DH positive I’m negative?

[NC4THISS]

How could this be, help me understand.

DH was pinged by the app, someone he’d been in close contact with at the gym had covid. He was double jabbed so no need to isolate or anything.

On day 7 on what would have been 10 days after the ping me and DH got ill, food poisoning. Then 3 days after (so 10 days after ping) that we both started feeling ‘fluey’ with really runny nose and no energy, hard to walk up the stairs.. that type of thing.

Then the next day (11 days after ping) both of us simultaneously lost our taste and smell. All of our symptoms were identical and happened at the same times. I’ve had one jab DH had both.

Then on day 12 DH starts having a burning sensation when he coughs so I combine that with no taste and smell and get us tested, his came back positive mine ‘inconclusive’. So I did another one the next day (pcr) negative, this is now 14 days after DHs ping.

We’re still getting the same symptoms now, sinuses are sore and energy is coming back, taste and smell is coming back.

Can these tests be wrong?
Did I just happen to pick up a cold with the exact same symptoms are DH?
Is DHs wrong?

Yours is a false negative, treat it as such for the sake of everyone else. I'd say you both got infected in the same incidence, probably 3-5 days before your symptoms started.

The tests are most reliable between day 1 and 5 of symptoms, it sounds like you’re well past that? All of the symptoms could be covered related, so started day 7, what day are you now?

Also did you do the test yourself or was it a trained person at the test centre?

Yes, the tests can be wrong. You almost certainly had C19 given your husband tested positive. False negatives are much more common than false positives. You both tested deep into the illness — maybe you didn’t register enough virus.

@Imcatmum yes we are but I’m getting funny looks of family. Either way I’m only half vaccinated so have to isolate anyway not that I have energy to go anywhere.

@BungleandGeorge
I did it, yes well past 5 days now. We thought that maybe the food poisoning hampered our immune systems and let it take over.

Now it’s day 17 after ping. 6 after no tests and smell.

Ok thanks everyone, I didn’t realise false negatives were a thing or that there was a time period to test.

If you’ve had one vaccine you’re likely to have a lower viral load. Combined with testing later in the illness I think it’s a false negative and would feel fairly confident that you have it given your symptoms and OH being positive. Hope you feel better soon

It was lilely not food poisoning but the start of symptoms.

I’ve currently got Covid and I lost my smell. Losing your smell with Covid IME was not like when you have a cold and you can’t smell much cos you’re stuffy it’s complete loss, like smells just don’t exist anymore. This was something I’ve never had before so if I had that symptom in the future I’d test. However I think in hindsight I started getting very very subtle symptoms last Monday and it took 5 days for the smell to go.

PS My DH and DD have tested negative consistently throughout!

I have had something similar, DS and I have flu symptoms and no sense of taste. He is positive, I am not (done a second PCR already, which came negative as well). He has had one vaccine dose and I have had two.

I decided to stay at home and deal with it as if I had a positive result as I thought that, whatever Boris think, it was not fair for me to be coughing as mad near other people just because I have 2 vaccines.

I almost lost my parents to Covid last year, my sister who was in close contact with them during three weeks of the illness (moved in to take care of them) got all her Covid tests negative despite developing symptoms but then her antibodies test came positive 🤷🏻‍♀️

The false negative rate for PCR tests is probably somewhere around the 30% mark.

I've just had a similar experience to you.

DH tests positive, I take a PCR - negative but am symptomatic by this point so regardless of the guidance I self isolate anyway (thankfully my work agreed with this).

Take two more LFTs over the next couple of days - still negative whilst my symptoms were getting worse.

Finally took another PCR on Saturday and this was finally positive.

Was by this point quite unwell. Have been very ill Sunday, worse yesterday and possibly mildly better today.

So keep testing I would say. Likely false negatives.

Thanks @BungleandGeorge that makes sense.

@HSHorror really? I was violently ill, spent some time in A&E on an IV to rehydrate, lost quite a bit of blood so stayed until bp & hr stabilised.

That is interesting @Siameasy we thought the same, we weren’t ‘bunged up’ but we couldn’t taste or smell anything. It was frustrating because I almost felt like there was no point eating.

Wow @QueenStromba is there anything I can read about that somewhere? Didn’t realise the figure was so high

GAVI have a good article about it here:

www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/false-negative-how-long-does-it-take-coronavirus-become-detectable-pcr

Thank you @QueenStromba a very interesting read!!

So I tested again today at the end of isolation period (tomorrow) and now Im positive 😬

All my symptoms have gone.

NHS said to isolate from first symptoms so that ends tomorrow regardless.

Am I still contagious though? Surely I am?
I want to see my family but not if I’m contagious.