I asked Mr Google and found some interesting stuff... I found this: You can store your urine for testing later in the day. Your urine can be stored at room temperature for up to 8 hours or in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Do not freeze it. For best results, test your urine on the same day that it is collected. If you refrigerate your urine, let it reach room temperature before testing (about 30 minutes). Do not shake the container. If sediment forms at the bottom of the collection container, allow the sediment to settle. Use only urine from the top of the container. And this quoted from peeonastick.com (unfortunatelly the original website doesn't work anymore): LH (like HCG) does break down and leave urine after awhile, but not that quickly. If you need to save your pee for later time (for whatever reason) you can collect it and use it for later. I don't know exactly how fast LH breaks down but HCG has a half-life of 24 hours, meaning the total amount will be cut in half for every day it sits out. Since LH and HCG are extremely similar, I would imagine the half-life of LH would be approximately that. I experimented with this. At 7 p.m. I had a positive OPK. I left the urine in my Pee Catcher in my bathroom overnight and dipped another OPK in it the next day at 4 p.m. (21 hours later.) The OPK on top is the original positive using fresh pee. The bottom test used that same pee 21 hours later. It's clearly positive (this photo was taken when the top test had dried and the bottom test was still wet, hence the slight color variation.) While I wouldn't recommend keeping your pee around for days (if you have less LH during your surge than I do, it may dissipate from your urine faster than it does from mine), I would also not be concerned about using pee a few hours old. Storing it in the refrigerator will slow the breakdown and keep the hormone around longer, but even I have my limits. The accuracy of the SERATEC® pregnancy Test is of 99 up to 100% when properly used. This leads to reliability as high as such of clinical studies.
All SERATEC® pregnancy tests, exept the early tests may be performed anytime. Its high sensitivity allows for diagnostics without the need of first morning urine.
The intensity of the colour depends on the concentration of HCG in urine samples. According to how advanced pregnancy is, as well as on the individual rate of production and attenuation, the membrane may turn from slightly pink up to darkly red. Even the lightest observable coloured line in the region of indication shows the presence of HCG and means therefore a positive result.
The outcome of the SERATEC® pregnancy test may be observable for several years if the test is stored under dry conditions.
The Test’s outcome is not influenced by the following substances: Medicaments containing HCG which are eliminated through the urine may influence the result of the Test, as well as medicaments which regulate the concentration of HCG.
The accomplishment of the Test is quite simple. Therefore its result is normally faultless. While the whole membrane turns slightly red during reaction, the colour fades away shortly afterwards. The result of the Test remains valid, even if the membrane is kept in the urine sample for more than 15 seconds or is exposed to a urine stream for over 8 seconds. Moreover, the result does not change even if it is read after a period longer than 3 minutes after its start. If the
membrane is not impregnated sufficiently with urine, the Test may not be run correctly. Under these circumstances liquid residues may appear as lines („ghost lines“’), leading to an apparently positive outcome. This may be prevented for by exposing the Test to urine again immediately. Exposure of the entire surface of the Test to the urine sample does not lead to failure. HCG concentrations lower than the minimum specified (10-25 mlU/mL) may show an apparently positive outcome past 15 to 30 minutes, especially when the Test is performed long before the end of the menstruation period.
According to the scientific and technological state of the art it is most improbable to observe a wrong positive outcome. SERATEC® pregnancy tests are manufactured in accordance to the European Health Standards and submit to a severe quality control, to ensure that even a slight indication corresponds to a concentration of HCG higher than the normal. The most common reasons for a wrong indication are listed below:
Wrong negative results may be due to different causes, too:
All sorts of membrane tests are highly sensible to humidity. The shelf life of the SERATEC® pregnancy tests may last up to several years as long as it remains sealed in a pouch containing a drying-gel envelope inside (standard packing conditions). Tests exposed to regular air humidity without being used may loose sensitivity after some hours and show only very thin lines in both the indication and the control regions, or no lines at all. Damage of the pouch may lead to loss of sensitivity as well. A severe quality control (manually performed) mostly prevents for the distribution of damaged Tests.
The tests should be stored at temperatures between 2°C and 30°C. Temperatures below 0°C or above 30°C lead to a
decrease of the shelf life. The regular period of 2 years cannot be guaranteed unless these conditions are observed. Beyond 60°C physical processes occur, which lead to the irreversible destruction of the Tests.
All SERATEC® pregnancy tests can be disposed of domestic waste and does not contain special waste like batteries.
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