For almost any loving mother, pregnancy is the most desired gift that one can only expect from fate. And to find out as soon as possible whether a woman is in a position or not, there are special tests. Time, as you know, does not stand still, and today in pharmacies for sale you can find modern means to establish the very fact of the long-awaited motherhood. Only here a weak strip on a pregnancy test can slightly overshadow the mood of the expectant mother and even cause a feeling of confusion.
What to do in this case? Or maybe conception did not happen at all? Such thoughts immediately swirl in the head in most mothers who have found such a result.
Test Summary
All pregnancy tests are small. Nevertheless, despite their modest size, they can deliver a lot of positive emotions to a woman who eagerly awaits the appearance of a child. In addition, many women are not tolerant, and they want to know everything, and immediately.
Pregnancy is no exception. Of course, you can visit a gynecologist and have an ultrasound, but it takes a lot of time. In addition, if there are tools such as tests, why wait a long time? Nowadays there are a lot of them (not even counted), and the price varies from 50 to 250 rubles.
Is there any difference? In fact, the work of such tools is the same, and understanding what a weak second strip on the test means is not so difficult. The only difference lies in the sensitivity and design of the test strip itself. It can be a simple paper indicator or a beautiful plastic case with a disposable pipette.
In addition, the vibrant packaging and brand popularity also influence value creation. Here you can recall one popular advertising phrase: if there is no difference, why pay more?
Varieties of tests
Consider in more detail the types of pregnancy tests:
- Test strips.
- Tablet.
- Inkjet.
- Electronic.
Conventional and familiar to many women test strips are the cheapest means to establish the fact of pregnancy. Almost everyone knows how to use them: for this you need to take a container where a small portion of urine will be collected.
The extracted indicator falls into this container to the level of the drawn border and holds for 5 seconds, no more. Then the strip is placed on any horizontal surface. After 5 minutes, you can see the result.
Tablet tests are similar in effect, only in this case you do not need to omit anything. Everything is a little different here: the kit contains a disposable pipette with which a drop of liquid is applied directly to the test. And after it is completely distributed over its surface, the result can be seen in a small window.
When using inkjet tests, the strip should be briefly (for a few seconds) substituted under the stream. Further, by analogy, the substance is distributed throughout the test, after which the woman's expectations will either be justified or not.
Electronic tests are the most expensive and at the same time reliable devices that confirm or reject the success of conception. One of these is the Clearblue pregnancy test. A weak bar will indicate a dubious result, which we will figure out later.
As for use, the procedure is performed in the same way as with inkjet indicators. Only there is a significant difference, which is the speed of the appearance of the results. In addition, there are tools to establish not only the fact of pregnancy, but also the estimated duration.
And now it's time to learn more about the principle of their work.
Principle of operation
Whatever test is chosen to determine pregnancy, all of them are based on the detection of a particular hormone in a woman's urine. The surface of such devices contains a special reagent, which is painted in case the hormone concentration is appropriate.
But why does a positive pregnancy test have a weak streak, and what hormone is meant? Actually, we are talking about chorionic gonadotropin (abbreviated as hCG, CGT, HCG). Its amount is directly dependent on the gestational age. After a successful conception, the concentration of the substance begins to increase every day. Where does this hormone come from? The shell of the embryo, the chorion, is responsible for its production. A week after conception, you can already detect the first dose of this hormone.
On the test, the presence of hCG is displayed as a second strip, instead of one. Only every woman does not hurt to know that certain factors can affect the reliability of the results:
- conditions for transportation and storage of tests;
- shelf life;
- research technique;
- the presence of any diseases in a woman.
However, weak two stripes on the pregnancy test do not always please the fair sex. Therefore, it is worth understanding the reasons for this result.
Indications
During use, pregnancy tests, as a rule, can show three results:
- Negative - one bar is displayed (depending on the type of test), indicating that pregnancy has not yet occurred.
- Positive - there are already two strips, which means good news for a woman. At the same time, both of them are bright, saturated, with a clear indication of the boundaries.
- Atypical - three strips or their complete absence can be observed at once. In some cases, one of the stripes is bright and the other is blurry.
With an atypical result, the first thing is to repeat the whole procedure after a few days. If no changes have occurred and the strip is still pale, then this result can be explained by several factors.
To exclude the manifestation of a weak strip on a pregnancy test, one important condition is necessary - the correct execution of the procedure. Manufacturers of pregnancy tests attach instructions to the products, where everything is detailed.
Therefore, in order to avoid an erroneous or inaccurate result, women should carefully study it. In particular, the instructions provide information regarding the duration of the interaction of urine and test. It also says how long to expect a result.
Why is this so?
But even with proper follow-up, the appearance of a weak strip on the pregnancy test is not ruled out. The reason for this may be a defective product, the human factor or some problems in the female body.
Nevertheless, if you have a pale strip, you can be sure of a successful conception. If a woman passed the test before the delay occurred or during her first two days, then in this case the hCG hormone did not reach the desired concentration, which caused a pale staining of the second strip. Repeated testing will definitely put everything on the shelves.
A weakly positive test is unlikely to please girls, so it’s worthwhile to examine in more detail the possible causes of this phenomenon. After all, you need to know for sure whether she is pregnant or not. What if it’s time to take care of your health ?!
Low quality
The pallor of the strip in the test may be due to the low quality of the product itself. Expired tests also do the same. Therefore, it is necessary to show special vigilance even in a pharmacy, namely to pay attention to the production time and the possibility of use. Otherwise, the appearance of a weak first strip on a pregnancy test cannot be avoided .
It is also advisable to listen to your own intuition. If any doubts crept in, then it is better to find a similar remedy or even go to another pharmacy. In addition, a weak strip may occur due to the low sensitivity of the test reagent. This can be considered a marriage and not take such evidence into account.
Early test
Another common reason why the strip turns pale is to use the test too early. Incorrect adherence to the recommendations from the instructions can also be attributed to this. Most women find it difficult to resist curiosity, and they try to get tested as quickly as possible.
However, the instructions clearly state that the procedure should be carried out on the first day after the delay of the menstrual cycle, not earlier! Otherwise, a very weak strip on the pregnancy test will be visible .
Some products are highly sensitive and allow you to determine pregnancy before the onset of delay. But even their use can lead to a false result.
Late ovulation
Too bright a strip may appear due to late ovulation. What is characteristic, this reason is also not uncommon. In this case, fuzzy staining of the reagent is the norm.
Sometimes the ovulation process may be delayed, and as a result, the egg is not fertilized in the middle of the menstrual cycle (as it should be), but closer to its completion. For this reason, there are no periods, and chorionic gonadotropin in the urine is still not enough for full testing.
If a weak second strip on a pregnancy test causes a woman to doubt the successful conception, you should donate blood for an analysis of hCG and an additional ultrasound examination. In this case, the result will be one hundred percent.
The presence of diseases
Some diseases of the female body, such as uterine chorionepithelioma, can also cause the concentration of the hCG hormone. And not only in the blood, but also in the urine. In this case, a pale strip also appears on the test, although there is no embryo at all. A uterine fibroid, ovarian cyst, or cystic skid leads to this result .
In addition, a distortion of the result can occur if there are inflammatory processes in the body of a woman against the background of any oncological disease, including malignant tumors.
Ectopic Pregnancy
If the pregnancy test showed a weak strip, then sometimes this may indicate a strong delay - up to 4-5 days or more, which, as a rule, is a characteristic sign of the development of an ectopic pregnancy. More than three weeks usually pass from the day of ovulation, and the strip will still remain barely noticeable.
The woman in this case experiences unusual and unpleasant sensations. In particular, there is pain in the lower abdomen and only on one side, which intensifies day by day. In this case, you must immediately consult a doctor, undergo an ultrasound of the organs in the pelvic area.
Other cases
What does the weak second strip on the test mean? It is sad to be aware, but the appearance of an inaccurate result may indicate a frozen pregnancy. That is, the hCG hormone, as expected, began to be produced, but for a number of reasons something was disturbed, the fetal development stopped, and therefore the hormone level could not reach its maximum concentration.
The same can be observed in cases where a woman has recently had an abortion. Her body still has a high concentration of the hCG hormone, which decreases gradually. Even after a month after the abortion, the strip on the test will be pale, even though the pregnancy itself is not.
Useful Tips
So that a weak strip on a pregnancy test does not greatly disturb a woman, it is advisable to adhere to some useful tips:
- The procedure itself should be carried out after the delay, it is better to wait a few days (2 or 3 days). Then, with a positive result, both strips will be bright and clear.
- It is advisable to do the test in the morning, because it is at this time of day that the concentration of the hormone is the highest. Of course, you can choose any other time, but the reliability of the result will be a big question.
- Before the procedure itself, you should not drink plenty of fluids, including diuretics.
- Usually, the interaction of urine and test takes no more than 10-15 seconds.
- It is imperative to carry out hygiene procedures. Otherwise, the result may also be inaccurate.
- You should not expect an instant result, it usually takes from 10 to 15 minutes.
For the most part, the recommendations related to the tests that most women buy.
But the most true and universal recommendation is to follow all the instructions that are prescribed in the instructions exactly.