Why Women Take Apart Pregnancy Tests

When a woman is hoping to become pregnant, she may become hyper-obsessed with taking pregnancy tests, even much earlier than a positive result is possible. On message boards, websites, chat rooms and forums, a woman obsessed with taking pregnancy tests is jokingly referred to as a POAS-aholic, otherwise known as a pee-on-a-stick-aholic.

“A line is a line”
When taking a pregnancy test, it is usually safe to assume that the presence of a second line on a standard visual interpretation pregnancy test is indicative of pregnancy. Regardless of how light or dark the second line on the test strip is, so long as it is tinted the same color as the control line (typically pink or blue) it is generally safe to assume that the test is positive. This, however, does not apply to digital pregnancy test strips, as digital pregnancy test strips will almost always have two lines on them regardless of whether or not the woman is pregnant.

Taking apart a pregnancy test
Many women discover that they are pregnant from the appearance of a very faint line on a pregnancy test. I discovered I was pregnant with my first child when I saw a very faint second line on my pregnancy these. The line was barely there, almost impossible to see without all of the bathroom lights on. Because a faint line can still indicate a positive pregnancy test, many women take apart their pregnancy tests in order to get a better look at the test strip to see if a faint second line is present, just less visible. Taking apart a pregnancy test, however, may affect how accurate the test is by exposing it to air and humidity that it shouldn’t be exposed to.

Precautions when taking a pregnancy test apart
If you are going to take a pregnancy test apart to get a better look, it is important to keep a few things in mind. Always be sure to take the test apart very carefully to avoid poking, injuring or cutting yourself accidentally. When lifting the test strip from the test housing, never place your finger on the results area of the test strip as it may make the result window dirty or smudged. Additionally, never hold a pregnancy test strip up to a light as you could hurt your eyes looking directly into the light, as well as you may perceive what appears to be a line on the test strip, but is truly just an indention line caused by the housing of the test strip pressing against the strip.

Why women take apart pregnancy tests
Although it might seem bizarre to take apart a pregnancy test, many women do just that, some even on a regular basis to check for any missed, or barely noticeable lines.

I t hought I could make my eyes see better, if the little plastic window wasn’t in the way. I used to take them apart, then scan them on my scanner/printer, then go to paint and invert the colors, to see if I could see even a hint of a line. ” -Trista D.

“I took apart my pregnancy test to make sure it really was positive! Both of my kids were surprises!” -Heather L.

“I was convinced I was pregnant, but the stupid test kept telling me I wasn’t. I took it apart just to see if maybe I’d see something without the casing that I couldn’t with the casing. I was convinced the shadows from the casing were making it harder to see my positive. Unfortunately, it really was negative. Desperation makes women do crazy things.” -Monica F.

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