Saliva test with microscope. Draw your fertility - infertility calendar !

Set and technical characteristics:

Characteristic	Value
Microscope:
quantity, units	1
magnification, times, not less than	100
size, mm, not more than	110 x 20 x 20
Slides:
quantity, units	32
Casing:
quantity, units.	1
size, mm, not more than	120 x 50 x 45
Supplementary characteristics:
Weight, g, not more than	100
Average use time, years, not less than	5
Used at temperatures, ºC between	10 - 35
Complies with standard requirements	СПКД 941416.001 ТУ
Attachments:
Operating instructions, units	1
Menstrual cycle monitoring table, units	1

How to carry out saliva test

1. Take out the microscope and slides from the casing (in the new package slides are wrapped in a cellophane pouch, which is placed in a chamber under microscope).
2. When holding a slide horizontally, place a drop of saliva into a special oval concave (1). The drop has to be air-bubbles free and, when the slide is tilted, not to change its form and not to spill over the concave rim.
3. Keep the slide in a horizontal position till the saliva fully dries and crystallizes. In case of drop's normal thickness it takes around 15-20 minutes.
4. Make certain that saliva is fully dry and place the slide (sharp-pointed end forward) into microscope mortise (2), the slide surface with saliva crystals to face the eye-piece.
5. When observing the view through eye-piece (the further end from the mortise), direct the microscope towards a source of light (lamp) and focus the sharpness of a picture with the help of focus knob (3). Centre the slide (4) for the best view.
6. Following the instructions presented in chapter on Practical Tips , examine the picture and register the result in a monthly tracking chart.
7. Withdraw the slide from the microscope and save it by placing into a compartment of the casing.
8. Place the microscope into the casing.

Recommendations for microscope use

1. Pay special attention to the cleanliness of microscope eye-piece. Do not touch it with fingers. In case of necessity, use a cotton swab slightly soaked with alcohol or ether and wrapped on a wooden stick. Avoid excessive dust.

Recommendations for slides use

1. Set of 32 slides allows storing of dry saliva samples for a fairly long time. It provides the possibility to compare one microscopic picture with another. Even more, if the observed patterns of saliva crystallization do not match with the probable results, they can be ignored and the test repeated. It considerably decreases the possibility of incorrect interpretation.
2. In case you save the whole series of cycle tests, you will have a handy material to present to your physician-gynaecologist.
3. It is advised to use a separate slide for every test carried out. Otherwise carefully clean the slide after each testing.
4. After using the slides, rinse and disinfect them. After primary rinsing with running water, disinfect them with 3% hydrogen peroxide solution. Follow with secondary rinsing and let them dry out.
5. Protect slides from abrasion.

Recommendations for saliva sampling

1. The majority of saliva glands are situated under tongue, and therefore it is easier to take the samples from there.
2. In case saliva secretion is insubstantial, it is advised to induce it by imagining something stimulating this process. For example, you can imagine you are eating a lemon.
3. It is recommended, that time, size of saliva drop, its drying time and other characteristics are similar from sample to sample.
4. It is advised to take saliva samples first thing in the morning prior to brushing your teeth and breakfast. In other case, the sampling is carried out not earlier than 1-2 hours after a meal, teeth brushing or smoking (a mouth's biological medium has to be as close to natural as possible).
5. Normal size saliva drop dries around 15-20 minutes, what is enough for saliva crystallization to be over. It is not recommended to use an excessive saliva amount not only because of a longer drying time, but also because of the possibility for several saliva layers to overlap, thus forming the unclear and hardly interpretable view.
6. A saliva drop has to be air-bubbles free. In case of their presence, it is necessary to remove them with some clean and sharp item (e.g., other slide) over the edges of concave, where only transparent part of saliva drop is left. To make it easier it is recommended to turn the slide and to move air bubbles to the reverse direction.
7. It is allowed to put saliva onto some clean surface (e.g., saucer). Later, with a help of dropper, to take transparent and bubble free part of saliva and place it onto a slide. In this case it is necessary to wash a dropper after each sampling.