The test - what is it like?

[Realitea]

I’ve just got a slot for a test as part of research into coronavirus in the community. I’m not a key worker. I have mild symptoms.
Did anyone know this happened?

It’s genuine. I’ve just got the text through asking me to go to the testing centre and had to put my details in on the gov website

Very VERY nervous. Does the swab really go back that far into your nose? 😟

By mild I mean really mild - a rash like chicken pox and tiredness. Temperature is weirdly low at 35.3 . That’s it.

It's fine. It does go very far back and it made my eyes water a little but no pain, just a little discomfort, and over really quickly.

Phew. Thank you. Probably a really strange feeling

I wouldn't be nervous. It does go really far in but it's not painful. It's strange and a bit uncomfortable but not painful. Takes seconds.

The throat swab makes you gag but again not painful and very quick.

What a relief. Thank you!

It's not painful

It's not painful but it's very uncomfortable. I struggled not to gag, and the nose swab made my eyes stream! Over in seconds though!

Absolutely fine. I didn't gag at all on the throat swab - cue lewd comments from DH

Some people find it pretty awful I'd read, which put me off. Also those doing the test to you don't like hurting people so there have been some worries they do not go deep enough to get false results. One nurse had 4 tests before getting a positive one - she was positive all along.

Hi I just had my test done today (pregnant and key worker with symptoms). Had a swab at the back of my throat swirling around (a bit uncomfortable as I suffer from HG in this pregnancy so really thought I would be sick but was ok) and swirling up nose for around 10s which just makes your nose itch like you need to sneeze. Not sore or severely uncomfortable, just unpleasant but necessary. Good luck tomorrow

Thank you.
It doesn’t sound too bad really.
@Reallybadidea that made me laugh!

The throat swab makes you gag. I don’t have a strong reflex so it wasn’t too bad for me but my colleagues all said that was the worst part.
With the nose swab you feel like you’re going to sneeze and your eyes water a little trying to contain it.

🤢 at least it’s quick!

I'm a bit confused because I went for one today and it was totally self done in my car and I had to swap my tonsils first and then my nose, but it said it only needed to go 1inch or 2.5cms up my nose, which is definitely not as far as those pictures suggest! 🤷🏻‍♀️

I have the instruction leaflet still in my car actually but it defo only says 1 inch back, wonder if it's different if you do it yourself

I found it a bit stressful but only cos I was on my own and there's a lot of reading of bits of paper through your windows and I was worried i'd do it wrong but the actual doing it was fine

It said on the gov website that you can either do it yourself and have them do it. I think I’d rather do it but then I don’t know if I’d do it properly.
That is really confusing if it says to only go 2.5cm ‘in’

I was swabbed today and was dreading the deep nasal swab - they don't do it like that anymore.

It's one swab for both sides of throat and the same swab inside one nostril. Not too bad at all, just made me sneeze

We don’t do it like in those pictures, they do it like that in America. Here we swab the back of the throat near to the tonsils and right to the top of the nose.

I thought it was fine, the nasal swab was easier than throat, it made me gag a little but I’d have it again no bother.

The nasal swabs are being done incorrectly in a lot of places. The swab needs to go to the nasopharynx, right at the back. Twirling it around your nostrils is useless, you may as well sneeze into a tissue and send that as the sample. Remember a lot of these swabbing sites have been set up from scratch with poorly trained staff

Wrong thread sorry!