Home tests: what we can already find out without visiting a doctor

There are a number of tests for everything that are available over the counter in pharmacies, and we can do them ourselves at home and quickly find out what we need.

We become such amateur diagnosticians, and if we find any problem, we should go to our doctor to either confirm or refute it. It is important to remember that no test is 100% accurate.

With a bit of exaggeration it can be said that we can find out almost everything, without exaggeration we must say on the contrary that absolutely not everything, we have to leave much to real experts, for example it will be difficult to take blood and do a detailed analysis ourselves. For example, what can you find out at home?

Are you pregnant

Pregnancy tests have been used by women for many years. Today, they will tell them quite reliably whether they should rejoice because they want a child, or whether they have reason to panic.

There are a number of pregnancy tests from different companies, some of which are even able to determine the duration of fertilization, but mainly all of them can confirm or deny pregnancy in time - that is, if they are used in time. Then there is a visit to the gynecologist, who will deliver a 100% verdict.

When do you ovulate

Ovulation tests are used to determine your most fertile days. The result is known within three minutes and the reliability is said to be 99 percent.

The test can be used for five consecutive days, which is enough for a regular menstrual cycle, for irregular menstruation it is necessary to continue testing for several more days.

How is your partner doing with fertility

The male fertility home test is designed for couples who are trying for a baby and are having trouble.

Using a one-time home test, men can quickly and quite reliably find out whether their semen contains a sufficient number of sperm to fertilize an egg.

Coronavirus testing

Of course, it would be much nicer if the demand for pregnancy tests outweighed the demand for tests for the coronavirus, but unfortunately the times are like this and the pandemic complicates everyone's life.

And why is testing so important in the fight against the covid-19 disease, which many people still don't understand? In up to 60% of those infected, the disease can be hidden, without obvious symptoms.

Before the first symptoms of covid develop, an infected person can be infectious and dangerous to those around them, as they can spread the disease further, especially when many do not follow basic hygiene measures. The symptoms of covid-19 are difficult to distinguish from the symptoms of other infectious diseases (colds, flu). Loss of taste and smell is to some extent a specific symptom, but it may not occur in all patients or at the beginning of the disease.

And that is why testing is one of the fundamental pillars in the fight against covid-19, as it helps to detect infectious individuals in time and prevent further spread of the virus in the population.

Home antigen tests for covid-19 have become a common part of our lives.

New ones are constantly being added

It was necessary to respond quickly to the pandemic, both by developing and producing effective vaccines, and by means of testing, which will detect possible infection in the shortest possible time. They represent a simple and quick way to detect the presence of the virus on the mucous membranes or to distinguish a coronavirus infection from other respiratory infections, such as colds and flu.

While at the beginning of the pandemic there were tests in which the medical staff poked their nose almost into your brain, today you can do them yourself and in a more pleasant way. Every pharmacy will offer you several options for self-testing, for example, from saliva, mucus from the respiratory tract, a swab from the nose (not from the brain), and more are still being added.

There are even ones available for purchase that will tell you whether you have antibodies in your body and whether you have already experienced the disease. However, it should be noted that none of the covid tests are 100% accurate.

The fact that you get a negative result does not mean that everything is fine, and a positive result does not mean that you are ill. What is absolutely one hundred percent, however, is the fact that testing pays off and we should undergo it with regard to our health, that of our loved ones and strangers with whom we come into contact. The fact that the number of infected people is decreasing does not mean that the coronavirus pandemic is on the wane. It isn't, and it won't be for a long time.

What else can home tests help with

If you are one of those responsible drivers who would not get behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol, you can get alcohol tests, either one-time or electronic, which will tell you whether you have blood residual alcohol.

The one who had the misfortune of falling for drugs knows very well that he is using them, so he himself does not need to be tested for them. But for parents, for example, drug tests can be beneficial, because if they manage to force their offspring to use them, they can find out in time what the situation is and try to intervene.

Medical tests can also draw attention to bacterial infections, gluten intolerance, reveal common vaginal infections, but also possible occult bleeding in the stool, which can be a symptom of a number of serious diseases.

In every quality pharmacy, either in person or on the website, they will advise you on what you can test yourself at home - and nowadays there is really a lot of it.

The article was published in the June Zdraví magazine.