how can a pregnancy test be a false positive?
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In very rare cases, you can have a false-positive result. This means you're not pregnant but the test says you are. You could have a false-positive result if you have blood or protein in your pee. Certain drugs, such as tranquilizers, anticonvulsants, hypnotics, and fertility drugs, could cause false-positive results.
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False positives can also occur, but they're rare. Testing very early could detect a chemical pregnancy, where a fertilized egg implants in the uterus but stops growing before it's big enough to see on an early ultrasound.
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False Negative Pregnancy Tests However, this is not always the case. False negative pregnancy tests do occur. In fact, it is possible to have a negative result on a pregnancy test and actually be pregnant.
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False positives are rare. If you take a test and it's negative and then take another test a few days apart and it's positive, it's possible you are pregnant and just didn't have enough hormones in your urine when tested earlier.
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A false positive pregnancy test is very rare with today's tests. A false negative test (a negative pregnancy test when the woman is pregnant) is unusual and usually due to the test being performed incorrectly. Also, over-the-counter pregnancy tests are basically the same as the ones done in your doctor's office.
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Could a positive result be wrong? Although rare, it's possible to get a positive result from a home pregnancy test when you're not actually pregnant. This is known as a false-positive.
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Rarely, certain medical conditions can cause a home pregnancy test to give a false positive. These include: urinary tract infection. kidney disease that causes blood or white blood cells in the urine.
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It's rare, but it does happen. A false-positive pregnancy test can be devastating—especially for women who have difficulty conceiving or who are actively trying to get pregnant. ... Thankfully, false-positive pregnancy tests are rare, but they can happen.
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A positive result—even a faint line—on a pregnancy test means you're almost certainly pregnant. False positive results are incredibly rare, and only happen if you have recently been pregnant, you're on fertility medications containing hCG, or you have a rare medical condition that causes hCG to be present.
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So, can pregnancy cause a false positive HIV test? Not exactly, but false positives do happen. Experts say pregnant people can experience false positives simply because they're tested more often (once in the first trimester and once in the third) than the general population.
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While false negatives are very common, a false positive – where a pregnancy test tells you you're pregnant when you aren't – is extremely rare. That's because there are very few circumstances when your body would produce hCG without being pregnant.
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This is why a positive pregnancy test result will mean you are almost certainly pregnant. However, in rare instances, you can get a false positive from: a recent pregnancy (e.g. after miscarriage, recent birth or termination) some rare ovarian cysts.
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It is possible to have a positive pregnancy test result and not actually be pregnant – despite many people telling you otherwise. It's called a false positive – and while it's not common – it does happen (and we know it can be seriously disappointing if you're trying to conceive ? )
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A test will only show a false positive if you have hCG in your system for another reason such as you were recently pregnant, are taking fertility medications containing hCG, or if you have a medical condition, like some rare ovarian cysts.
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This scenario is pretty rare, but it can definitely happen. So why were the pregnancy tests negative? One explanation for a false negative pregnancy test is what's called the hook effect. It's not common but sometimes this effect leads to urine and blood tests giving the wrong result.
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A pregnancy test works by detecting the hCG hormone, which is usually only present in your body if you're pregnant. A positive pregnancy test result will mean you are almost certainly pregnant. Getting a true false positive – when you were never pregnant in the first place – is incredibly rare.
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Another common reason for getting a false negative is not having enough hCG in the urine you test. Early on in pregnancy, you can dilute the hormone concentration in your urine if you drink a lot of water before testing. This is more likely to happen in very early pregnancy when you take the test later in the day.