One reason Why someone with Lupus would get a false positive for Syphillis?

Wow, I absolutely Love it when I actually figure out a Why with something. (Yes, I know I am a little strange.) But I know that there are others out there asking these same questions, so that is WHY I am making a blog about all my "fun" discoveries.

Ok, so when I did my own internet research of my symptoms, and came up with my own Lupus diagnosis, I made a list of test to get done. I had read that some individuals with Lupus will get a false positive for Syphilis. I had no clue why, but I thought that it couldn't hurt to have it done.

(If you didn't already know, I am a missionary in Tanzania, Africa.)

It was so embarrassing to go the the clinic and ask them if they could do a Syphilis test. I couldn't explain my full thought in the language of Swahili, and they didn't understand English. So I couldn't explain that I was really testing for Lupus because I was thinking that I might get a false positive on the Syphilis test. So I had to just grin and accept the fact that if I did have a false positive, they would just think that I had Syphilis. I wasn't sure how to actually feel when my test came back negative. I thought that maybe if it was positive then I would know more for sure that it was Lupus.I then wondered why only some people test positive.

Okay, follow long with me here...

Today I found out why some individuals with Lupus are at risk for blood clotting and miscarriages.
This is because of (APS) an antiphospholipid antibody that some have, which causes "sticky blood."
According to the Hughes Syndrome Foundation, 1 out 5 patients with Lupus will have this.
And according to the answer from John Hopkins Medicine, 50 % of Lupus patients will have it. 

Now I just read on the Lab Test Online website- last line:

"The reagents used to test for syphilis contain phospholipids and can cause a false positive result in patients with antiphospholipid antibodies.

So if I am understanding this right.... If I am having a Syphilis test and they are using "stuff" that has Phosholipids in it and my blood had Antiphospholipids in it. Then the Pho and the Anti ain't gonna to mix. (Do you like my Texas slag) :-) And This is WHY it causes the false positive.

There may also be other reasons, but this one seems to be the main reason.

What does this mean to Me ?

That the reason I probably Did Not have a false positive is because I probably don't have Hughes Syndrome. 

If I were to have a false positive on a Syphilis test, then I should also have an antiphospholipid antibody test to see if I am at risk for blood clots or miscarriages.

Now I may be Way off on this, and please feel free to correct me in the comments below. The more I study my Invisible Diagnosis, the more I realize the depth of all of it.

Posted in: Blood Test, False Positives, SLE/Lupus