Home testing offers many benefits - convenience, privacy, control, but it's also important to recognize the potential tradeoffs between quality and convenience and take steps to protect yourself against unapproved tests, the possibility of false results, and your own lack of training.
In the laboratory or at the bedside, for example, nurses, and biomedical scientists must undergo training in the testing procedure, and the instrumentation used to perform the test is properly maintained, and quality monitored. Home tests can be used to screen for, diagnose, or monitor disease. Many home tests are available over the counter (OTC) in local supermarkets or pharmacies or directly from manufacturers by Internet, phone, or mail order.
Examples of these include:
- cholesterol, for assessing risk of heart disease;
- glucose, for monitoring diabetes;
- drugs to test for the presence of illegal drugs and drugs of abuse;
- hCG, to screen for pregnancy;
- faecal occult blood, to screen for bowel cancer; and
- luteinising hormone (LH), to predict ovulation
Some home tests, like those for pregnancy, produce immediate results. Others are sold as collection devices - you use the device to collect a specimen (for example, urine or stool) and then mail the device containing the sample to the laboratory for evaluation. Although home tests are convenient, they may not be the last word in diagnosis or monitoring. Errors can arise because of how you collect the sample, the time of day you collect it, how precisely you time the test, or the impact of medications you may be taking. Yet these tests, especially those designed to monitor diseases like diabetes, are important to your quality of life if you live with chronic illness. Home glucose testing, for example, allows you to monitor your blood sugar level and adjust diet or medication accordingly. It is important that you take steps to make sure the home tests you use give reliable results.
