Oxidative Stress Test Strips

We're here to help you understand your result.

Reviewed by a member of our support team, not software and not a clinician. Reply within one business day.

Oxidative Stress Test Strips

Read your result

What your result might look like.

One pad, four bands. Match the colour to the nearest block on the key. 
Read at 3 minutes. Ignore any colour change after 4.

  • Normal

    Normal

    What it means

    The first band on the key. The insert describes this as a balanced state between oxidation and the body's antioxidant defences.

    What it doesn't mean

    This test doesn't give a number, and this band isn't a clean bill of health — it's where the colour landed on one sample.

    What to do next

    Nothing to change. If you're tracking, test at the same time of day.
  • Caution

    Caution

    What it means

    The second band. The insert reads this as oxidative stress above the normal range, and points toward lifestyle rather than treatment.

    What it doesn't mean

    It isn't a diagnosis and it isn't a measurement. There's no number behind this band.

    What to do next

    Retest in a week or two before drawing conclusions. One sample is one sample.
  • High

    High

    What it means

    The third band. The insert describes this as significant oxidative stress that may be worth looking into further.

    What it doesn't mean

    The strip reports a marker. It doesn't say what caused the reading or what it means for you.

    What to do next

    Retest to see whether it holds. If it does, it's worth raising with a healthcare professional.
  • Severe

    Severe

    What it means

    The top band on the key.

    What it doesn't mean

    A single reading here isn't a finding about your health. The test has no numeric scale and no reference range behind it.

    What to do next

    Speak to a healthcare professional if a reading in this band concerns you.

Send us a photo

Between two bands?

Four bands and no numbers means the whole result rests on a colour match, and bathroom lighting shifts every one of them. Send a photo and someone on our team will call it with you.

01

Hold the strip flat against the colour chart on the bottle so both are in the same shot.

02

Take the photo at 3 minutes. Past 4 the pad can keep shifting and the reading no longer counts.

03

Daylight if you can, phone straight above, no shadow across the strip.

How this works

Your photo is reviewed by a member of our support team. They are not healthcare professionals and cannot diagnose a condition or advise on treatment. What they can do is help you read what your test is showing.

Nothing here is automated. Your photo stays confidential and is used only to answer you.

Upload your photo

Taking the test

A few things worth knowing first.

Small handling details, and one that trips people up.

  1. Close the cap straight away. These strips are sensitive to moisture in the air. A strip left out of the bottle for 20 minutes or more should be replaced rather than used.
  2. Use freshly caught urine and mix it before you dip. Don't let it stand.
  3. Don't touch the test pad, before or after. Handle the strip by the plain end.
  4. Discard any strip whose pad is already discoloured — it's deteriorated, and it won't read true.
  5. Store the bottle dry, between 2 and 30°C, away from sunlight and moisture. Don't freeze it.
  6. On timing: the bottle label recommends first-morning urine. The instruction manual doesn't specify a time of day. Either way, pick one and stay with it, because comparing a morning reading to an evening one will look like a change that isn't one.

Directions for use

How to take it.

About three minutes, almost all of it waiting.

  • STEP 01

    Take one strip

    Take a strip from the bottle and close the cap tightly straight away. If a strip has been out of the bottle for 20 minutes or more, start with a fresh one.
  • STEP 02

    Soak and tap

    Soak the pad in freshly caught, well-mixed urine for no more than a second, then tap the excess off onto a paper towel.
  • STEP 03

    Match at 3 minutes

    Compare the pad to the colour chart on the bottle and find the closest band.

Wait the full three minutes. The reaction isn't finished before then, so an early read will sit lower on the key than your actual result. The pad can keep shifting after four minutes — ignore anything that changes past that point.

WATCH IT DONE

The whole thing, start to finish.

Questions

The ones we hear most often.

Because the strip reads by colour against four printed bands, and the key carries no concentrations or units. It places you in a band, and that's the whole output. If you want a measured figure, that's a lab test, and a provider can order one. What this does well is let you repeat the same reading cheaply and watch which way it moves.

The instructions name two things generally: highly pigmented urine, and medications. They don't list specific substances, so we can't either. If the pad comes out a shade that doesn't resemble anything on the chart, send us a photo rather than forcing it into the nearest band.

Our two documents don't fully agree here, so we'll give you both. The bottle label recommends fresh early-morning urine for the best result. The instruction manual asks only for freshly caught, well-mixed urine and doesn't name a time of day. First thing in the morning is the more consistent choice, and consistency is what matters most if you're comparing readings.

Often enough to see a pattern, which usually means weekly rather than daily. A single band tells you very little. Four or five readings taken the same way start to show a direction, and that's the thing worth paying attention to.

Read it at three minutes. Past four, the pad can keep shifting and any change from that point should be ignored — a late read will sit higher on the key than your actual result. If you missed the window, it's worth running a fresh strip rather than trusting the one in front of you.

Malondialdehyde — a by-product the body produces when fats in cell membranes react with free radicals. Research links its level in urine to free radical activity, which is why it's used as a general marker of oxidative stress. It's a marker, not a measure of health.

Still need help

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  • Running low

    Oxidative Stress Test Strips

    25-test bottles

    Learn more
  • Often used alongside

    Urinox-10 Urinalysis Test Strips

    Ten markers from one strip, including specific gravity

    Learn more

Oxidative Stress Test Strips give a semi-quantitative reading of malondialdehyde (MDA) in urine for general wellness monitoring. MDA is not the only indicator of wellbeing, and a result should be read in the context of your lifestyle and health rather than on its own. This test does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition and is not a substitute for medical assessment. Talk to your provider about readings that concern you.