Anyone had trouble performing a home swab test

[FleshLiabilities]

Hi, I've ordered and received a home swab test kit and booked my courier for tomorrow.

Looking through the instructions and it seems I have to stick the swab right to the back of my throat for ten seconds (it says "you may feel like gagging, but it shouldn't hurt"). I'm not looking forward to this and I worry I won't be able to complete the test properly.

Had anyone else found this easy, or was it a bit of a struggle?

It wasn't a problem for me. Use a mirror.

We test weekly for work.
It’s not too difficult, just take your time and yes use a mirror if you need to.
The hardest part for me is making that stupid cardboard box up! 😂🙈
Every now and then I seem to get one that just won’t stay in place!

It's useful to watch the video beforehand and use a mirror with good light. I found the nose part harder, had to change the angle to really go far enough but both over with quickly and mildly unpleasant rather than painful

I found it quite fiddly. The only way I could get my tongue out of the way was to actually make an "ahhhhh" sound while I did the swab. Making the sound made my tongue stay flat. I gagged a couple of times but it was ok. It's only for 10 seconds.

@1happyhippe how long do your postal tests usually take to come back with a result? I hear you on the box, instructions printed upside down on the wrong side!

You don't need to swab the back of your throat. Do each tonsil for 5 seconds (or where your tonsils were if you've had them out). Then each nostril.

The diagram in the leaflet is misleading. I've been doing tonsils only & nose for weekly tests & that's given them enough to test.

Google the youtube video on how to do the test with Dr. Khan from TV's GPs behind closed doors - that's more helpful.

I agree about the box. I'd never get a job as a gift-wrapper in a posh shop!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=zCqo7MhQT6U

I think this is the link to the video. Apologies if it doesn't work, my internet is messing about.

It's Dr. Amir Khan.

I found it almost impossible to do.

I can't touch a swab on my tonsils without violently gagging, and I can't violently gag without the swab touching the inside of my mouth or tongue. I don't understand how the hell that is possible, unless you have no gag reflex.

My postal test results took about 80 hours to come back.

My 15 year old managed it with no trouble at all today. She managed with less fuss than her dad did!!

Agree with the advice to watch the video a few times first, and I also found a mirror useful. I gagged a bit but it was fine and not nearly as bad as I’d expected having heard some of the dramatic reports people had posted on MN.

@theorchidkiller thanks for the video link, going to do my test now.

@lexloofah results back usually 2/3 days

No issue here. Results were back in 30 hours.

The hardest part for me was breaking the stick! I'm sure I must have missed a trick on how to do this. And the box was a joy. You can see why people mess it up!
However the actual test was nowhere near as bad as people on here have made out. It was definitely not nice, but fairly straightforward. I did read on here to use your right nostril for the nose part of the test if that helps anyone (apparently it's easier than the left).

Well I've done it, not sure how successful it will be mind. My tongue kept following the swab so I'm pretty sure the swab touched my tongue. The nose bit was alright though.

Don't suppose anyone knows how long it will take to get the results back at the moment? I vaguely heard that there is a long delay right now as they're doing so many tests.

Mine arrived at the lab on Saturday morning, just got the result, it's not going to be good enough, hope yours comes quicker

Well i got my (negative) result at 10pm last night. So that's about 86 hours from test to test result.