Having to urinate on a stick when taking a pregnancy test isn’t always the easiest thing to do.
It’s always been the most common way to find out if women are expecting from home, until now perhaps.
For those who find it difficult and often messy to carry out the bathroom duty, Superdrug now stocks the world’s first saliva pregnancy test, meaning all you need is your spit instead.
Salistick was launched by Abingdon Health and is a new alternative method for women, offering the ability to do the test anywhere and anytime for early pregnancy detection.
What is the new saliva pregnancy test Salistick available at Superdrug?
On the Superdrug website, the instructions say: “Pool saliva in your mouth and immerse the collection foam for at least 90 seconds - rotate, but do not chew or bite.
“Once the indicator has changed colour, connect to the analytical unit horizontally.
“Read your results between 5-15 minutes.”
It’s advised that those trying the test must wait 30 minutes after eating or drinking before using it.
It can also be used from the first day of a missed period and the test works by looking for the presence of the pregnancy hormone (hCG, human chorionic gonadotropin), a hormone which helps “prepare the uterus for the developing embryo.”
How does Salistick pregnancy test work?
“The Collection foam absorbs saliva from your mouth. When you connect the Collection handle to the Analytical unit, the saliva is squeezed and migrates along a special membrane until it reaches the test zone.
“In the presence of the hCG pregnancy hormone, a pink line will appear. Absence of this test line suggests a negative result. A pink control line will appear if the test was performed properly,” reports Salignostics.
Superdrug's healthcare director, Caris Newson, told the Daily Mail: “The first at-home urine pregnancy test was launched nearly 50 years ago and until now there haven't been many advancements in this category.
“We are proud to help our customers by bringing them this new, innovative product.”
Chris Yates, CEO of Abingdon Health, commented: "We are delighted to announce the launch of Salistick™ initially across 400 Superdrug stores and at Superdrug.com.
“This novel technology provides women with an enhanced user-experience; offering the ability to test anywhere, anytime, and for the experience to be shared with a partner and other loved ones.
“We are pleased to have supported our partner Salignostics Ltd through the development process into manufacturing and now commercial launch, and we look forward to deepening our collaboration as we move forward."
Salistick costs £9.99 and will be available at 400 Superdrug stores and online across the UK and Ireland.
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