A home test is an effective and easy way to detect pregnancy in the early stages. With a negative result, one strip appears on the body of the test, but the second one already indicates the onset of pregnancy. And although the tests show a reliable result of up to 97%, errors still occur. It is not surprising that many worry about whether tests can be false positive.
In fact, a false positive pregnancy test is not uncommon. In fact, this result means that the test is positive, and there is no pregnancy. Of course, it is much more likely to be vice versa, that is, there is pregnancy, but the test did not determine it, but a false positive result also occurs.
Principle of the pregnancy test
The action of all home tests is based on one principle - the determination of the hormone hCG in the body, in particular in the urine. The fact is that with successful fertilization of the egg and fixing it on the wall of the uterus, the level of hCG swiftly increases. At the same time, the indicators are growing every day, so you can determine pregnancy within a week after fertilization, but ideally, of course, on the second day of a delay in menstruation.
Causes of a false positive pregnancy test result
So, if only the level of hCG is determined, the question arises whether the test always shows pregnancy. In fact, hCG is elevated in the body can be for several reasons. For example, if there is a tumor or cyst. By the way, in this way, a man can also be tested for the presence of tumor formations.
There are hormonal drugs, the reception of which can also be reflected not in the result of the test. It is logical that if you take drugs containing hCG, the level of the hormone in your body will be increased, which will affect the appearance of a second strip on the body of the test. Many are also interested in the question whether the test will show a frozen pregnancy or a positive result in miscarriage. Given that the reactants react to the hormone hCG, which is produced by chorion, and subsequently the placenta, immediately after the miscarriage test, usually shows a pregnancy. The fact is that, in spite of the fact that even though the hormone has ceased to be produced, its concentration in the body is still quite high, which will be enough for a positive result.
One of the most common causes of the wrong result is poor quality of the test itself or improper storage. So, if the expiration date of the test is long gone or storage conditions were far from ideal, the appearance of two strips is quite expected.
A false positive result can be a consequence of misuse. Quite often, women note the appearance of a second blurred strip - in this case, the test must be repeated. If you observe a fuzzy second strip when you are re-conducted, then the test should be carried out after a few days.
It is worth noting that if a pregnancy test is shown with a monthly test, the result may not necessarily be false. In this case, you need to urgently seek medical help, because if you are really pregnant, such bleeding, as a rule, signals a threat of miscarriage.
It is worth noting that the test is positive if there are two strips - identical in width and color. All other results (thin, fuzzy, fuzzy, color-differentiated second stripe) are inconclusive.