To think it’s really bloody difficult to do a PCR test on a young child?

[ChuckGarabedian]

Took my two children (3 and 5) for a PCR test this afternoon after they were notified as close contacts. My husband and I had to take the test also.

Both the kids freaked out, we’re scared it was going to hurt, and would barely let us do the test (which for them was nostril only). I’m afraid each of them is going to be void. But I’ll need a negative result to send them back to school and nursery.

It just seems really difficult to do this test on children so young. What has anyone else’s experience been?

Horrific. They cried when they were strapped in their car seats but at least it worked. Had to take DS2 who is three to a walk in centre and he went metal and I ended up giving him a bleeding nose 😥

I use bribery. It worked for my DM when I had to get my ears syringed as a child, and it works in DS(6). Not sure it would have worked at 3 though...

Yes same here with 4 year old.

I was worried our three-year old would be terrified. Luckily he wasn't and didnt seem to mind the two tests done so far (nostrils+throat). Promise of chocolate afterwards and very gentle nurses doing the tests helped. But I think we were just lucky.

My toddler obviously doesn't like it (because who does?) but I usually let him watch CBeebies on my phone and then bribe him with chocolate. By the time we've got out the test centre, it's usually forgotten. I view it a bit like his jabs - they tend to think the world is going to end for about 30 seconds and then are fine.

I always reward my 4yo with a chocolate digestive and they're happy with that. Recently I've let them do their own PCRs and LFTs when it's just the nostril one and it's worked fine (as in, they picked up when they had covid).

We’ve had lots of practice. It gets easier. I sit in the passenger seat (climb over if I’m driving) and have them climb over to sit on my lap, laying back across me like a baby. Then I use the technique they use at the GP for vaccinations, of pinning one arm behind me and holding one in my free hand. Then I tell them I’m fishing for bogies. And finally, I bribe them with all the chocolate and all the gold stars.

I tried doing it with them strapped in the car seats once but it was awful - not enough hands to stop them putting their hands up and pushing me away, and it felt like I was attacking them :(

Yes it’s really hard! I think it’s universally thought to be very difficult

There was a petition going around on here to introduce non invasive saliva tests for young kids I think

Agreed. Had to do a lateral flow test on my 3 year old and it involved 2 people pinning her down while DH did the test. She is very strong and I was just paranoid that she would manage to move and the test would go shooting up her nose.

Traumatized toddler.

My poor 5 year old has had fucking dozens. He has asthma & every single cold or other virus goes to his chest. I’m having to be more pragmatic now and rather than test for every exacerbation of his asthma, only test when he’s clearly unwell.

When we actually HAD covid he barely coughed! Think it was 2 days of mild chestiness.

Anyway- he is really quite chilled about the PCR tests. He grumbles a bit sometimes, but does let me do the swab. We don’t do throat anymore - too stressful for both of us. More often than not we end up laughing about bogeys or how it tickles when I’m too tentative.

For me- Top tips are to make it a (gross) joke “I’m going bogey hunting! What will I find up there today?! Treasure? Turnips?!” Etc etc

Let him set the pace- so he says when to swab and he counts to five for each nostril (sometimes we do have to repeat to get enough contact)

Don’t do it whilst he’s restrained eg in car seat- it must be ducking terrifying to be restrained AND have someone forcibly jam a large cotton bud up your nose. Far better to have them on your knee and do it.

Take a bribe. I always take a few chocolate biscuits for “after” as a sweetener.

It’s really shit. For me it’s about making sure it’s not something he’s recounting in therapy in 30 years - by any means necessary. So if that means bogey humour and bourbon biscuits - that’s fine.

Bribing them is the only way we've got through the five tests I've had to do for my youngest. He's a pro now. Still expects a bribe though

We do ours at home and get the 2.5yo good and zombified in front of the telly, then do a “pounce and poke” up one nostril – we were told you don’t really need to do 10-15 seconds of twizzling. Never had an inconclusive/failed test.

Glad it’s not just me that finds it stressful as all hell! To be honest I think I should have been better prepared and had treats with me (rather than dangling the carrot of going for McDonalds after, for example). Just hoping, probably in vain, that we don’t have to repeat the experience. But some good advice here if we do, so thanks all.

It’s a completely unjustified assault. If your child doesn’t consent to having something inserted into their body then I think that should be respected. I guess some parents will say it’s for “their own good” like inoculations but it’s not is it. It’s purely to placate your own irrational fears and to satisfy some nonsensical rule. I will only permit it if my child is ill with covid symptoms AND a Dr needs to know which respiratory virus/infection they have in order to prescribe the correct treatment. If there’s no treatment (other than the enforced “quarantine” of otherwise healthy children) then what’s the point anyway.

Can you get void test results?

Also I think it's worse than jabs as they are quicker!

Well, quite often they can’t go back to school, school won’t accept them, without negative result. My child would have missed weeks (more) of school if we’d had to isolate for the 10 days every time he got covid symptoms. So in that sense, yes, it is for his own good, as otherwise he’ll be missing out on an education, whether you like the rules or not.

At home tests are better, then you can do them while they’re asleep. My Dd barely notices then.

Yes, agree, absolute nightmare! My two boys have had quite a few, all negative. To be honest though, I really doubt the validity as there's no way they got them all the way up their noses - barely got to the nostril without full melt down for the youngest!

I really hope we find another way to test kids soon! I bet many of the tests done so far are not very accurate

If you can get postal ones I know it adds a few days onto getting results but wait til they're deep asleep and swab their noses then

The bribery of smarties. He also watches us do our vi-weekly lft's and he knows we're not keen on them but why we do them anyway.

@pompomsgalore

Can you get void test results?

Also I think it's worse than jabs as they are quicker!

I’ve been told so, if the result cannot be read, just not sure how common they are.

Yes absolutely. My son is 10 and it's still hard for us to test him - he does have sen which makes it harder, even bribes don't work. Dd 6 isn't as bad as Ds but still not keen. If only there was a less invasive test like a saliva test. There has been such things talked about but not actually a thing yet.

We've had similar issues with test and have not had a void results yet.

I have somehow ended up with an extra test kit I think my husband and I both ordered a postal one. Shaves a day off the waiting time for the postal ones as just register it and good to go.

My little one has only had one void and that was when it was a big glob of snot

Oh and use an lft swab to let them have a go on their toy