Home pregnancy tests can produce false positive results due to exposure to soaps or detergents, HCG injections, certain medications, trophoblastic tumors, or hysterical/false pregnancy. Seeing a doctor after a positive result is important for proper obstetric care.
A home pregnancy test can produce false positive results for several reasons. Even a blood pregnancy test can show a false positive under certain circumstances. False positives are rare, but they do happen. Seeing a doctor soon after getting a positive pregnancy test result is always a good idea.
A home pregnancy test works by measuring human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). When a woman is pregnant, the placenta produced to nourish the baby produces HCG in large quantities. Normally most variations of the home pregnancy test cannot be considered accurate until done on the date or a few days after a missed period.
A common pregnancy test corruptor is exposure to soaps or detergents. These can cause a false positive result. Therefore, urine collection should be done carefully to avoid such exposure. Many tests simply have you urinate directly onto the stick used to give results. If you must urinate into a cup, the cup should be very clean and presumably free from soap residue or detergent deposits.
Another often common reason for a false positive pregnancy test is when women use HCG injections to help get pregnant. This means that HCG levels can register even when there is no pregnancy. Normally a blood test or a midwife visit helps determine a real pregnancy from a false one. In theory, a man injected with HCG could have a positive pregnancy test, even though the man would be known not to be pregnant.
Other medications can also cause a false positive on a pregnancy test. These include anticonvulsants, drugs to treat Parkinson’s disease, some tranquilizers, and some diuretics. Many of these medications could be dangerous to a growing baby, so it’s very important to confirm your results with an obstetrician if you’re taking any of these medications.
Trophoblastic tumors, which have grown in a woman’s reproductive system, can also produce a false positive in a pregnancy test. These tumors can also make a person feel pregnant, causing morning sickness and swelling in the abdomen. This is because they also produce HCG. If caught early, these tumors can usually be removed and cause no further problems.
In some cases, hysterical or false pregnancy can also produce HCG which will be detectable on a home pregnancy test. As with trophoblastic tumors, a woman may experience pregnancy symptoms that make pregnancy seem more likely.
In all cases, a positive pregnancy test means seeing a doctor early to discuss obstetric care and setting up a plan for dealing with the pregnancy medically. If you have any of the above conditions or take any medications that could affect the test, you need to bring it to the attention of a doctor so they can check for pregnancy.
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