Understanding the results of an at-home pregnancy can feel surprisingly complicated at times. A pregnancy test measures the presence of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, which is produced by an embryo. Though not as accurate as a pregnancy test at the doctors, an at-home pregnancy test can measure hCG levels with 97 to 99 percent accuracy. Show
Pregnancy tests with blue or pink dye typically show one line if the result is negative and two if hCG is detected, meaning the result is positive. If you get any type of second line, even a faint one, you are pregnant, says Jennifer Lincoln, MD, an obstetrician in Oregon. "A line is a line, whether faint or dark. Any line means pregnant," she says. Here is what to do if you get a faint line on your pregnancy test at home according to an expert. What does a second, very faint line on a pregnancy test mean?If you take a pregnancy test and a faintly colored second line appears, it usually means you are pregnant. Here's why you could be getting a faint line: It's early in your pregnancy. If you take a pregnancy test in the days immediately before or after a missed period, the test will only detect small amounts of hCG, which can show up as a faint line. Most pregnancy tests on the market only work properly if you take them a week or more after missing your period, says Cara Delaney, MD, a gynecologist and instructor at the Boston University School of Medicine. You have a chemical pregnancy. A chemical pregnancy is a type of miscarriage that happens very early on in pregnancy. It can cause a false positive result or a faint line on a pregnancy test because the brief pregnancy produces a small amount of hCG in your body. You made a mistake in taking the test. "If you wait too long to read the test it can dry and leave a line that can be misinterpreted as a positive test," says Lincoln. Most pregnancy tests include instructions to read the results around three to five minutes after testing. How long after a faint positive should I test again?Lincoln says that if you get a faint line on your test and it concerns you, test again in the coming days. "It's most accurate to wait until the day of when you'd expect your period to come, but with the sensitivity of our tests it is OK to start testing a few days prior." If an at-home pregnancy test is positive, "the majority of people don't need a blood pregnancy test to confirm they are pregnant. And in fact, our[doctors'] urine tests are exactly the same as the ones you can buy yourself so no need to come in for those either," says Lincoln. There are some circumstances where a blood test might be needed: "If your healthcare provider is concerned about an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage, or you are undergoing fertility treatments, a blood test may be recommended, but other than that they aren't usually needed." Insider's takeawayIf you take an at-home pregnancy test correctly and see a faint line, it either means you are pregnant or have recently been pregnant and miscarried. The best time to test for a pregnancy is the day you would expect your period to come.
Shaena Montanari is a contributing writer to Business Insider. Read more Read less
Madeline Kennedy is a health writer for Insider covering a wide range of topics including reproductive and sexual health, mental health, nutrition, and infectious disease. Before joining Insider, Madeline worked as a health news writer for Reuters, and a domestic violence therapist. She has a master's degree in social work from UPenn and is interested in the intersection of health and social justice. Read more Read less A pregnancy test may show a small streak where the positive line should be. This is called an evaporation line. It only appears on tests that show negative results. A positive test would change color in the same spot, blotting out the evaporation line. Taking a pregnancy test can be a nerve-racking experience, especially when it is difficult to understand what the lines on the test mean. An evaporation line does not indicate pregnancy. If this type of streak appears, it usually means that a person has read the results too late or has otherwise misused the test. For most people, getting an accurate result merely involves taking another test. Some people take pregnancy tests too early to receive accurate positive results. It may be a good idea to wait for a few days before taking another test. An evaporation line is a slight streak that appears where the positive line on a pregnancy test should be. Evaporation lines are colorless streaks, not faint lines. They typically appear if a person waits for longer than the suggested time to read the test result. An evaporation line can also appear if the test gets wet. An evaporation line does not indicate pregnancy. These lines often occur when a person has checked the result too late or taken the test incorrectly. When an evaporation line appears, it is best to take another test for an accurate result. If a person sees an evaporation line, it means that the test is negative, or they took it too early in the pregnancy to show a positive result. Pregnancy typically begins when a fertilized egg implants in the lining of the uterus. The only exception is an ectopic pregnancy when the embryo attaches outside of the womb’s inner lining. After typical implantation, the body starts to produce a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). The body’s hCG levels rapidly increase during the first trimester. rising by at least 49% every 24 hours in the first trimester. At the end of the first trimester, hCG levels fall. Home pregnancy tests work by detecting hCG levels during the first trimester of pregnancy. Tests that can detect smaller concentrations of hCG in the urine are more likely to show positive results earlier. The levels of hCG are very low in the days immediately before and after the first missed period. Also, these levels can vary from person to person in early pregnancy, as well as from pregnancy to pregnancy in the same person. Some people naturally have lower levels than others. The compounds in home pregnancy tests interact with hCG, and a positive result will often look like a line, a dot, or a plus sign. Most tests also have lines that indicate that the tests are working. Usually, only urine that contains a sufficient level of hCG can cause the test’s dye to stain in a way that shows a positive result. There are, however, a number of rare conditions that can cause a test to come out positive in the absence of pregnancy. Examples include familial hCG syndrome, molar pregnancy, or conditions that affect the pituitary gland. Learn more about the causes of a false pregnancy test. How much HCG does a person need for a positive pregnancy test?Some pregnancy tests promise to detect pregnancy 5 or more days before a missed period. While they often can, the effectiveness of the test depends on the level of hCG in the urine. According to research published in 2014, the average hCG concentration in urine at 9 days after ovulation — around 5 days before a missed period — is 0.93 milli-international units per milliliter (mIU/ml). Most early-result pregnancy tests can only detect hCG when it rises to levels of 25 mIU/ml or higher, which happens after ovulation around day 11 By day 14, hCG levels are typically around 137 mIU/ml. For some people, however, they can be as low as 45 mIU/ml. Because hCG increases so rapidly in the early days of pregnancy, getting the day of ovulation wrong by 1–2 days can affect the result of a pregnancy test. A person who believes that they are on day 11 can often expect an accurate result, but if they are actually on day 9 after ovulation, the test may not be able to detect pregnancy accurately. False negatives are more common than false positives. If the result is negative, it may be a good idea to take another test in a few days, to give the hCG levels a chance to rise. Very few medications, including fertility drugs, may cause false positives. Otherwise, a positive result followed by a negative result a few days later could mean a very early pregnancy loss. In early pregnancy, there may be very little hCG in the urine, and the positive line may be faint. But even a faint positive line has color, and this distinguishes it from an evaporation line, which is colorless. Any coloration in a positive line indicates pregnancy. A mark on a pregnancy test may be an evaporation line if:
If the control line on the test does not change color, this means that the test has failed. A line on a pregnancy test a positive result if:
Evaporation lines are also likely to appear if a person has not followed the instructions on the test’s packaging. To prevent evaporation lines:
Urine hCG concentrations are often highest when a person wakes up. Taking a test first thing in the morning can increase the chances of an early positive result. Waiting for the results of a pregnancy test can be agonizing. If the result shows a colored line, even a faint one, then the test is likely positive. If the results show a faint, colorless line, then this may be an evaporation line. A simple way to help ensure accuracy is to take two tests and carefully follow the test instructions. Anyone who is unsure of the results should give hCG levels time to rise and take another test in a few days. This can reduce the risk of false negatives. A doctor can provide the most accurate results by testing the blood or the urine. Is a faint second line a positive?If the window on the testing stick shows two lines, the tester is positive for COVID-19. The opaqueness of the lines also can indicate more, Vail said. If the line is fainter, the patient is likely to be less sick, less infectious, or might be nearing the end of infection, Vail said.
Can a faint line be negative?Can a barely visible pregnancy test result be negative? A barely visible pregnancy test result usually can't be negative — because it detected hCG — but it might indicate a false positive for actual pregnancy or an early pregnancy loss. You can also get a false negative result.
Can a pregnancy test shows 2 lines but one is faint?If no hCG is detected in your urine, only the control line will appear pink colored. If hCG is present in the urine, both the test line and control line will appear pink. Two pink lines indicate a positive result, even if one line is fainter than the other.
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Faint second line on clear blue pregnancy test
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