Lateral flow

[missturnbullx]

For anyone who has tested positive for covid, how long did it take your lateral flow test to come back positive following exposure?

I am currently 3 days post exposure, asymptotic and I plan to continue isolating and testing as necessary.

Really concerned as I am 34 weeks pregnant so hoping the test doesn't come back positive 😔

Are you vaccinated at all?
Lateral Flow aren't very accurate. I've heard of people with negative lateral flow and positive PCR on the same day

@dementedpixie no I am not vaccinated.
I have no covid symptoms so wouldn't feel it necessary to do a PCR test I don't think? Im staying in and isolating. Plus I don't want to get back in my car so soon after my friend being in 😂
If I do get symptoms though then I would get a PCR.

@dementedpixie

Are you vaccinated at all? Lateral Flow aren't very accurate. I've heard of people with negative lateral flow and positive PCR on the same day

It's not that they're not accurate, the problem is that they are not very sensitive. Think of it as the difference between a top-of-the-range ClearBlue pregnancy test which can detect pregnancy hormones even before a period is missed versus the cheapest supermarket own brand pregnancy test which could miss some early pregnancies.

If you get a positive result, whether it's on a lateral flow test / cheap pregnancy test, you're very likely to be covid positive / pregnant. It's just that they're not sensitive enough to detect every Covid case / pregnancy.

As a close contact of a positive case, you can have a PCR test whether you have symptoms or not:

"You can arrange to have a single PCR test whether or not you have symptoms. This is because you are at a higher risk of being infected. The results of the PCR test will help NHS Test and Trace contact people who may have caught the virus from you. They can then self-isolate and avoid passing it on to others."

www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-contacts-of-people-with-possible-or-confirmed-coronavirus-covid-19-infection-who-do-not-live-with-the-person/guidance-for-contacts-of-people-with-possible-or-confirmed-coronavirus-covid-19-infection-who-do-not-live-with-the-person

I currently have Covid, my lateral flows never showed as positive, they were all negative. I did one on the same day as my PCR which was positive, I definitely have Covid but the lateral flows didn't detect it. I was asymptomatic until 4 or 5 days after exposure.

Hopefully you don't have it but from my experience lateral flows are useless. I was going about my business thinking I couldn't possibly have Covid as I was asymptomatic and all my lateral flows were negative.