I have gone nuts and paid someone to come to my house and do an antibody test on us

[LaurieFairyCake]

Can't take anymore not knowing so I've paid £260 to bike out a test from a lab and wait while we stab ourselves and return our blood to the lab

Dh thinks I've gone a bit batshit but I couldn't take anymore

Disclaimer : it won't affect my behaviour in line with current government guidelines

Repeated squeezes of finger - looks about 10 ml?

No way will you get 10ml out of a finger prick...

I take blood samples from my fingers for Thriva blood tests. Imagine it’s the same. It’s fine Laurie, just go for it and try not to touch your fingertip against anything while you are collecting the blood as ime it then clots and you have to pierce another finger!

Oh I'm interested to know OP.

I'm pretty sure I had it in December. The symptoms were so alike it's uncanny.

Keen to do one myself...

So, their view was, regardless of the results, you should still be following the lockdown and self-isolating

You only need to self isolate if you have the disease.

You don't need to self isolate if you don't have the disease or if you have had the disease

(unless you are in the special category that is extremely vulnerable)

I think you are in the same area as me Laurie
I remember us talking on a thread and its an L one
You are correct. Its a high number but not as bad as Southwark

Yep o

By “lab” they might mean someone applies the drop of blood onto one of those Aliexpress plastic test chips inside a lab.

A real lab test means sterile blood drawn from a vein and stored in strict medical conditions until it reaches the lab. Filling a vial using fingerprick blood sounds pretty dodgy not to mention potential contaminants and storage issues. Imagine if two people in the same household are being tested and both start handling the equipment with fingerprick blood everywhere (diabetics can tell you that fingerprick blood is the hardest thing to keep clean). One is positive and one negative for covid...how does a reputable lab ensure they receive the samples correctly?

That was meant to be 👍🏻

If you’ve had it, there’s still no definite answer about how long the antibodies last and whether you will be protected in the future

So by this reckoning, nobody will ever be able to come out of lockdown until there's a vaccination that is proven to be 100% effective.

How's that one going to work, then?

I've seen the test and it looks like an STI one I did a while ago 😄 Good tip is to warm your hands up for a while under running water to get the blood going. Stand up with the bottle thing on a table and sort of squeeze the blood down your finger

Then it wouldn't be the Abbott test then User

Which I will know if it is when it turns up

I’m interested in being tested as I’ve had all of the symptoms just as lock down began but it would have to be a lot cheaper.

Anyway, good luck Laurie.

Ooo following with interest!! When is the courier due to turn up OP?

My fingers from yesterday, they looked (and were) bruised yesterday but already better.

Sorry - photo fail

I've no idea when he/she is coming but I just got the payment through at 12.56 today - it had to be through by 1pm for the courier to come today

Still waiting

Filling a vial using fingerprick blood sounds pretty dodgy not to mention potential contaminants and storage issues

Blood is blood. Storage wise - well, it doesn't need to be chilled or anything like that. Most blood samples wait in bags until they are processed. They are not looking for micro-organisms.

But yes, getting blood from a finger prick is hard. But a lot of these tests don't need much blood in the first place.

Hardest thing I used to do was blood from premature babies. You are talking about 0.3 - 0.5 millilitres of blood. We had to spin it down to get the plasma. Heartbreaking when the machine failed and we lost the plasma and had to ask for more.

I found fingerprick tests at the side of my finger rather than the pad worked best when I had gestational diabetes. It means your fingers are more usable after the testing and also that you use a site less likely to have hard skin or callus.

I’m feeling the need to dig up my old A level Stats text book, because if ever a thread needed Bayes Theorem it’s now.

Interested to see your results.

My chiropractor texted his clients a couple of weeks ago offering a testing service and saying that if your test came back showing that you'd already had it it would mean you could go back to work and get on with life as normal. The same day there were reports of how unreliable these tests could be.

I sent a screenshot of his text to his regulatory body and let him know he was no longer my chiropractor. Even if a test shows you've had it and have antibodies, there's no way you can go back to a normal life. You still have to observe distancing and hygiene.

You know we want pictures Laurie

In all fairness I've probably spent that amount through paypal last month on things to make me happy during these scary times. If spending it on a test makes you happier and gives you peace of mind then I really don't see why people are being negative about it. You've already said it won't stop you following government guidelines so there will be no harm from it.

Op

I was under the impression that it was the ELISA antibody rest purchased by the government. And this available at a private Harley street clinic. But for £300 per person excluding courier service?

The Elisa test is available for £100 I think