Reusing pregnancy test?

[abigailsmom]

i know there was a tread about this, but I can't find it with the search thing-y. Can anyone (Neve?) enlighten me to the whys, and hows of reusing...

[Marisa6826]

Doesn't work. Tried it ;)

-m

[Imperia]

I think I remember someone saying it did work, however, I would not trust them to work correctly once they haev already been used.

A pregancy test can appear to positive if you read them too long after the proper allotted time due to "evaporation lines". The test appears positive (a faint line appears) but it is due to some sort of chemical reaction that occurs as the paper dries and is not really positive. This is why they tell you NOT to read them after the specified time.

One thing I did find amusing is you can use an ovualtion predictor kit as a pregnancy test. I tried it mymself (as did a few of my friends) it will read positive (so it seems) if you are PG.

Imperia

[loewymartin]

Yep, I tried it too. I had saved all my "old ones" and waited until I knew I was pregnant. I actually waited a good 2 weeks after my positive test and then over a few mornings "reused" the sticks (that had dried out a good month or two) and none of them gave me a positive test even though I was pregnant and had pretty high HcG levels.

Michelle - Mom to Alia born 5/16/02

[american_mama]

Very interesting question. I am pretty investigative (and thrifty!), but this never occurred to me.

On a related topic, did anyone out there have their hubby take a pregnancy test, as a control? We did. The first test was done on a Thur. night, the blood test taken on Friday, but we had a long weekend to wait before hearing the results. Two more tests later, we concluded DH was not pregnant, but I was.

I swear, it was a woman who came up with the idea of multiple tests in one box!

[deenass]

Too funny ... my brother in law took a test after my sister's came up positiove, like your husband, he wasn't pregant either!

I just used both tests ... didn't really believe the first one and figured, hey wnat not use the second one up!

[american_mama]

Well, we actually used THREE tests, two different brands, at my insistence! But we had a totally, dramatically unexpected pregnancy, so there was cause for disbelief. I had a friend who easily got pregnant, but still couldn't believe it, and she took NINE tests!