Using At-Home Ovulation Kits to Test Fertility

Trying to guesstimate the when ovulation is going to happen is a difficult task. Some super-attuned women are able to feel when they are ovulating, but for the rest of us normal folk, ovulation can easily slip by unnoticed. That’s why using a fertility test at home to detect ovulation is an important tool in fertility planning.

There are a number of home fertility tests that you can use to test fertility; one of the easiest ways is to use ovulation kits. At-home ovulation tests are an effective and affordable method of pinpointing ovulation.  Ovulation tests are used to detect the amount of luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine. Though the luteinizing hormone is always present to some extent, it’s levels surge right before ovulation. Ovulation tests detect this surge and give you a good idea of when you are ovulating.

Ovulation can be expected to occur any time within 12-48 hours after getting a positive result. Remember- these tests measure the LH surge that triggers ovulation, not ovulation itself. You will be most fertile the two to three days beginning with your positive result. For this reason, it’s best to have sex the day you get a positive result and the two following days. It’s even great to have sex in the few days before you expect to get a positive result. Sperm can live up to three to five days in a women’s reproductive tract, so it’s just fine to get an early start.

Ovulation testing at home typically requires you to pee on a stick. Many brands also allow you to void in a cup and hold the test strip in urine for a certain amount of time. Some ovulation prediction kits are to be used as a dip stick only. Test your urine at the same time each day. Some brands suggest using an early morning void, and others recommend testing later in the day. Be sure to follow the directions that come with your particular test.

If you have regular cycles, you can typically start testing on day 9 of your cycle. If you have short or irregular cycles, you may want to start testing as much as 3 days after your period so that you don’t miss your LH surge. You can ovulate even if you are still menstruating, though it’s more likely to happen if you have very short cycles. You only need to test up to the day you get a positive result, so you can save any extra test strips for the next cycle.

It’s also a good idea to monitor your basal temperature in addition to using these ovulation tests to ensure that you really did ovulate. Rarely, an LH surge may occur without ovulation. You should see at least a 0.4-0.8 degree temperature increase and the temperature should remain elevated through the end of your cycle.

So which is the best ovulation test? For the most accuracy (and for your sanity’s sake), get a digital ovulation test. The Clearblue Easy fertility test is the only digital ovulation test at this time. They aren’t any more expensive than their non-digital counterparts, but they are so much easier to read. Most non-digital ovulation tests require you to determine if the test line is darker or lighter than the control line. The digital ovulation tests have much more straightforward indicators. If you go with the non-digital tests you are going to waste a lot of time going, “Honey, does this line look more or less like this line over here? I can’t tell in this light, can you turn on that light? No, not that one- that light over there...” And on and on until you’ve wasted all your precious baby-making time arguing over which line is darker.    

Clear Blue Easy Ovulation Tests (Digital)

The Clear Blue Easy ovulation tests are digital tests; they are very easy to use, easy to read, and are a good price. This package comes with 20 strips- enough for an entire month if you test every day. Of course, if you get a positive result, you don’t need to continue testing so you can save the rest of the strips for your next cycle. This one package can easily stretch into a two or three month supply. A flashing indicator lets you know the test is working and you will get results in three minutes. The results are very simple to read. A smiley face means your LH surge was detected and you should get to work making babies. A blank circle means the LH surge was not detected and you need to continue testing (of course, you can still work on making babies if you want). These have great reviews and were rated by Consumer Reports as the best ovulation test strips.

Devon Medical Ovulation Test Strips (Not Digital)

These ovulation test strips can only be bought online and one of the cheapest sources is through Amazon. They are not digital, so results must be read by comparing the test line with the control line. This can be more difficult to interpret than digital tests, but this brand from Devon Medical products has good reviews. Most women find them easy to read and find them very accurate. They are more sensitive to lower levels of LH than the Clear Blue Easy fertility test so some women have better luck with them. The best advantage to this product is their price; you can find large combo packs of test strips for dirt-cheap. Each test comes individually wrapped and give results in five minutes. These tests are to be dipped in a urine sample, not used mid-stream. You can find many combo packs online that also come with pregnancy tests- great so you don’t have to buy them separately.