. In the end, you just need to immerse it in the urine, hold it and pull it out. Here it is necessary, getting up early in the morning, still in a half-asleep state to figure out which window to apply the liquid, accurately measure the necessary number of drops in good light.
Best Inkjet Pregnancy Tests
There are third-generation pregnancy tests that make it even easier to get a result, although they are based on the same physical principles. These are the so-called jet tests. Here almost all characteristics are improved.No need to collect urine, no need to drip anywhere, and no need to wait longer than three minutes. In order to get the result, you just need to substitute the test device under a stream of urine. It is even easier than sending a jet to a can. The receiving device consists of a fibrous part, and along these fibers, according to the laws of surface tension, urine rises upwards, to the place where the reagent is located. Gonadotropin in the urine is firmly fixed to the reagent, changing its color. Inkjet tests are considered one of the most sensitive and fastest. In two or three minutes, the answer is ready. An example of such a jet test would be Frautest Exclusive.
Frautest Exclusive
Rating: 4.8
Perhaps he justified his name - exclusive. This is really a very good test system that is both comfortable and hygienic. The test is so simple that, perhaps, you should not describe this small pink cylinder, very similar to the packaging of lipstick. Since there is no need to collect urine, the test can be carried out anywhere, wherever there is an opportunity to go to the toilet for a small need. It is very sensitive, and according to some reviews, for 3, and even 4 days before the expected menstruation, you can confirm the presence of pregnancy. You just need to release the receiving end of the test, removing the cap, and substituting it under a stream of urine. Then wait some time - 2 minutes and watch. If you see two strips - then you can expect the soon addition of offspring.
Advantages and disadvantages
A great advantage of all the jet tests is the ease of use, in the end, substitute something under the stream of urine can be in a half-awake state. But the most important thing is not to go to the toilet in the morning. Inkjet tests allow to determine, due to its high sensitivity, chorionic gonadotropin in the urine excreted at any time of the day. If you do not want to get up early in the morning, then it is quite possible to perform testing when you want. Therefore, of the negative sides of this test, only one remains - it is its value. One test system designed for one urine test will cost you from 230 to 370 rubles, which is 6 times more than the cost of the simplest pregnancy test.
Electronic digital devices
It would seem that it is already impossible to create something more perfect than jet tests. But science is moving forward, and now on the market the most advanced, convenient, and even advanced can be called electronic digital pregnancy tests with a set of additional options. One such test is Clearblue Digital with a deadline indicator in weeks.
Clearblue digital
Rating: 4.9
This test not only determines the presence of pregnancy, but also allows you to determine its duration in weeks. In fact, for a knowledgeable woman who understands her own physiology, this is easy to do. But, you see, it’s still nice not only to determine the presence of a pregnancy, but also to immediately recognize its duration. The accuracy of determining pregnancy is more than 99%, if the test system is used not earlier than the expected day of menstruation. And the accuracy of determining the duration of pregnancy, which is calculated from the moment of conception, although somewhat less, but also exceeds 90%. If you use only the first, high-quality test, then it can be safely recommended even 5 days before the day of the alleged delay of menstruation.
This test looks like an electronic thermometer with a window of the liquid crystal screen and an absorbing tip. Before the test, you just need to remove the cap, and hold the absorbent tip under the urine for 5 seconds. Of course, if desired, you can pre-collect urine in a clean container and also lower the tip there. By the way, the same technique can be applied to inkjet tests, if it seems more comfortable to someone.
After testing, you need to put the device on a flat horizontal surface, and wait three minutes, while the hourglass flashes on the screen. After 3 minutes, you can read the finished test.Instead of looking at the stripes, you can simply read the inscriptions, for example, "pregnant 2-3" or "not pregnant." It goes without saying that in the first case, the numbers indicate the gestational age in weeks.
Advantages and disadvantages
Having absorbed all the possible advantages, this test is not without its own shortcomings. The advantages include ease of use, no need to get up early in the morning and collect urine in a can, there is no need to drip and measure with a pipette and look at the number of strips. The device will do everything for you, you only need to test at any time convenient for you and in any convenient place. What are the disadvantages of this perfect test? The most important thing is to calculate the duration of pregnancy. The program determines it based on the standard cycle of 28 calendar days. If a woman has another cycle, which is a little more or a little less, then the device will give a small error. This error will be the less, the shorter the period of pregnancy. The second drawback, which is a continuation of the advantages of the electronic test, is its price. The cost of one package of Clearblue electronic dough in August 2024 prices ranges from 380 to 560 rubles. Of course, it is a pity to realize that this device is used only once, especially since it is very similar to a digital thermometer, which can be used for a long time. And of course, you can not discount that the more complex the device, the greater the risk of a malfunction in the most unexpected place. There is one more minus, which may seem curious to many. If a woman can neither write nor read, or speaks languages that are not based on Latin, for example, is a resident of Arab countries or China, then she simply can not read the test results.
How to choose a pregnancy test
This ranking describes the most popular pregnancy tests belonging to different generations. Of course, the woman chooses herself which test to buy, and whether she needs it at all. When choosing a test, it is necessary to pay attention to the expiration date in the pharmacy, and it doesn't matter what you choose: test strips or an electronic device. If it is overdue, the result can be anything. It is also undesirable to buy “term” tests, from which the shelf life will expire within a month or two. Theoretically, they may be all right, but in the event that there were errors in the rules of storage, the result may not correspond to the truth.
Also, a woman should know that the day after intercourse, or even two days later, there is no point in using test systems. Yes, indeed, the hormone level begins to rise already on the first day, but only about a week later, when the embryo hardened in the uterus and the chorion began to form, or the rudimentary placenta, it makes sense to use pregnancy tests, but with high sensitivity.
It should also be remembered that if the testing was conducted very early, for example, on the fifth day after sexual intercourse, and the test did not confirm the presence of pregnancy, then it is necessary to re-test after a few days. In the event that you use highly sensitive tests, you can determine pregnancy in a week. The threshold is 10mMe / ml. Such tests are very sensitive. If you get a test, and read in the instructions that its sensitivity has 20 or 25 units, this means that you can use this test only if your period is delayed at least for one day. Until the menstruation delay, such a test will not tell you anything.
And finally, the most important thing that every woman should do. If pregnancy was detected using any of the test options, this means that it is necessary to get registered in the antenatal clinic immediately. Such an early observation of a pregnant woman is very important in order to exclude an ectopic pregnancy. After all, the test system will never tell you where the embryo stuck - in the uterus, or in the tube.In this case, this pregnancy can face serious complications. Also, do not forget the old, proven methods. So, on the third or fourth day after a delay in menstruation, it is desirable to measure the basal temperature, and if at rest it exceeds 37 degrees, this fact also confirms the occurrence of pregnancy.
Attention! This rating is subjective, is not advertising and does not serve as a guide to the purchase. Before buying, you should consult with a specialist.
