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Can A Home Pregnancy Test Show False Positive?

Posted on Sat, 9 Jan 2016

Question: okay I got picked up by my boyfriend Sunday night we have had unprotected sex Sunday night, Monday night and a few times yesterday an today I tested positive. I haven't had a period sense Sept 18 and 14 days ago my dr said Im not pregnant can this be giving me a false pregnancy? Im stuck please help me.

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (51 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
it can't be positive so soon

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

the pregnancy tests (which involve measurement or detection of the beta chorionic gonadotropin) cannot become positive until 10-11 days have passed. Sometimes it may need a full couple of weeks. So if you're pregnant, it can't have happened just a few days ago. Since your last period was a long time ago, I would advise clarifying the issue with an ultrasound scan. If you got pregnant around October for instance then the ultrasound scan would be positive.

Kind Regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (4 minutes later)

okay Thats a little more reassuring I'll see if I can set that up thx

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (0 minute later)

Brief Answer:
You're welcome!

Detailed Answer:
Glad to help!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (3 minutes later)

something is just off no cycle sense Sept 18 got looked at 14 days ago no ur not pregnant and tested ever sense then negative then yesterday we messed around tested today n positive I'll sechdele an ultrasound ASAP then test again wednesday or thursday next week or something this puzzle stressful an confusing

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (2 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
it's a little strange

Detailed Answer:
You're right that it sounds strange. It depends on how the doctor excluded pregnancy 14 days ago... Did you do an ultrasound scan then? Did you do a blood beta chorionic gonadotropin test? If none of them had been done and the exclusion was based solely on clinical criteria then it could be a wrong assumption.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (1 minute later)

I had my blood work done all she said was my iron is low

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (1 minute later)

Brief Answer:
did the blood work include beta chorionic gonadotropin?

Detailed Answer:
If the blood test did not include a quantitative test for beta chorionic gonadotropin then you can't be sure.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (2 minutes later)

not sure what that test is?

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (3 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
it's a hormone

Detailed Answer:
Beta chorionic gonadotropin or beta-hCG is a hormone produced in excess when a woman gets pregnant. This is actually the hormone that the home pregnancy kits detect in the urine too. The quantitative blood test is more accurate though.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (6 minutes later)

all I know is my blood work was for iron vitamine d etc cuz she said are u pregnant I said I actually don't know I haven't had my cycle sense Sept 18 an she said ok I'll get u lab slips I had it done n the next day or day after I got a call saying Im not. I know females can skip a month but its more then a month so I been worried then today something told me to take a home pregnancy test after we messed around yesterday I did an it came positive so I'm wondering if that's false cuz I took it so soon

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (12 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
please upload the tests

Detailed Answer:
Will you please upload the test reports and a picture of your home pregnancy test? It will help me to make sure you haven't misinterpreted something that you may not be familiar with.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (2 minutes later)

don't have the test results they called n.told me my lab results all I have are the home pregnancy ones

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (4 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
please upload a photo of the home kit

Detailed Answer:
First of all please read the instructions thoroughly to make sure that you've followed the correct steps when testing. The pregnancy home kits should be read soon after urinating because if you let a lot of time to pass before you read it, it may become falsely positive. A positive test should have two lines (even if one of them is only faint). If only one line is visible then the test is negative.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (4 minutes later)

these are the two I took today

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (5 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
both are positive

Detailed Answer:
Both tests look positive, although it depends on when you read them. These tests have to be read within 5-10 minutes only. If they're not positive by then, then they are considered negative even if the second line appears afterwards. If you're certain that you've done the test the right way then you should do the blood test too (beta-hCG) and perhaps an ultrasound scan. If you're pregnant then it would be an older story that your recent sexual contact though.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (4 minutes later)

it showed up as soon as I peed. how soon can I get my blood work done. an Im sure I can get ultra sound next week

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (1 minute later)

Brief Answer:
you can do both as soon as possible

Detailed Answer:
You can (and should) do both as soon as possible. Both tests should be positive if the reason you've missed some periods was an undiagnosed pregnancy.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (2 minutes later)

ok thanks

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (1 minute later)

Brief Answer:
You're welcome

Detailed Answer:
You're welcome. Please let me know if you need more details.

Kind Regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (3 minutes later)

I will

Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (24 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
OK

Detailed Answer:
OK, I'll be XXXXXXX for a few hours now, but I'll answer later...

Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar