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| |    Ovulation Detection Kits by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. reviewed by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P. In order to increase their chances of conceiving, many couples are now turning to ovulation detection kits. These kits can help you assess when in your menstrual cycle you're most likely to get pregnant. If you go to the store to purchase a kit, you may be overwhelmed by the large number of choices. The good news is that the kits are all about equally accurate--but that's where the similarity ends. Products vary according to the number of steps involved, how long the test takes to run, the degree of ease with which you can read the result, the number of days' worth of test strips that are in each kit, and the cost. Your practitioner may have a recommendation, or you can try different ones over a few cycles to find your own preference. Friends or message-board postings may also help point you in a certain direction. How the kits work The principles of ovulation detection involve a chemical reaction that creates a color change on a test strip. This color change is proportional to the amount of luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine. Determining when an LH surge has taken place is useful because you can expect an egg to be released about 12 to 24 hours afterward. Reading an ovulation test simply calls for comparing the color change of your test to a control spot (where they have placed a known amount of LH) on the same strip. When your LH measurement is equal to or greater than the control amount, your surge has begun. The control spot is helpful for two reasons: one, its color change tells you that you ran the test properly; and two, it gives you a color comparison so you can tell when your test spot is positive. The tests all come with detailed instructions and pictures of positive and negative results. In general, if your surge has not started, the control spot will be darker than your test area. If your LH surge has begun, however, the test area will turn dark, allowing you to see a dot or line there. Timing it right Most practitioners recommend running the ovulation detection test on a urine sample gathered from the second time you urinate after getting up in the morning, when the urine is most concentrated. If you don't have time to run the test right then, it's OK to store the urine in a clean glass jar in the refrigerator and do it later in the day. While some practitioners suggest running the test twice a day, most believe that the extra effort--and expense--isn't necessary. Once your test becomes positive, do not test again that cycle; it's only the start of the surge that counts. There's no value in wasting test strips to see if it is still positive the next day--the sign of impending ovulation is the first day the test turns positive.
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