How To Use A Saliva Test Kit At Home
- Remember, the time of day that you take your hormone test matters. Depending on which test you choose to do, you may only need to take one sample, or your test kit could include several tubes to take samples at different times of the day.
- Eating, drinking, smoking, brushing your teeth, and chewing gum can all contaminate your sample. Refrain from doing these activities or anything else that could alter your results for at least an hour prior to collecting your spit sample. However, make sure youâre staying hydrated prior to that period so that you can generate enough spit.
- When youâre ready to take your test, simply open up your test tube and start spitting! Tubes will have a mark to indicate when youâve collected enough sample for testing.
- Repeat if necessary throughout the day.
- Once your samples are collected, mail them off to the lab to be analyzed. The sooner the better here: saliva samples contain biological materials that can change the longer they stay in the tube. Get it to the lab as quickly as you can for the most accurate testing.
- Keep an eye out for your results and guidance for making data-driven improvements to your health.
Capillary Blood Spot Testing
Capillary Blood Spot Testing offers easy alternative to venous blood draws in the laboratory or doctors office.
Blood Spot testing is the future of hormone testing. The process requires only whole capillary blood from a nearly painless finger prick and several tests can be run from a single sample. Blood spot testing provides results on a par with those from serum tests but without the cost and inconvenience of conventional blood drawing. In addition, collection times can be optimized for fasting baseline hormone levels and assessment of HRT dosing and diurnal hormone testing.
Tests offered in the Blood Spot Profiles include:
- Thyroxine , free
How Is A Saliva Hormone Test Performed
Saliva tests for hormone levels are non-invasive and stress-free. A patient simply spits into a sterile test tube which is sent to a lab for analysis. Saliva sampling must be done correctly, but todays collection devices make it easy. Patients will collect samples at multiple intervals during the day to establish an accurate baseline and measure changes in hormones throughout the day.
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How To Check Hormone Levels Easily
The Everlywell at-home Womenâs Health test is the most comprehensive panel for a complete look at all the hormones that are critical to a womenâs well-being. This hormone imbalance test checks your female hormone levels so you can discover if your levels are too high or low compared to reference ranges.
Our Womenâs Health test is taken in your own home, and results are provided by an experienced, CLIA-certified laboratory. At a low price for all of these tests, this is the perfect starting point for those wanting to take a first step in assessing their own hormone levels before turning to more expensive, difficult, or complex alternatives.
Uses In Behavioral Research
Saliva testing also has specific uses in clinical and experimental psychological settings. Due to its ability to provide insight into human behavior, emotions, and development, it has been used to investigate psychological phenomenon such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other behavioral disorders. Its primary purpose is to test cortisol and alpha amylase levels, which are indicative of stress levels. Salivary cortisol is a good stress index, with increased levels of cortisol correlating positively with increased levels of stress. Cortisol levels rise slowly over time and take a while to return to base level, indicating that cortisol is more associated with chronic stress levels. Alpha amylase, on the other hand, spikes quickly when confronted with a stressor and returns to baseline soon after the stress has passed, making salivary amylase measurement a powerful tool for psychological research studying acute stress responses. Samples are usually collected from participants by having them drool through a straw into a collection tube while experiencing a stimulus, with samples taken every few minutes to record the gradual change in stress hormone levels. Because the collection of saliva samples is non-invasive, it has the advantage of not introducing further stress on the participant that may otherwise distort results.
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Measurement Of Salivary Levels Of Hemoglobin For Screening Periodontal Disease
Nomura and colleagues stated that periodontal disease is a common inflammatory disease. It affects about 20 to 50 % of global population in both developed and developing countries. Early detection of slight changes of periodontal tissue plays an important role in prevention of onset and progression of periodontal disease. Thus, there is a need of a screening test to assess periodontal tissue for health check-ups. Salivary levels hemoglobin has been proposed to assess the conditions of the inflammation of gingiva. In a systematic review, these investigators evaluated the evidences for Hb as periodontal screening test. They carried out a literature search of report published using PubMed databases. A total of 55 articles were retrieved and 16 were selected. The review focused on correlation coefficient with periodontal clinical parameters or sensitivity and specificity. As a result, 14 studies calculated sensitivity and specificity of Hb 6 studies measured salivary levels hemoglobin at laboratory: 3 studies used polyclonal antibody reactions and other studies used colorimetric tests 8 studies used paper strip method: 4 studies used monoclonal antibody reaction and 4 studies used colorimetric tests. Youden’s indexes by antibody reaction were better than those of colorimetric methods. The authors concluded that further studies are needed to set the cut-off values stratified by gender, age and number of remaining teeth.
Who Would Benefit From A Saliva Hormone Test
MEN can test anytime.
TEENAGERS with PMS should do a saliva hormone test.
MEN who are concerned about being at risk for Prostate disease.
MEN who are concerned about Andropause, Male Menopause and declining hormone levels.
WOMEN who are concerned about declining hormone levels are encouraged to annually evaluate estrogen, progesterone and testosterone levels to prevent osteoporosis and to monitor hormone levels for those who already have been diagnosed with osteoporosis.
WOMEN who would like to know if they are at risk for Breast Cancer. Dr. Zava has what he calls a Breast cancer profile. The breast cancer patient hormone profile were seeing is high estradiol and testosterone, low progesterone and DHEA and flat cortisol levels.
WOMEN with symptoms whose blood tests did not reveal a hormone challenge. But they still intuitively know they have a problem. The saliva hormone test often validates how we feel when blood tests do not.
WOMEN who have been on a progesterone cream and are not getting good results to determine if lack of absorption, weak cream, not using enough or using too much are the cause.
WOMEN who have been on ERT and HRT and are concerned that their estrogen/progesterone levels may be out of balance putting them at risk for breast cancer.
WOMEN who are having problems getting pregnant. A saliva hormone test can reveal subnormal progesterone output, suggesting a possible reason for infertility.
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Do I Need To Be Concerned About Other Cosmetic Products
Cosmetic products, including soaps, hair care products, and makeup may contain hormones including estrogens, progesterone, and DHEA. Eyelash lengthening products may also contain testosterone and/or other androgens. Ideally, all cosmetic products should be avoided for 24 hours before collection and on the day of collection for accurate saliva hormone results.
Symptoms Of Hormonal Imbalance To Look Out For
Normal changes in hormones will have almost no effect on your body. However, underlying medical conditions that cause hormone imbalance show visible symptoms. If the change in hormones is due to improperly functioning endocrine glands, here are a few symptoms you should look out for:
- Sudden Gain or Loss in Bodyweight
- Sweating Without Any Reason
- Erectile Dysfunction
If you are experiencing any one of the above symptoms, youcould have hormonal imbalance issues due to a medical condition.
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Salivary Electrolytes As Biomarkers For Mouth Neoplasms And Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
In an observational study, Saavedra et al determined salivary electrolyte concentration of oral potentially malignant disorders and oral squamous cell carcinoma patients. These investigators also carried out a related systematic review. Unstimulated saliva from 18 patients with OSCC, 18 patients with OPMD, and 18 individuals without oral lesions was collected. A biochemical analysis was carried out to evaluate salivary concentrations of potassium , phosphorus , sodium , calcium , magnesium , zinc , copper , and iron . Kruskal-Wallis test was performed, and p < 0.05 was interpreted as statistically significant. The literature search for the systematic review retrieved 9 studies that associated salivary electrolyte levels with presence and progression of OSCC. A highly significant increase was found in the salivary Mg levels in the OPMD group in comparison with the OSCC and control group . No differences were observed in other salivary levels elements. The results of the systematic review revealed that 1 study indicated a decrease, and 3 studies reported an increase in salivary Na levels in patients with OPMD and OSCC 2 studies indicated a decrease in salivary K levels in OSCC, and the other 2 reported high Mg levels in OPMD and OSCC. The authors concluded that high salivary Mg levels can be a potential biomarker indicating the presence of OPMD, however, the evidence is still contradictory and more studies are needed.
Which Hormone Tests Should You Get
PMS/PMDD, Painful and Heavy Periods
If you have PMS or PMDD, spotting 3-10 days before your period, a short luteal phase, short menstrual cycles, long or heavy periods then I suggest starting with the Female Hormone Test and the Progesterone Test.
I think a thyroid test is very important in this scenario because of how closely connected the thyroid is to our menstrual cycles. If you have long, heavy periods, period pain, along with low energy or fatigue, hair loss, dry skin or hair, then definitely check out the Thyroid Antibody Test in addition to the Female Hormone Test and the Progesterone Test.
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Saliva Testing Vs Blood Testing For Hormone Levels: Which Is Better
Have you ever said in a moment of moodiness, I think my hormones are out of whack!?
Did you consider that you might be right on the money? Fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, moodiness these can all be signs of a hormonal imbalance. A simple blood or saliva test in a doctors office can check your hormone levels and find out if lows or highs are responsible for your ongoing health concerns. But which is more accurate? Blood testing or saliva testing?
What A Hormone Test Says About Your Health
Hormones are chemical substances produced and excreted by the bodys endocrine system. They travel through the bloodstream and help regulate various organs and body functions.
A hormone test can check for hormonal imbalances. Meaning it can determine whether you have too much or too little of certain hormones.
Hormonal imbalance suggests the presence of an underlying health problem.
However, it can also be caused by aging, stress, and an unhealthy lifestyle such as poor diet and lack of sleep.
Depending on the type of test, hormones can reveal your health. There are three types of hormone testing:
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Is Saliva Testing For Hormone Imbalance Reliable
When you do a hormone test to understand if you have any hormonal imbalance that can be caused by a medical condition, you will want to make sure that the test youre using is reliable, and gives you correct values that reflect the actual hormone levels in your blood.
There are two forms of hormones in your blood, free and protein bound. Free hormones are also known as unbound hormones and they are biologically active, whereas, protein bound hormones are non-bioavailable and have no function on other cells.
Whereas testing hormones in your blood serum can measure both free and bound proteins, and therefore give you more information, saliva testing only measures the bioavailable or unbound hormone, which is the portion that is delivered to the tissues in the body. This means that the hormone levels found in your saliva are much lower than how they actually are found in your blood.
Also, the hormone levels in your saliva change depending on the time of the day, your diet and hydration, as well as how much saliva you have in your mouth. All of these factors can change the hormone levels that are measured, which is not good if you are looking for a precise, reliable test for your hormones.
Saliva testing is currently not considered an accurate method to test your hormone levels and find out if you have a hormonal imbalance.
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Accurate Hormone Testing For Different Supplementation Types
Todays health care practitioners face the challenge of helping patients cope with hormone imbalance. Whether thats women suffering from hot flashes and night sweats or men troubled by symptoms of low testosterone, accurate testing is the best way to make sure hormone dosing is optimal.
Matching the type of testing with the type of supplementation has a great impact on the clinical usefulness of hormone assessments. If youre measuring with the wrong method, tissue uptake of supplemented hormone may not be accurately reflected in test results leading to inappropriate dosing.
For example:
Serum vs. Blood Spot:Serum vs. Saliva:Blood Spot vs. Saliva:Blood Spot/Saliva vs. Urine: Saliva vs. Urine:
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Why Saliva Testing Is Better Than Blood Testing For Checking Your Hormones
In todays blog, were going to go through why saliva testing is better than blood testing when you want to check your hormones.
Now, normally if you go to your doctor and ask to have your hormones checked your doctor will want to do this with blood tests. But, when were thinking about hormones, we want to do saliva testing because its much more accurate for picking up the hormone imbalances we want to know more about.
However, before I get into it why saliva testing is so great let me introduce myself in case youre new to my blog.
Im Hayden Keys. Im a naturopath in Miranda and Im the naturopath that helped Sarah from Sarahs Day get her hormones balanced and clear up her hormonal acne.
Now today what well go through is similar to what I did with Sarah, and what I do with all my in clinic patients. Its how to pinpoint the hormonal imbalances that drive your hormonal acne. Which, once we know these, we can then work out what specifically youll need to get your hormonal acne cured.
But first, lets do a recap of blood testing . Blood testing is great for identifying diseases and major hormone imbalances in your body. Its not so great for picking up the more subtle hormone imbalances that drive hormonal acne.
So, the beauty of saliva testing is its able to pinpoint imbalances that blood testing doesnt reveal.
Now heres the test Sarah did. We checked cortisol, which is a stress hormone, DHEA, and we also checked testosterone as well.
A Better Choice For Clinicians And Patients
Unlike blood-based tests, saliva diagnostics can measure the amount of free, unbound hormone that is available to act on a target tissue. About 95-99% of steroid hormones circulating in the bloodstream are bound to carrier proteins. Saliva contains unbound, bioavailable hormones. Therefore, salivary concentrations better represent circulating levels of free hormones, 1 which are likely to affect the body and be responsible for symptoms related to excessive or deficient hormone levels.
Among the advantages of saliva tests versus blood tests are the non-invasive and stress-free nature of saliva sampling. Hormone testing may often require baseline measurements as well as periodic tests to monitor a particular condition or adjust therapeutic dosing. Saliva sampling must be done correctly, but today’s collection devices make it easy, and patients can collect their own samples during the day or night as needed, to measure fluctuations in hormones such as cortisol or melatonin, for example. Saliva testing also provides an easy and convenient way to acquire the periodic measurements of various sex hormones in women of reproductive age for the treatment of fertility problems, or in peri- or post-menopausal women to adjust and personalize dosing in hormone replacement therapy.
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Saliva Testing For Hormone Levels
An at-home saliva hormone test helps you understand more about your hormones. It can tell if you have hormonal balance. But are they more effective than a blood test?
Before using a test kit, its important to understand how these tests work.
Saliva tests are a non-invasive and stress-free way to test hormones. All you need to do is spit into a tube and send saliva samples to the testing company.
These tests are easy to use and affordable. When your test results are ready, you can access them from the privacy and convenience of your own home.
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Saliva Testing: Is It As Reliable As Blood Tests
Nutritional therapy has come a long way since the era of Abram Hoffer and Linus Pauling, counter-revolutionaries whose work countered establishment paradigms and stimulated change in across a large host of medical disciplines. Arguably, the driving force in developments has been the wider range of metabolic testing available to practitioners the information provided has permitted increased personalization, accurate progress tracking and a means to prove/disprove hypotheses. Testing is available from a range of functional laboratories and can be undertaken on a wide range of samples, with the most popular being stool, urine, blood and saliva.
One long-held belief in the medical field has been that blood testing is more reliable than saliva. Is this true?
Despite the overwhelming evidence for the utility and reliability of saliva testing, many doctors still fall foul of superstition. Take for example the website of Dr Andrew Weil, who acknowledges the a flurry of the studies on saliva testing before stating: I still feel that saliva tests for hormone levels are generally not reliable. He then justifies this on the basis of a conversation with a colleague. Although such positions quickly explain why Dr Weils input goes largely ignored in the nutrition / health optimization communities, it is relevant that the conventionally-trained doctor was a global authority in the integrative world throughout the 90s and therefore may still carry weight with your GP.
Summary
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