5 Tips on How to Use Home Covid Tests for Accurate Results

Two years after the global lockdown, a new and more convenient way of taking Сovid-19 test finally emerged. Being able to use home covid tests for accurate results is a blessing for many. Concerned citizens can now buy Lateral flow tests to confirm whether they have the coronavirus, so they can quickly take the right steps in protecting their loved ones from contracting it too.

With this self-test option, families no longer have to spend long hours at the hospital testing for the virus and waiting for the results. They can now get their results in 15-30 minutes, making it easier to quarantine, stop the spread, and begin treatment as soon as possible.

However, as with any home treatments or testing options, it is important to take certain precautions. Here are five helpful tips that’ll help you take the test appropriately and ensure get you accurate results right from the comfort of your home.

1.  Use Only Clinically-Approved Tests

Health care regulatory agencies like FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and MHRA (UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) ensure that medical devices are safe and effective for use.  Results from tests that have not been clinically approved by these bodies are unsafe for use, as these results are not reliable and could mislead you.

To keep you and your loved ones safe, always read the label to see if these tests have been clinically-approved for emergency use. With new prevailing variants sweeping across different countries, it’s now more important than ever to use approved home covid tests for accurate results.

2.  Practice Good Hygiene

To prevent any forms of alteration, it’s essential that you stay clean. Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before taking the test. You also need to disinfect surfaces where you intend to place the test.

For a safer test, avoid opening the testing device until you’re fully ready to take the test.

3.  Follow the Test Instruction

Each test kit comes with unique instructions that help you get accurate results. Read the instruction carefully and follow them. Manufacturers’ instructions are usually specific to their products in collecting saliva or nasal specimens needed for the test. You could get false results if you don’t follow them duly.

In cases where you need to perform an action or wait for a specific amount of time, prepare your timer. Your results might be inaccurate if you read the results earlier or later than the recommended time.

4.  Don’t Reuse or Share a Swab

Reusing or sharing a swab is not only unhygienic, but it could also influence the results of your tests. Swabs are usually sterilised before being packed in the test kit, which means they can only be safe for use immediately after you open the pack. They could also get infected when used more than once or left open for a long period.

Sharing a swab is extremely dangerous. It is a quick way to spread the virus if you have it and could affect the results of the next person who uses it after you.

5.  Handle the Test Safely

Moving the test around could damage it depending on the level of impact. If it falls, chances are that you won’t be getting an accurate result or no results at all if the internal test strip gets damaged in the process.

Conclusion

If your results come out positive, seek professional help. Visit the hospital for a confirmation test and begin treatment immediately. If you get a negative result, you might need to take a PCR test to be sure, especially if you’re experiencing symptoms.

Either way, make sure you take the test twice: the second test should be taken 48 hours after the first to give the virus enough time to replicate and increase the sensitivity of the test.

Dispose of the test after use to avoid reuse or any further contact.

The Together Book Project

The availability of accurate home covid tests is not only convenient for us as individuals, but it also takes the pressure off the NHS. However, covid has not gone away and the NHS is still under enormous pressure.

You might be interested in The Together Book Project, a collection of human experiences from the 2020 pandemic, released on the 72nd birthday of the NHS to fundraise for them and other frontline services that are still battling the virus in the UK.