Which DIY Health Tests Are Worth It?

These days, you can check everything from your cholesterol levels to whether you have a UTI right at home. But just how reliable are the results? Read on to see which tests to pick— and which to skip.
 

- Sunny Sea Gold

WITH BREAKTHROUGHS IN at-home medical testing, taking your wellness into your own hands is now cheaper and easier than ever. And it’s more popular: The global market for at-home health tests is estimated to grow to $18.9 billion in 2017 (up from $14.7 billion in 2012). We’re drawn to the convenience factor—58 percent of consumers said they’d likely choose a DIY strep test over a traditional office-visit swab, and 42 percent would prefer to do simple urinalysis testing in their home rather than visit a clinic, according to a report from Price water house Coopers.

Even doctors are getting on board this DIY train, which has the potential to save time for everyone involved. “Just because we have home testing now doesn’t mean doctors are extinct! It means people can get a ballpark idea of where they are and then follow up with their provider,” says cardiologist Nieca Goldberg, MD, medical director of NYU Langone’s Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health. “At-home testing is a good way for women to feel empowered about their own health.” That said, not all tests are equal. We got the expert scoop on when it’s smart to play doctor.

Cholesterol

HOW IT WORKS: Sunny Sea Gold Insert a test strip into the handheld device, prick your finger, collect a drop of blood, then apply it to the strip—two minutes later, you’ve got your numbers. (The starter kit includes separate test strips to check your total cholesterol, HDL, and triglycerides.)

ACCURACY: Over 85 percent. 

SHOULD YOU TRY IT?