How does the postal test work?

[UltimateWednesday]

DH had a test at the weekend. He said it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience (though necessary and over quickly) which involved "ramming the swab so far up his nose he thought there'd be brains on it" Yes, he knows there's no actual access to his brain through his nose

So, is the home test performed in the same way? If it's necessary to go that far up is it possible to do it effectively to yourself?

I did one last week. It comes complete with instructions.. You poke the big cotton bud and wipe both tonsils (or back of throat if you have no tonsils) gag reflex!! Then the same swap goes up one nostril.. Half way it won't go that far up and your move or around for 10 seconds.. Put into on the test tube, seal it up, post in your nearest designated postbox.. Says online which postbox you can use. Did mine midday Thursday, got the text and email Saturday morning. All clear thankfully

Swab not swap

It’s the same test whether you do it at home or in a drive-in. You can do it gently though!

Is it effective if you don't get far enough up though? I wonder how many are false negative results because people stopped to early?

There's always a chance of the wrong result but thats the same with anything.. The cotton bud is big and will only go half way your nose, you'll feel that it can't go further. You get more error results if you dont swab your mouth, but you can do both nostrils instead. It's not that bad to do