Lateral flow tests - kits - anyone managed to get any?

[Blue Hills]

Is there a positive sign of a successful/valid sample though. I find the tonsils thing tricky - the instructions are awash with warnings about not touching anything else (tongue, inner cheek etc) which can be tricky.
Or can you skip the tonsils tickling and just do the nose bit - seem to remember some instruction which said you could.

 

[Julia9054]

Or can you skip the tonsils tickling and just do the nose bit - seem to remember some instruction which said you could.

It depends on the brand of test you've got. Fortunately I have no supply issues as I get them from school but we have recently swapped over from the nose and throat to the just nose type.

 

[T4tomo]

It depends on the brand of test you've got. Fortunately I have no supply issues as I get them from school but we have recently swapped over from the nose and throat to the just nose type.

Yes latest boxes we've got are nose only, thankfully. I gag something rotten doing the throat bit and the OH takes the mick mercilessly

 

[Blue Hills]

Yes latest boxes we've got are nose only, thankfully. I gag something rotten doing the throat bit and the OH takes the mick mercilessly

am i unusually stupid in not really knowing where EXACTLY my tonsils are? The kit i had gave no info, while stressing stressing that you shouldn't touch anything else.

 

[T4tomo]

am i unusually stupid in not really knowing where EXACTLY my tonsils are? The kit i had gave no info, while stressing stressing that you shouldn't touch anything else.

think of them as throat bollocks

 

[Blue Hills]

think of them as throat bollocks

I'm not going there.

 

[Landsurfer]

Don't assume this will protect you. My son and his partner have both had Covid and double jabbed. She tested LFT positive yesterday and both are taking PCRs today.

They won't be driving home for Christmas.

Ok, but are they ill ..... My friend is the the senior nurse at a South Yorks hospital .... she and 3 of her nurses are at home after testing positive .... non are even slightly ill .... at home for 10 days watching netflix while Rome burns ... she’s been at home 5 days and tested negative with a LFT but will not be allowed back to work ...

 

[winjim]

The tests don't control for correct sampling. Our nucleic acid amplification analysers at work don't either. They control for test validity and presence of interferents. As I understand it, it is possible to control for sampling to an extent with PCR assay but they don't do it routinely.

 

[classic33]

Ok, but are they ill ..... My friend is the the senior nurse at a South Yorks hospital .... she and 3 of her nurses are at home after testing positive .... non are even slightly ill .... at home for 10 days watching netflix while Rome burns ... she’s been at home 5 days and tested negative with a LFT but will not be allowed back to work ...

I thought part of the idea behind all this testing was to identity who may be carrying the virus, and limit the spread.

It is possible to carry a disease and not be affected by it. One of the best known cases being "Typhoid Mary". Known to have killed at least 51, and who spent the last 23 years of her life in quarantine. She tested negative as well, every time she was tested for it.

 

[PaulSB]

am i unusually stupid in not really knowing where EXACTLY my tonsils are? The kit i had gave no info, while stressing stressing that you shouldn't touch anything else.

They're at the back of the throat if you still have them. Basically get the swab as far back as you can. At the point of being about to gag you're there. I don't want to put you off but I found it deeply unpleasant.

Our last three boxes have been nose only which is a great improvement. I wonder if it leads to better results? If people don't like gagging they may not test the correct area?

 

[PaulSB]

I thought part of the idea behind all this testing was to identity who may be carrying the virus, and limit the spread.

It is possible to carry a disease and not be affected by it. One of the best known cases being "Typhoid Mary". Known to have killed at least 51, and who spent the last 23 years of her life in quarantine. She tested negative as well, every time she was tested for it.

Precisely but there are always people who find reason why they should not cooperate for the greater good of society.

I've known examples of people criticising the Zoe study for being intrusive in it's need for personal details only to praise the results.

 

[fossyant]

am i unusually stupid in not really knowing where EXACTLY my tonsils are? The kit i had gave no info, while stressing stressing that you shouldn't touch anything else.

The only tests I've used are nose only. I don't have any tonsils to tickle

 

[vickster]

They were giving them and masks out in Kingston on Sunday. I also got a box from pharmacy last week with code (I'm having to LFT daily as a close contact, do much prefer nose only ones)

 

[Low Gear Guy]

There are no lateral flow tests available on line or the two nearest pharmacists. I don't have the time or inclination to tour the country for some in stock as I am working full time.

We are currently waiting for a PCR test result and the rest of the household should be doing a daily test but we will have run out by the end of the week.

Ah well, that should keep the reported positive test results down. Perhaps it will all be over by Christmas.

 

[Blue Hills]

They're at the back of the throat if you still have them. Basically get the swab as far back as you can. At the point of being about to gag you're there. I don't want to put you off but I found it deeply unpleasant.

Our last three boxes have been nose only which is a great improvement. I wonder if it leads to better results? If people don't like gagging they may not test the correct area?

Thanks Paul, i seem to recall that the instructions on mine said throat THEN nose (though maybe you could just do the nose)