“I can already see that you don’t have corona!”: Some sick people have to threaten to get tested for COVID-19

What is a ghost on a pregnancy test?

If a long-awaited or not so late period occurs, most women run to the pharmacy for a test.
A pregnancy test is a strip that is impregnated with a reagent containing a dye. It responds to the level of hCG hormone in the urine. This hormone increases if a woman is pregnant. The increase occurs depending on the stage of pregnancy. If the test shows one line, then there is no pregnancy, if two, there is pregnancy. What if the second stripe is very hard to see? Then it turns out that the second stripe is a ghost. In fact, there are quite a few answers to this question.

What does it mean?

First, think: was the test performed correctly? Following the instructions, you must:

• take a test in the morning after waking up
• use a container for the strip, do not hold it under the stream
• lower the strip for a strictly specified time. If you hold it longer, you may ruin the test. If a shorter time the test fails to determine the result correctly
• place the strip on a dry and flat surface
• wait 5 minutes

What to do next

So, a ghost line on a pregnancy test is a serious reason to see a doctor, especially if the second line has been “visualizing” for two tests in a row (with a difference of 2-3 days).

A gynecologist is able to determine pregnancy through a gynecological examination. During pregnancy, the cervix becomes more swollen and engorged, and the vaginal vault becomes more elongated. On palpation, an enlarged uterus can be felt.

If after the examination the specialist still has doubts about the patient’s position, he will most likely prescribe the following studies:

• (possibly in dynamics). It is well known that the level of human chorionic gonadotropin in the blood is detected much earlier than in the urine. Therefore, to get a more correct result, you should take a blood test. It will be 100% reliable already on the first day of a missed period.
• Ultrasound. An ultrasound examination will help determine the presence or absence of pregnancy if the strip is not bright. Using a transvaginal examination, pregnancy can be established as early as 5-6 days after the delay.

In the absence of pregnancy and the presence of an identified pathology, the doctor refers the patient for additional tests and consultation with the right specialist.

Manufacturers of pregnancy tests promise 100% reliability of results, although in practice this is not always the case. A weak second line for several days in a row is a reason for thought. In this case, you should immediately visit a doctor to clarify the results and plan further actions.

A pale or faint line when tested at home is one of the most common topics on women's forums. Young girls have heard about this more than once, but cannot really explain in what cases a ghost line is observed on a pregnancy test. Can a “phantom trace” be considered a confirmation or “this will pass”, as some people think.

Have all the instructions been met? But is the second stripe a ghost?

• In this case, of course, you need to consult a gynecologist.
  Get an examination of the female reproductive system. The fact is that the hCG hormone can increase not only due to pregnancy, but also many diseases “feminine” and not only. An ectopic pregnancy can also cause a faint line on the test. Taking medications that contain hCG can also affect the test result.
• So, how long did you expect the result?
  Let's assume that after the test, they put it on a dry and flat surface, and so as not to be nervous, they ran away about their business. Suddenly, remembering the test, they came up to see the result in 10-15-20 minutes. No and no again! The test is no longer informative. After 5 minutes, the reagent evaporation process begins and the paint may blur. Test manufacturers call this an “evaporation streak.”
• Or maybe you did the test before the delay ?
  The result may be false positive and a ghost line will appear. The fact is that a woman can experience a biochemical pregnancy several times a year - the egg does not implant and menstruation begins. Or this option - in a woman’s body, the level of hCG may increase immediately after ovulation. The test will respond to this, but the band will be pale and almost invisible.

What does a ghost trail look like on a test?

In nature, everything is arranged in such a way that they either exist or not, especially when it comes to pregnancy.
It is impossible to be “a little”, “a little pregnant” or “slightly”. If fertilization has occurred, then the fertilized egg develops quite quickly. The number of cells inexorably grows in geometric progression, the fetus is formed according to the program of the universe, known only to God. But what does a ghost line appear on a pregnancy test mean? Physiologically, any female organism reproduces its own kind during reproduction. Only inexplicable phenomena, everything that defies common sense, is called mysticism, phantom or ghostly manifestations. How to combine one with the other in case of testing, how to explain?

Some young women claim that “there was such a pale stripe, then they checked it - it disappeared, then it appeared again.” How can we trust such results? So is there a pregnancy or not? Is it common to see ghost lines on tests indicating pregnancy, or are these exceptionally rare cases?

Attention: A ghost stripe
is also called an “evaporation line,” when a faintly colored mark was immediately present, but after a while it became invisible or disappeared completely. A phantom trace is different from a slightly colored line or a full-fledged “second” stripe, which can be considered a positive response during self-examination. Here are examples in the photo:

When to take the test?

Many women over 40 years of age wait for menopause, paying close attention to their health. We must remember that it does not manifest itself painlessly, and necessarily reveals itself with different symptoms. The first stage of the onset of menopause is not difficult to determine; it is manifested by the following signs:

• muscle cramps;
• tides;
• increased sweating;
• worsening sleep;
• the appearance of goosebumps;
• irritability.

These symptoms may also indicate the development of diseases. Therefore, after several signs of menopause appear, it is worth conducting a test for menopause, and not waste time going to the clinic. If it turns out to be positive, it is recommended to consult a gynecologist. If it turns out to be negative, and the symptoms of menopause have not stopped, it is recommended to repeat it after a couple of months and immediately consult a doctor.

What is the difference between a false positive and a phantom trace?

Those who have ever had a weakly colored strip know that it differs from the control only in the intensity of the color, as in the photo. What does a ghost look like on a pregnancy test? Here are the differences between the phantom trail:

• normal format (the same width and length of the tested line as in the control sample, the edges are not blurred).
• the ghost will notice, but it is difficult to say what color it is painted in (more likely, it is a slightly pinkish, bluish or lilac shade);
• somewhat reminiscent of a smoky trail or haze where an intensely colored test strip should be.

The description confirms that the “ghost” in a pregnancy test before the delay should not be considered a full line. Most tests work on the principle of litmus paper with an applied reagent that determines the level of “pregnancy hormone” in the urine. As with any similar material, the test line could have been exposed to drops of paper, biological material, or simply contaminants. Any test has an expiration date, and after its expiration, the material could lose its ability to color or change its original color. Any of these reasons may produce a ghost line on a pregnancy test when there is no conception.

When purchasing pregnancy tests at a pharmacy, look at the instructions and expiration date. Not worth it:

1. take goods from a display window on the sunny side;
2. buy tests on the market (storage in winter in inappropriate conditions);
3. examine urine (other biological material) in the first days after sexual intercourse; the level of the hormone is still insufficient to obtain a positive or false-positive result.

Also, you should not have fun and undergo self-examination with a friend if there are no obvious reasons for conceiving. The test can show a hormonal imbalance or the presence of a tumor process, to which the test systems respond with a positive signal. This can lead to a series of unpleasant examinations.

Have you followed all the instructions?

Before you rejoice or worry, make sure you did the test correctly.

• It is better to do the test in the morning, after waking up.
• The strip (of course, if the test is not a jet test) should be lowered into a container with urine, and not held under the stream.
• It is important to lower the strip for the specified time. If you held the test longer, you could ruin it; if you held it longer, the result could be incorrectly determined.

After the test, be sure to place the strip on a flat, dry surface and wait 5 minutes, but no longer than 10 minutes. Remember, after 15-20-30 minutes the test is no longer informative: the process of evaporation of the reagent begins and the paint may blur.

Pale second line on the test: what does it mean?

Reasons for a dim line on the test include:

• Early diagnosis. The manufacturer of the tests recommends testing from the moment of absence of menstruation, when the hCG level is sufficient. However, supersensitive systems are able to detect hCG already 9-12 days after ovulation, but the second strip will not be bright.
• Poor quality of the test system. The device can either be stitched or manufactured with irregularities from the very beginning. The second line on the test will be pale or false negative.
• Misunderstanding of the result. Often there is a situation when a woman wants to be pregnant so much that she looks too closely at the test. If you carefully examine the area with the reagent, you will notice a subtle outline of the second stripe, but it is not indicative and only indicates the place where the real stripe appears. If you don’t look so closely, this ghostly stripe is not visible.
• Delayed ovulation. If the egg was released not in the middle of the cycle, but a week later, then even after the delay, the test will show a weak second line. It happens when the days of the cycle do not correspond to the hCG production schedule.
• Unsuccessful implantation. If the fetus is not firmly attached to the endometrial ball or is rejected, the hCG level will be abnormally low for the existing gestational age. For this reason, the second line will be pale, and if the pregnancy is terminated, the repeat test will be completely negative.
• Neoplasms that produce hormones. Oncology, benign tumors of the liver, uterus, and ovaries are capable of producing hormones of the female reproductive system, which affects the indicators of a pregnancy test. Therefore, a non-pregnant woman may show a weak second line before the delay.
• Ectopic pregnancy. The combination of a delay of more than two weeks and a pale line on the test requires exclusion of ectopic implantation. With this pathology, hCG also increases, but the level will be slightly below normal.
• Eco. Artificial insemination often involves the use of hormonal agents. They significantly affect the pregnancy test reading. Therefore, the first gestational weeks will be accompanied by a pale second stripe.