False Positive Pregnancy Test: These 5 Reasons

“How can a false positive pregnancy happen?” I asked myself after a heated conversation with my friends. I was in disbelief especially because I had read an article stating that home pregnancy tests are over 99% accurate. I was sure that depending on the type or the brand of the pregnancy test; you either get two lines or a plus sign to confirm a positive pregnancy. I spent a lot of time surfing on the Internet researching the reasons for false positive pregnancy test. Continue reading to find out the reasons I came across…

1. Improper testing

What I found is improper testing leads to a false positive result. After doing a little research by visiting selected chemists, I established that all pregnancy test boxes have boldly written instructions. The instructions indicate how the pregnancy test should be done, how the results should be interpreted, and within what time the results are valid. After discussing with a few friends, I realized from their experiences that the five minutes of waiting for the tests can be the longest. Due to anxiety, for example, women forget to take the clock to measure the exact time after which they should read the results. The results read after the expected time has elapsed give a false positive result.


2. Evaporation line on a pregnancy test

My friends who had previously taken pregnancy tests said that some home pregnancy tests have an evaporation line. When taking the pregnancy test, the urine must change color when going across the test strip. A positive result happens when the test changes color and the results read at the exact time. In some cases, no color is clearly visible, and one has to view the results, under light, for example, in order to see the line. This can be an evaporation line. If you get an evaporation line, I would recommend you retest after a few days or use a digital pregnancy test.

3. Selected medications

Some selected medications, for example, phenothiazine can lead to a false positive pregnancy test. For women undergoing hCG therapy to treat fertility issues or luteal phase defect, they should seek professional medical advice on when to take a pregnancy test. Though in rare cases, urine contaminated with excess proteins or blood can lead to a false positive.

4. Selected medical conditions

Some medical conditions such as chorio carcinoma and other types of cancer, for example, ovarian, breast and testicular cancer raise the hCG levels in the body. Most home pregnancy tests rely on hCG levels and thus they will show positive in the presence of hCG hormone. This may be a false positive pregnancy test because the hCG may not be due to pregnancy.

5. Defective pregnancy tests

Even the highest controlled environments produce some defects once in a while. Your pregnancy test may be as a result of that rare occasion when a defect occurred. It may be expired or defective. Thus, it will not show the accurate results, and it may show a false positive. As a recommendation, if you get a false positive pregnancy test, you should see your doctor to verify if you are pregnant or not through blood tests.

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