To think if your Covid test is negative, but you have ALL the symptoms

[HighFlierNowWaiting]

...then it is quite likely you aren't doing the test thoroughly enough?

To get an accurate result, you need to test BOTH the throat and nose, throat firmly enough so you gag, and nose enough so you sneeze. You have to do each spot for at least ten seconds - that's quite a long time!

I see on here, and hear from others that despite sore throats, coughs, sneezes, joint and muscle pain, bad headaches, fever, chills, and tiredness like they have NEVER experienced before, Covid tests return negative results.

It then transpires they are doing a quick nostril wipe round and that's it!

Now obviously there are bugs around. Maybe people are more susceptible to coughs and colds after a couple of years of reduced exposure, but Covid prevalence is increasing again. If you feel dreadful - please take a test and do it properly.

For those that say 'it doesn't matter, Covid's just like a cold now' - that may be true for some. But not everyone. You may be unlucky and get very ill, or have a mild dose but end up disabled with Long Covid. Or you may pass it to someone vulnerable who could end up in hospital.

For that reason, you should still take Covid very seriously, and DO THE TEST PROPERLY.

And I'm sorry if people don't like this message, want to believe it's all over, are bored, or think I am fear-mongering. I would love Covid to no longer be an issue, but believe me, it still is.

Thank you for your attention!

I have a stuffy nose and a bit of a cold. I don't feel ill. I wouldn't take time off for this. I did test when it first came on on Monday but ws negative. I am not phoning in sick for that.

To get an accurate result, you need to test BOTH the throat and nose, throat firmly enough so you gag, and nose enough so you sneeze.

DO THE TEST PROPERLY.

I wish people would get their facts right before being all superior and shouting at people. Or maybe the government wasted gazillions on all those nose-only testing kits ???

DH has had COVID twice. He knows how to test properly. More recently he had cold/flu symptoms, tested every other day until symptoms had gone, all negative. (We test with symptoms as have a vulnerable relative we partially care for).

We all have weakened immune systems for colds and flu because of being kept away from people for so long, there will be a lot of it around this year.

OP, find a real problem to worry about. Covid hysteria has had its day.

None of the symptoms you list are unique to covid though?
Headache
Sore throat
Fever
Coughing
Blocked nose
Sneezing
Aches and pains
Fatigue
Vomiting
Diarrhea

Any or all could be covid or symptoms of another illness or virus?
My mum died from an illness she got in summer 2011. She had a high fever, shortness of breath and fatigue. It wasn't identified as covid!

Quite apart from the fact that most people don't even get free tests anymore, so aren't testing...

DD and I are both eligible for NHS tests. We've both been ropey for well over a week but the NHS tests have at no point turned positive. We tried some of the old Orient Gene ones on Monday and they lit up like Christmas trees.

This is my seventh Covid infection so I was fairly sure I had it - but in the past the NHS tests have always been pretty reliable. I did another one earlier to check and nope, still resolutely negative. It's a good job I didn't believe the results or I'd have taken my immunosuppressant medication on Sunday as usual.

It's not always user error, the NHS tests are now pretty much useless. I started a thread about it on the covid board and my experience seems pretty common.

CEV people test so they can be as sure as possible that they're covid free before taking immunosuppressant drugs, for example, and also to access antivirals if they're positive.

You can insist people do the test "properly" all you want. There are other bugs around. Not everything is Covid.

I'm only able to do the nose tests and have had multiple positives! (Had covid twice and tested daily last time so 7+ positive nose swab tests!)

I've noticed a few of these sorts of posts creeping in over recent days. I've just been on one where OP was asking for 'mitigations' to be reintroduced, including masks. Posters on the thread were using words like 'selfish' and calling anyone who didn't 'follow the science' thick. It was all very retro.

Is this how it's going to be forevermore now, as soon as cold/flu season rolls around?

😴depends on the type of test you are doing. Some say do the nose only, other say do both the throat and the nose.

You don't think that any other germs cause similar symptoms, OP?

What was the common cold then, back in 2018? Just covid not yet revved up?

It doesn’t really matter - if you’re ill then ideally stay home and don’t see anyone, appreciate this isn’t always possible but we need life to go on. I would never test now - why should I pay for it

my friend is on her third bout of Covid. She is really ill, much, much worse than the other times she got it. Take it seriously.

Yeah, this sort of comment is beyond self-indulgent at this point.

What do you mean by 'take it seriously'?

YABU.

I've had Covid twice. I did the old throat and nose swabs. The tests screamed out two lines at me both times.

I've used the same old style kit twice this week (not expired) as I have a lingering cold, and and other symptoms, and didn't want to infect colleagues or friends the weekend.

I administered the tests exactly as I had the two previous kits. A thorough throat and nose swab.
They were negative, which means it's probably a good old fashioned cold. Remember those?

my friend is on her third bout of Covid. She is really ill, much, much worse than the other times she got it. Take it seriously

By doing what, exactly?

I had multiple negative tests after my husband tested positive and I had been sent to hospital with tight chest and chest pain as well as cold symptoms. They tested me in hospital and that was negative too. Don’t know what else I was supposed to do. Maybe it was covid but we will never know 🤷🏻‍♀️

Trying not to get it

Trying not to get it

That's not really something one can control though.

^ agree with this entirely

Glaring positive for 11 days with Covid round 1

Tested & tested a few weeks ago with headache/fatigue etc - negative

Sore throat last week: glaring positive again (that’s even swabbing a tissue too)

I was in this situation 2 weeks ago. I just had a really bad cold, worse than when I had covid in March. Took 3 tests and all neg.

Cough, sore throat, runny/blocked nose and exhaustion. Just a bad cold.

How can you 'try not to get it'?

🤦🏼‍♀️

No idea what brand of lurgy DS had a few weeks ago. He had the two days off school that he needed, then it was fortunately the bank holiday weekend so 5 days of rest before going back to school.

What would wasting money, resources and a gag reaction to LFT which may or may not have been informative have achieved?

Covid restrictions have proven to be futile at managing illness for anything other than manipulating healthcare pressure points, and it's cost the population and economy dearly.

People are now more worried about keeping warm and solvent than preventing something that's largely a normal-range cold/flu (normal range being very broad in impact!)