QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Ask a Question-
Do I dip the strip in the breastmilk and then lay the strip on the counter or a napkin, or do I leave the strip submerged in the milk for two minutes?
Make sure the test pad on the strip is submerged in breastmilk, pull it out, then lay it flat and wait for 2 minutes. Read the results exactly at 2 minutes. So no, you do not need to leave the strip submerged in milk for 2 minutes!
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I dipped the strip is straight alcohol and it did not show a positive result?
Milkscreen® strips are designed to detect a certain level of alcohol that has already been metabolized through the body and present in breastmilk. If the strip is dipped directly into straight alcohol, the enzymes (or reactive agents) can be destroyed or inactivated and therefore, the strips will not work as designed. In addition, for best results, it is important to not open the foil pouch until you are ready to test your breastmilk.
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I consumed multiple drinks and believe alcohol was present in my breast milk, but I received a negative result?
A typical drink – a 12 oz beer, a 4 oz glass of wine, or a 1.5 oz portion of hard liquor, for example – takes an average of two to three hours to metabolize out of your system. Every woman metabolizes alcohol differently, and the amount of time it takes for the alcohol to leave the breast milk supply may last a longer or shorter time period for you. Body weight, type / amount of alcohol consumed, and food intake will all affect alcohol metabolism. If the alcohol had already metabolized out of your system, this could be the reason for the initial negative result. In addition, another important step in ensuring best results with Milkscreen, is avoid opening the foil pouch until you are ready to test your breastmilk.
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Can I use the breast milk I used the test on, if the results were negative for the presence of alcohol?
Ideally, we recommend testing with a small sample of milk instead of something like an entire bottle. That said, it is still okay to use the milk if no alcohol was detected. Using a smaller portion just allows you to more easily toss if it you "contaminated" the milk sample with your fingers or something like that (but if you have clean hands and use a clean, dry container for testing you should be fine!).