Shocking Results – Are You Using At-Home Covid Tests Incorrectly?
I think it's pretty safe to say that covid testing is probably going to be with us for awhile. It's kinda the 'new norm' and so are the elusive home covid-19 testing kits.
If you have used one before, you know that the instructions in the box have you swab both of your nostrils to obtain the mucus that will interact with the testing kit to show if you are positive or negative.
According to a report by WGME, across the pond in the United Kingdom many people are suggesting to swab the back of your throat instead of your nose for more accurate results. Of course this begs the question, why do the package instructions say to swab the nose instead of the throat?
According to a FDA response to WGME for that very question, they said:
“The FDA has noted safety concerns regarding self-collection of throat swabs, as they are more complicated than nasal swabs and if used incorrectly, can cause harm to the patient. The CDC recommends that throat swabs be collected by a trained healthcare provider.”
When this question was asked to Maine's CDC Director , Dr. Nirav Shah, he said that both methods are effective however there is research that indicates that the throat swab is indeed superior in terms of accuracy of the test result. He further stated that if it were him taking the test, he would swab his throat.
Many people are sharing information that tests that are coming back negative from a nasal swab, are in fact testing positive when doing the test swabing the throat.