Tweaked Pregnancy Tests: 5 Effective Tips To Try At Home 2024

Globally, 48.5 million couples^[1] suffer from infertility. So, when you are trying for a baby, we understand your eagerness to quickly know if you are pregnant. Also, if you are not ready for a pregnancy at the moment, early detection can save a lot of trouble. 

Home pregnancy tests (HPT) are a reasonably dependable way to know if you are pregnant and tweaking HPTs, though not suggested, might help in advance detection. If positive, it should be followed by the blood test suggested by your doctor which is more sensitive than a urine test.

If you are curious to know how to tweak a pregnancy test, and how to make the tweaking more accurate, this article will give you all the answers and more.   

Digitally enhancing a pregnancy test image is not recommended by the OB-GYN community, particularly because it is not a reliable way of pregnancy detection and the chances of getting a wrong outcome are quite high. It can give you false hope that may lead to unnecessary psychological stress. 

Generally, it takes around a week or more from the date of missing your period to show a definite result on HPTs. If you are not ready to wait that long and take the test early, you could get a negative outcome even if you are at the early stage of a viable pregnancy. When tweaked, you might be able to know if there is no positive band at all on the strip or a light streak that your naked eye cannot see clearly.  

Here Is A Step-By-Step Guide On How To Tweak HPT Results

Take The Test 

You may take the test on missing your date to find out if you are pregnant. If you have got a negative earlier but still have not started menstruating, you may take it again and this time opt for tweaking if it is not positive. While taking the test follow every instruction as mentioned by the kit manufacturer. Use a kit that shows one or two lines, not the digital ones. 

Take the test with the first urine sample in the morning, which will increase the chance of getting a correct result. After adding the sample to the stick, place it on a dry and even surface. In case the “Control” does not appear on the strip, discard it and repeat with a new stick. 

Read The Result 

You should read the result no later than 5 to 10 minutes after adding the sample. You might get a false result otherwise. Evaporation of the sample can create a mark on the strip if you read the result too late. 

If you receive a negative, which means no second streak appears, but you have the early symptoms of pregnancy, like nausea, repeated urination, breast tenderness, etc. you could decide to digitally enhance the result.    

Take Photos 

Take proper photos of the strip focusing on the window where the line is expected to appear. You should make sure that the picture you take is not blurred or pixelated which will make it difficult to process. 

Also, take the image against a background that helps it to look prominent. Do not take a photo holding the strip in hand or placing it against a source of light. These will amplify the chance of getting the wrong result.  

Tweak The Image 

Processing the image to see if there is a positive line on the test, can be done with the help of an app or photo editing software. Early HPT+^[2] and Pregnancy Test Checker^[3] are dedicated HPT tweaking applications that use different filters to pick up the test stain and amplify the results to see if there is any second streak on the strip. 

Photo Editing software like Photoshop can also be used to adjust the contrast and brightness of the image to see if there is a faint mark that your eye is missing. 

However, proper photoshop editing needs professional experience and unless you are an expert, it is better to seek help from people who know the software and have experience. There are some online forums where you can get help.     

5 Tips For Tweaking Home Pregnancy Tests

If you are trying to conceive and there are signs you should take a pregnancy test but you got a negative result earlier, you can either wait for a few more days and take the HPT again, opt for a blood test that gives a fully reliable pregnancy result as early as 11 to 14 days after ovulation^[4] or digitally improve the results of the home test with the help of an app or software to check if there is any second line.

Here are the top 5 tips to help you enhance pregnancy test results. 

Do Not Use A Blue Dye HPT 

When you are considering digitally refining the result, you can use only a test that gives lines on the result window, not the digital ones that show letters. Also, to get an accurate result you should use the HPT with pink or red dye, not the ones with blue, which are infamous for giving dubious results and airy hopes.

Blue HPTs often suffer from the problem of the dye settling into a line on the result window, which can easily give the impression of a positive result. Normally this mark is faint and you might not notice it with naked eyes, but as you tweak the result, it will become prominent giving a wrong impression. 

Add Measured Sample 

Adding more urine to the HPT than suggested is not recommended. As you leave the strip before checking the results, the urine will dry and if there is an excess sample it might form a yellow line on the result window. 

On digital enhancements, this yellow line has a chance of appearing pink or red, which can make deciphering the result more confusing. Read the instructions of the manufacturer mentioned on the packaging and add the exact amount of sample as suggested.

Take The Picture On MACRO   

When taking the photo of your HPT, take it on the MACRO setting. A clear image is paramount to getting an accurate result. If your smartphone does not have MACRO, take the pictures on a digital camera on the MACRO setting. 

The sharper and clearer the image the better the chances of getting the right result. Pixels can create streaks and a blurred image will not give the right results even when processed by professional tweakers.

Do Not Delay Taking The Picture

You should take photos of the HPT within 5 to 10 minutes after taking the test. Over time, a vaporization line might appear which can be easily confused as a positive result. This streak might not be visible normally, but after digital improvements, it will appear more prominent. 

Also, take the test immediately after taking the strip out of the casing, the longer it stays in contact with open air, the chance of forming an evaporation line increases. Keep in mind, that the accuracy of the test you take is the key to getting the right results in tweaking.

Do Not Invert The Test 

Inverting the colors of the test on the app or editing software for enhancing the image is not at all recommended. There can be other lines on the test window apart from the “control” but normally, they do not appear red or pink, so that there is no confusion. These can be an evaporation line or the indent line that otherwise appears grey or white.

Inverting the colors can make these streaks appear red or pink, which then can be confused as a positive pregnancy.  

Keep in mind, that tweaking done through an app or by professional tweakers is never a medically viable way to confirm a pregnancy and can lead to unnecessary stress. Also, no tips, mentioned here or anywhere else, can confirm the accuracy of the tweaked results. 

Does Tweaking A Pregnancy Test Work? 

Yes, It does but not always. All HPTs measure HCG or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in urine. This pregnancy hormone is produced by the body 48 to 72 hours after the fertilized egg or the embryo is implanted on the uterine wall. 

The levels of HCG in urine can be below the detectable range during early pregnancy and it will not show in the tests. If the levels of HCG in urine are less while taking the test, it might create an unclear line on testing. Digitally improving a high-quality photo of it can make this line visible, helping advance the detection of pregnancy.  

However, when it comes to taking a photo of the HPT and processing it, there are many factors in play. Not taking the picture properly or a little mistake in processing can easily give a wrong result.

Why Do Doctors Not Recommend Tweaking A Pregnancy Test? 

When you are trying to conceive, waiting for one more week to know if you are pregnant can look like a lot. Tweaking the test is an easy way to know quickly if you are pregnant but it is never recommended by medical professionals. 

Find out why it is not recommended.

Not Dependable 

Digital adjustments of the results can easily give false outcomes. A little mistake in enhancement and you can get a second streak on the stick, though you are not pregnant. Similarly, if the HPT was not taken correctly, even after the adjustments you will get the wrong answer.  

These can have serious psychological and emotional consequences^[5] for the woman and also the family. Digitally enhanced HPT results are not medically viable as the chances of getting a wrong result are high.

It Can Be A Chemical Pregnancy 

Sometimes, there is a pregnancy that leads to spontaneous miscarriage within a few days. Most of the time you will not even know about it. Just your period will come maybe a few days late. 

This type of non-viable pregnancy is clinically called chemical pregnancy^[6]. Chemical pregnancies are common and it does not mean that you will have trouble conceiving again.  

In case you have a chemical pregnancy, there could be a slight increase in the HCG levels at first which can create a faint line on HPT, generally invisible. If you enhance the test, it might become clear, giving a positive result. However, as the pregnancy is spontaneously miscarried within the next few days it can be emotionally painful.

Unnecessary 

Not trying to know if you are pregnant in advance is suggested by the doctor because if you are pregnant, you will anyway know it within the next few days. Digital enhancements are prone to errors and can create unnecessary confusion and psychological problems. 

According to doctors, it is an unnecessary and error-prone trend that is mentally harming women instead of helping them. If you do not want to wait to know if you are pregnant, going for a blood test is a more reliable option than trying to digitally modify the HPT.  

Conclusion   

Home pregnancy tests can be digitally tweaked to know in advance if you are pregnant but there is no reliability or medical viability to the results. There are ways to improve the accuracy of tweaking but it can always give false or unclear results. 

It is best suggested to wait for a few days before taking the test again if you have missed a period but had a negative pregnancy test earlier. The primary objective of digital enhancement of HPT is to reduce anxiety, but according to doctors, instead, it can be a reason for serious and unnecessary mental stress.

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