To want the NHS or FlowFlex to research why all my LFTs are positive?!

[LindaBlinda]

Because seriously I'm worried that maybe eventually I'll try to travel and it'll be a FlowFlex test and I'll be told I'm positive.

Every single FlowFlex test I take is faintly positive. Pink line. Within the 15 minutes. As the attached photo. The same for the last 3-4 months or however long ago the FlowFlex started being the ones the NHS mailed out.

Any other brand of LFT is 100% negative. If anyone else in my family uses the FlowFlex from the same boxes they get negatives.

I'm mid 30s and double jabbed with Pfizer. I've never knowingly had Covid. And have tested at least twice a week since we were able to have LFTs due to caring for a terminally ill family member.

When the rest of my household were recently infected with Covid I was the only one not to catch it. Luckily I have some boxes of the other LFTs and have in the past month had 3 PCRs as each other household member tested positive. Also had 2 PCRs the past 2 months due to these faint FlowFlex lines.

All been negative.

Please if anyone knows how I can get some information on this or get some advice about it I'd be grateful. As I don't want false positives (which everyone says are totally rare and impossible) to ruin any future freedoms.

If there are trials or something for people in the same boat I'd be very willing to take part. Just want to get to the bottom of it as I'm on my last box of non FlowFlex!

This is an interesting thread - I tested positive on a flow flex lateral flow a few days ago, having tested negatively on a non-flow flex the day before. It was a fit to fly test so we had to cancel our travel plans. Now awaiting pcr results but hoping we didn't cancel our trip for no good reason!

We all tested on Christmas Eve as guests were coming for a few nights. Two of the children tested positive on Flowflex- a very obvious line. We have done so many of these tests and it was the first time any of us had a positive. Cancelled guests and all went for PCRs.
On Christmas Day all of the results came back negative!!

All LFTs since have also been negative so no idea what happened there! We all tested first thing before eating or drinking anything. 3 days earlier, one of the positives had spent an afternoon with someone who tested positive the day after they were together so we hadn't doubted the results at the time.

Well the latest news showing more reliance on LFT is definitely going to cause some of us issues ...

Here's a tale of hope: my DH was testing consistently faintly positive on Flowflex, negative on PCR (though he only did one) and consistently negative on Innova. No other positives from any method within our family. That was back in November. He tried a Flowflex test today and it was negative.

Since all this fun started, I have had eleven positive LFT's. Followed by eleven negative PCR tests.

I have little faith in LFT accuracy.

I've just had a negative LFT. Batch from November (I also had one last week that I did at night so assumed it was that ...) I wonder if it was a batch issue?

Yep, had same. 5 days of faint flowflex positives at the end of Nov, and 4 negative PCR's. Had another pos flowflex this morning first thing, and then a negative old style test. My eldest has covid and we spent close time with her Monday before she lft'd positive on Tuesday evening, so another PCR for me.
No idea what's going on, work are rolling their eyes at so much isolation time but as I work with Oncology patients I have to keep them safe.
Will yellow card it as well.

This is a really interesting thread. I have been experiencing the same thing.

My son has had numerous positive FlowFlex lateral flow tests whilst multiple PCR's and other lateral flow tests (taken at the same time) are negative. This has happened since he had confirmed Covid (by PCR) back in Oct '21. Prior to this episode of Covid he never had a positive LFT (FlowFlex or any other brand).

Initially I thought the Flowflex were more accurate than the other NHS distributed LFT's, however I now question what the FlowFlex is actually detecting. Why are the FlowFlex tests all positive and the others negative? It is possible perhaps that the FlowFlex is detecting a miniscle viral load that the other brands are not detecting? Who knows? What I do know is that testing him with FlowFlex is no longer particularly helpful. Our GP & Track and Trace cannot shead any light on this either.

This is not a faulty box issue, we have tested twice weekly since Oct '21 and every.single.time he is positive on FlowFlex. In the end we are just having to discount it.

I have now managed to get my hands on the 'orignial' version of the LFT's and will use those on him from now on. He is negative on these. I will only consider a new bout of Covid if the non-FlowFlex LFT's indicates it. I will send myself (and my son) bonkers if we continue to use FlowFlex on him.

I am sure time will tell what is happening. I will report it via the yellow flag system and just hope FlowFlex is not used to allow him to access travel any time soon!!

I don't use flowflex at all any more. I also wondered if they were more sensitive or picking up a different coronavirus but despite yellow carding, and talking to everyone that might have a clue I have no answers and maybe we never will.
I have just tested strongly positive on two different brands so Im guessing the others do work!
My work colleagues are not talking to me as we are chronically understaffed and this is my third time off with positives, 2 false flowflex and now this probable actual covid.
Cheers flowflex for making me look like a workshy hypochondriac.

Just a quick note to say that Flowflex indicate positive for autoimmune conditions. Might be worth speaking to an endocrinologist. From support networks Sjögren’s, Hashimoto’s and/or Reynauld’s. There are some people testing positive with a Lupus too. Other branded LFTs should test negative.