How early can you take a dollar tree pregnancy test

When trying for a baby, you can go through more than a few pregnancy tests, so dollar store tests may seem like a frugal choice. But are they accurate?

When Mary Raca was trying to get pregnant with her second child, she picked up 10 pregnancy tests from the dollar store and began testing every morning. Even though the packages said they’d be most accurate if used on or after the expected date of her next period, she started testing four days before her period was due. “I lost the ability to wait,” she confesses.

This story doesn’t surprise Beth Taylor, an infertility specialist at Olive Fertility in Vancouver. “For the average woman, dollar store tests are fine and just as accurate as name-brand tests,” she says. But they do require patience, which she acknowledges can be in short supply when you’re trying to get pregnant. “You need to wait until the date of your expected period,” says Taylor. If your cycle is unpredictable, you’ll want to tack on a few extra days so that you don’t accidentally test too early.

Pregnancy tests work by detecting a hormone known as human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and cheaper tests generally require a higher threshold of hCG to trigger a positive result. Since hCG increases dramatically each day during the first few weeks of pregnancy, holding off on using a test until your expected period can be the difference between a false negative and a positive result—that is, unless you invest in a more sensitive early-detection test, which will likely cost you more.

But even doctors rely on the cheap ones sometimes. When Jen Hughey, a mom in Minden, Ontario, got free tests from her local clinic, Hughey asked where she bought them. “They admitted that they were just like the dollar store tests, only shipped to their medical office in bulk for patient use,” she says. From then on, Hughey bought most of her tests from the dollar store. She recommends them, noting that she learned about all three of her pregnancies using these cheap tests.

In Canada, all pregnancy tests are licensed by Health Canada, which requires manufacturers to provide documentation that products do what they claim to do. Because of this, even cheap tests are extremely accurate when used properly, and false positives are almost unheard of. “If your dollar store pregnancy test gives you a positive result, you’re pregnant,” says Taylor. “You don’t need to retest.” However, be sure to check the expiry date because Taylor notes that old tests might give false negatives.

Since a pair of name-brand pregnancy tests can easily cost over $20, dollar store tests can be a huge savings for couples who need multiple tests. “Knowing I wouldn’t go broke paying for pregnancy tests made me feel that much more relaxed,” says Hughey.

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• Home pregnancy tests are the first resort for many people, but some can detect a positive result sooner than others.
• Overall, more expensive brands tend to detect pregnancy earlier, because they are more sensitive to the hormone released by the placenta called human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG).
• After you miss a period, most tests should give you the same result.
• But there are some instances where false positives and negatives can occur.

No home test is going to be as accurate as if you visit a doctor. But in the early stages of pregnancy, many people opt for a kit you buy in shops as their first indication of whether they are expecting a baby or not.

All kits test for a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which is produced by the placenta when it starts to develop. The levels of HCG increase rapidly in early pregnancy, doubling every two to three days, but it can take a few weeks for it to be detected.

How early a pregnancy is detected with a home test can vary depending on which one you buy. According to pregnancy information site BabyGaga, more expensive branded tests like Clear Blue and First Response are designed to detect pregnancy earlier than dollar store ones — some as early as six days before you miss your period. Meanwhile, dollar store tests tend to detect pregnancy after a missed period.

Read more: 11 things to know before taking pregnancy tests

The NHS website states that if you get a positive test result, it's almost certainly correct, while a negative result is less reliable. This is because if you do it too early, especially if you're using a less expensive test, there may not be enough HCG in your urine, resulting in a false negative.

So if you do get a negative result, it's a good idea to take another one a week later. If your first test was positive and then your second one is negative, there's a chance you may have had an early miscarriage, so you should seek medical advice to make sure.

Some medications can cause a positive result, even if you're not pregnant, such as some anti-anxiety, anti-psychosis, and allergy medicines. That's why it's always best to visit your doctor if you're unsure.

In 2018, tests by Business Insider South Africa showed that Clicks digital pregnancy tests consistently gave the result "Pregnant" when exposed to ordinary tap water. So that may be one brand to avoid.

However, overall, whatever test you use, it's almost certain the results will be the same. It's only if you're looking to get a result earlier that it might be worth spending more money.

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