Who is Sensitest and which tests do they offer?

Sensitest runs online shops in several countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Spain. The stores offer pregnancy-related tests, such as pregnancy tests, ovulation tests, male fertility tests and pregnancy vitamins.

When to use an ovulation test

If you want to get pregnant it helps to work out when your most fertile days are. With this calculator you can get a general idea. You can pinpoint the exact moment when you are most likely to conceive by using ovulation tests. This calculator lets you work out the date when you can start using ovulation tests to find your most fertile day. You can also calculate the first day you can start using pregnancy tests to see whether you have become pregnant. If your cycle is very irregular, take the average of the past 6 months. If you have no idea how long your cycle is, use the average cycle length of 28 days.

When to use a pregnancy test

If you think you might be pregnant, you can take a pregnancy test by briefly holding it in your urine stream. But how soon after having intercourse can you take that pregnancy test? If you test too early, the result may not be reliable. If your period is late, you can take a Sensitest pregnancy test straight away. But it can also be done earlier. Enter the date of your last period below and you can calculate the exact day on which you can do a pregnancy test for the first time. That way you can work out when you can start using pregnancy tests to see if you have become pregnant. If your cycle is very irregular, take the average of the past 6 months. If you have no idea how long your cycle is, use the average cycle length of 28 days.

Tips for using ovulation tests

1. Read the instructions all the way through. They contain important guidance on how to use the product. A faint line, a dark line – what does it mean? Use morning urine or not? The leaflet gives you step-by-step instructions.

2. Don’t use an opened wrapper. Never use a test from a wrapper that was opened before, even if it was only opened a few hours earlier. As soon as the wrapper is opened, the chemicals in the test start reacting to moisture in the air. Keep the test sealed until just before you start testing.

3. Check the test’s expiry date. Different manufacturers use different shelf lives, ranging from one year up to 30 months. Do not use a test that has passed its expiry date.

4. Don’t look at the test too soon. You are advised to read the result within 30 minutes. But don’t check it too quickly either. A few minutes after doing the test, the lines can still be a bit faint. Leave the test for half an hour so your urine can fully react with the reagent on the test line. The lines will become clearer and should be easy to read after half an hour. You’ll see the result best in daylight or natural light.

5. Don’t test with morning urine. The first urine of the day is often darker and more concentrated. It can contain slightly more hormones than your daytime urine. Ideally, you should not use morning urine for an ovulation test, as it might give a positive result a bit too early. Any time from 10 a.m. until bedtime is generally fine.

6. Don’t mix different brands. There are quite a few brands of ovulation tests and their sensitivity can vary. If you use two different brands at the same time, you may get two different results. A colour difference between the tests can give the impression of an incorrect result.

7. Don’t drink extra just so you can pee. Before testing you shouldn’t drink large amounts of fluids just to get urine. That can make your urine very thin and watery, which can lead to unclear results. Ideally, stop drinking 2 hours before testing. If you usually drink several litres of water a day, it’s best to stop drinking for a while before doing the test. Drinking a lot can lead to an unclear test result.

8. Don’t dip a dipstick too deep into the urine. The dipstick-type ovulation test is very sensitive and can detect an LH surge quickly. Don’t immerse the test too deeply in the urine. If you do, the result can become unclear or fainter (see image below). For the best result, immerse the tip of the dipstick no more than 10 mm in the urine.

9. Test twice a day. Although testing once a day is usually enough to find your LH surge, women who have trouble detecting their LH peak are often advised by their gynaecologist to test twice daily. Sometimes your LH surge is very brief and you could miss it. Good times might be around 11 a.m. and again at about 8 p.m.

10. Be careful if you are having IVF or fertility treatment. If you are under the care of a gynaecologist for pregnancy or fertility treatment, you may be given hormones that can influence the result of an ovulation test. These hormones can sometimes cause the test to show a positive result even though you are not ovulating. In this case, talk to your gynaecologist before using an ovulation test.

Finally, use the ovulation test calendar. You have a better chance of finding your LH surge if you use the ovulation test calendar. By sticking the test strips onto it, you can easily compare the colour differences with previous ovulation tests in the same cycle and spot your LH peak more easily. You can order this calendar from our webshop for 99 cents and it’s highly recommended if you are buying ovulation tests.
If you use a urine collection cup, make sure it is clean and free from soap or cleaning product residue. Only the tip of an ovulation test should get wet. A dipstick-type test must not be dipped deeper than the max line. If possible, check the result in daylight. Keep the test strips from one cycle and mark them with the date. Lay them out in order so you can clearly see even small colour differences.