Clearblue®
introduction
Pregnancy tests, which you can buy in a drugstore or pharmacy, are a popular alternative to a pregnancy test at a gynecologist. The best-known brand name for pregnancy tests from the drugstore is probably Clearblue®. In the meantime, the Clearblue® brand not only offers various types of pregnancy tests, but also ovulation tests, which can be helpful in pregnancy planning, as well as contraceptives, such as the Persona contraception monitor available. These pregnancy and ovulation tests, which are available for home use, are available for a low price, depending on the version, and promise easy handling and quick results.
How pregnancy tests work
A pregnancy test basically takes advantage of the fact that the body produces the hormone ß-hCG a few days later when an egg is fertilized.
This occurs very rarely in the body of a non-pregnant woman. ß-hCG is excreted in the urine and can therefore be easily detected.
Pregnancy tests for home use usually have an absorbent surface on which there are enzymes that can react with the ß-hCG in the urine.
If there is ß-hCG in the urine, either a "+" or a "pregnant" appear. If there is no ß-hCG in the urine, a "-" or a "not pregnant" appear.
However, a positive pregnancy test does not always mean that you are actually pregnant.
Tests of this type only mean that there is ß-hCG in the urine if the result is positive. A regular pregnancy with the fertilized egg implanting in the lining of the uterus is the most likely possibility for a positive test. However, implantation of the fertilized egg cell at another location, e.g. a fallopian tube, a twin pregnancy or a mole (a disorder in the development of the embryo), to ß-hCG in the urine i.e. result in a positive pregnancy test. There are also certain diseases that are rare but can lead to the same result.
After implantation, a rapid increase in the ß-hCG concentration in the urine is to be expected, which in the 8th-10th Week of pregnancy reaches its peak.
For further general information on the topic, please also read: Pregnancy test
Pregnancy Test Safety
Clearblue® pregnancy tests are advertised as having a 99% reliability from the first day of due period to have. The test can also do it up to 4 days be applied before the expected period.
During this interval, however, the? -HCG concentration in the urine and the Clearblue® pregnancy test may not be sufficient negative fails.
In these cases it may be advisable to have another pregnancy test a few days later to try or one Test at a gynecologist to have it done.
A false positive test result could occur, among other things, for reasons already mentioned in the previous section.
Also certain Medication, such as Neuroleptics, Benzodiazepines or even drugs that contain hCG can lead to one positive test to lead.
The different pregnancy tests from Clearblue®
The Company Unilever offers overall 5 different models pregnancy tests at home, which differ both in their price and in the way they are displayed and in how quickly they get to the test result.
The Standard variant shows the words "pregnant" or "not pregnant" on. If this test is expanded, the time remaining until the result is also displayed.
Another variant of the test also shows one Week determination on.
This test can be used to determine whether the pregnancy is in the 1st-2nd or 2nd-3rd grade. or in the 3rd + week.
Ovulation test
Also three Ovulation tests are available from Clearblue®.
These tests are designed to work with a 99% security determine the period at which a woman most fertile and thus the probability of getting pregnant is greatest.
Fertility is nearing ovulation, as well as greatest during ovulation.
Clearblue® ovulation tests either only measure the level of urine luteinizing hormone (LH), which triggers ovulation with a sharp increase or additionally the Estrogen levels.
A woman ovulates on average around the 14th day of your period, being the time of ovulation individually different and depends on the length of the cycle.
To use any of these ovulation tests properly, you should have your cycle regularly and know the normal individual length of the cycle.
The fertility should be tested in Morning urine, that is, in the first urine after awakening. Either the test strip should be held in the urine stream for 3 seconds or it should be immersed in a beaker of urine for 15 seconds. The result should appear on the display after approx. 5 minutes. The appearance of one empty circle means one low fertility and therefore a very low chance of getting pregnant. In this case, you can test again the next day.
A blinking smiley in the display field means "high fertility" and a continuous smiley show the "maximum fertility" on.
Like the pregnancy test, this is also reliability An ovulation test is dependent on proper use and can be affected by a few things. One already existing pregnancy or one recently existing Pregnancy can change the test result.
Also in the menopause (Menopause) the ovulation test can no longer be used meaningfully.
At a liver- or Renal dysfunction The result of an ovulation test may also change because both the liver and kidneys are on Dismantling and the Discharge of the hormones to be determined and can thus lead to incorrect concentrations of the hormones in the event of a malfunction.
Also diseases, such as that polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO), can lead to incorrect test results.
This syndrome is one hormonal disorder in the woman's organism, which is a common cause of infertility is.
Medication can also affect the outcome of an ovulation test.
- Fertility-promoting drugs, the luteinizing hormone (LH) or human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) contain,
- antibiotic treatment with a tetracycline
- or fertility treatment e.g. With Clomiphene
can lead to test results that cannot be used.
For more information, also read: Getting pregnant tips
History of Clearblue®
The one in 1985 by Unilever published the first pregnancy test for home use with the brand name Clearblue® promised a result in 3 steps within 30 minutes.
Just 3 years later, a pregnancy test came on the market that can be performed in just one step and within 3 minutes brought a result and already used the familiar blue line for display.
In 1996 Clearblue® brought another innovation to the market with a pregnancy test that only 1 minute took until the result.
Around Confusions and incorrect reading Since 2003, the Clearblue® pregnancy test has had a digital display on the "pregnant"Or"not pregnant“Is to be read.
Since 2008 there has been an additional test, which is also the previous one Weeks since conception indicates.
