To ask if you still test for Covid?

[thebestcestmoi]

This has been on my mind now that the general cough/cold season is upon us.

What do you do if you are having Covid-type symptoms eg cough and temp?

Do you own/pay for LF tests? How often and sparingly do you use them?

It just feels a bit strange this year with no clear guidance...

I have some left that I've kept to use if we get symptoms, but I won't be buying more when they're gone.

If they want us to test they need to continue to provide them FOC, they can't expect people to pay for them when many are struggling financially

We still have tests and I can still get them as I work for the NHS so still have been testing once a week though don't think work are expecting us too. Had a sore throat and a headache and have tested positive. Had to cancel a trip and birthday meal for my Dad as don't want to give him COVID. Feeling pretty rough and think my husband is starting with symptoms too.

Yes i do if i have symptoms. Knowing several CEV people or those undergoing cancer treatment I think you're selfish if you pretend you're not harming anyone. Nothing really surprises me in that regard any more, though, I've seen people kick off about wearing a mask in a children's ward full of vulnerable children.

That said I've had friends recently who test negative then only test positive a few days in, so repeated testing can be necessary.

When you can't get tests (as you can't for flu) or when hundreds of people aren't dying from it.

"Being here to stay" is no reason to not mitigate risk. We mitigate risk on tons of things we can't eradicate completely.

Yes. I buy a box every so often and have a couple of NHS boxes for reporting. DD caught it for the first time last week. So far I haven't caught it off her.

My teens have each been poorly twice each this year. One covid and one random virus. I'd like them vaccinated against covid again next year as I don't want them to miss school.

Are you claiming that covid isn't harming anyone? You're misinformed.

And if you DO test positive what precautions do you take? How many days off work? Would you pop to the shops in a mask? That sort of thing.

Yes tested last week as I felt horrendous and was positive. Took 5 days to get a negative but 7 days til I felt better.

I have some leftover free tests and work supply me with enough to test twice weekly. I'm glad, because I'm currently in bed with Covid (on day 5 so far) so was able to stay off work at the point where it was just like a mild cold and not infect my colleague who's having chemotherapy or my other colleague who is the main carer for his clinically extremely vulnerable wife.

Yes, but now only when I have symptoms or every time I meet my vulnerable friend. My friend has a heart condition and is very vulnerable to chest infections, and I'd rather not kill her.

I haven't in months and wasn't planning to again but I was so poorly the other day that I ended up taking one as I have a family event coming up and it was a blazing positive ☹️ bed ridden since

I rarely test as I don't tend to do anything risky but I will be testing this weekend. I'm expected to do one as I have a hospital appointment on Monday. We've been testing one of the dc as they're coughing this week.
I'm immunosuppressed so at continuing high risk and vaccination has little effect on me. I can still get free tests.

I test when I have cough or cold symptoms and I am seeing anyone who I know to be clinically vulnerable. Good job I did this week as avoided passing it on to my CEV dad.

No. DS has had two rounds off school for a few days being ill so far this school year. It didn't make any practical difference what brand of ill it was. He was off until he was well enough for a school day which exceeded the recommended isolation time.

If I've got a cold, I tend to scale back non-essential activities anyway and give people a heads-up about it. I'm not wasting any more resources on testing in the majority of circumstances I'm in. Testing for minor sniffles can often give false confidence anyway and the tests seem to be less responsive than they were for earlier mutations of the virus.

No.

Haven't tested since they stopped giving them out free.

I just treat it as any other illness now.

I don't know anybody who still tests. I have never tested, as my job never required it. Just crack on with life as normal.

Covid is not even in my thoughts anymore. So absolutely not.

Yes I test regularly for work. I test myself and the kids if we are showing any symptoms too. I wouldn’t want to spread any kind of infection around but I really don’t want to give anyone Covid. I get LFTs from work but I would buy some if I had to.

Surely we are treating as any other illness now. As much as you wouldn’t want to give someone flu or Norovirus. Or even a nasty cold. If you are symptomatic with any illness you stay away from other people.

I don’t understand the mentality of ‘I wouldn’t want to spread any infection but I really wouldn’t want to give anyone Covid’.

Rates of hospitalisation for flu are far worse than Covid now. Flu is far more severe for children. As is RSV. There are other, worse illnesses about.

I had covid in March. I haven't tested since then and nor has my OH. We don't have any tests in the house and I certainly wouldn't pay for them 🙂

I test occasionally. We have a big box of tests.

My Dad was very ill with Covid, I think another lot might kill him and my 96 year old grandmother is in a care home and fragile. I test before I see them if I have any symptoms.

I don’t test if I feel well and otherwise go about my life normally but I do want to protect my vulnerable family.

No and I don’t understand why you’d need to. If I had any cold symptoms I would stay away from vulnerable friends/family. If I had anything more severe than a mild cold I’d stay away from everyone! No one wants flu or noro any more than they want covid. Paying to stick a label on it is complicated unnecessary IMO.

I do still test, my young daughter has Long Covid (she’s a teenager) and is basically bed bound. If she gets covid again it would very likely make her even more poorly. I wish people would stop lumping it with colds and flu. It can be so much worse.

I do however understand not everyone can afford to buy the tests in the current economic climate and I believe the government should still be supplying them FOC, not just washing their hands of it all and pretending Covid’s gone. 🤬

We get tested regularly as are on the Covid infection survey. Have always been negative. Interesting that some people say they are expected to test for hospital appointments as my DH has this year had appointments, scans and radiotherapy. Was never asked to test except for day case surgery although masks are still required inside the hospital. We stocked up on testing kits just before they stopped handing them out for free and have quite a lot left which I would probably use if I knew I had been in contact with an infected person.