How accurate are home pregnancy tests, really? I’ve taken two (EPT brand, if that makes any difference), and they both came out negative, but can I trust them? Should I go to a doctor’s anyways?
::praying i’m really not pregnant::
You should go to a doctor anyway. However, I think they’re pretty accurate. My wife just took one, positive, and then went to the doctor to find she’s only 3-4 weeks pregnant. So if they can spot it that early I think they’re pretty good.
Betcha didn’t think a guy would answer this first 
Darn it , Egad, you posted in just ahead of me. Pammipoo, HPTs do usually tend to be pretty accurate, but 3-4 weeks is about as early as they can detect pregnancy (I think) so I’m with Egad on this one — see a doctor. It will be well worth the peace of mind.
They’re pretty accurate, but different brands differ in sensitivity. They all sense levels of hCG in urine. A reading of 1-5 mIU/ml (or maybe 10) is normal for a non-pregnant woman, or man, while 25-50 or higher is considered pregnant.
A test designed to register positive at 20 will detect pregnancy earlier than one that registers at 50. Here’s a website that lists the sensitivity of most major brands, and has a good FAQ.
Here’s a website with hCG levels throughout pregnancy.
If you’re worried you might go get one of the more sensitive tests, but in 2-3 days your hCG should double (if you’re pregnant), and any test should work. When my wife was trying to get pregnant, we used several tests in parallel, to eliminate user error in case we were consistently screwing up a particular test, and to use the different sensitivities to judge the actual hCG readings (yes, we went a little overboard :)).
Arjuna34
Just to add to what has already been said, I think the rate of false positives is almost nonexistent, but you can get false negatives if you test very early or if your hCG levels are low for some reason.
Congratulations, Egad!
EPT is pretty reliable. I was less than 5 days late when I did my test and it was right on.
Wait a couple more days then try it again. And try not to stress, it will only make your Aunt Flo later!