This home Thyroid Testing Kit measures levels of TSH in the blood to help you ascertain if these are elevated or not.

Thyroid stimulating hormone – which is also known as thyrotropin, thyrotrophic hormone, TSH, or hTSH – is a pituitary hormone that stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroxine, and then triiodothyronine, which stimulates the metabolism of almost every tissue in the body.

When levels of TSH are raised, this may indicate hypothyroidism – a condition caused by the thyroid gland not making enough thyroid hormones. Symptoms of an underactive thyroid include unexplained weight gain, tiredness, depression and loss of libido.

Knowing that your TSH levels are high can help to start discussions with your GP about a possible cause for your symptoms. At home thyroid tests can be one of the quickest ways to investigate this possibility and can be done in your own time.

Gathering and testing your sample

This kit does not need to be performed by a medical professional. However, to maximise your chances of an accurate reading, please follow the instructions carefully.

Before you begin, please be aware that according to the Subclinical Thyroid Disease Consensus Panel, there is “no single level of TSH at which clinical intervention is always either indicated or contraindicated.”

However, the higher the TSH, the more compelling the argument for further tests and, if necessary, treatment. Heightened levels of TSH in the blood is considered the best initial test for hypothyroidism.

1. First, wash your hands with soap and rinse with clean, warm water.
2. Allow the test pouch to reach room temperate before opening it.
3. Open the foil pouch and take out the test cassette. Use the alcohol pad provided to clean the fingertip of either the ring finger or your middle finger. This is from where you will draw your blood sample.
4. Squeeze the end of the fingertip with your other hand and then prick it with the sterile lancet provided. The lancet pricks automatically when pressed against the skin, and the needle then retracts safely into the device.
5. Without squeezing the plastic dropper bulb, place it in contact with the blood. The blood will move into the tube on its own. Fill up to the indicated line, massaging your finger if necessary to draw sufficient blood. Avoid air bubbles if possible.
6. Next, by squeezing the dropper tube, transfer the blood collected in it to the sample well of the test cassette. Make sure it is totally dispensed in the well.
7. Open the bottle of buffer liquid and squeeze 2 drops into the sample well of the cassette (the same place you have just put the blood sample).
8. Read the results at 10 minutes. Do not read after 20 minutes.

Inside the box you will find:

• 1 x alcohol swab
• 1 x lancet
• 1 x dropper bulb
• 1 x test cassette
• 1 x tube of diluent buffer solution
• 1 x set of instructions