Do I need LFT or PCR? I'm so confused!

[FTM8987]

I've just posted something similar to this on another forum, but thought this might be the best place for it!

I’ve come down with a horrible cold, streaming nose and sore throat, the first I’ve had in 3 years - and am feeling rotten.

I did a lateral flow test earlier and it was negative - my temperature was also normal.

Someone suggested that I should get a PCR test, but when I filled in the form on the gov.uk site, it said I wasn't eligible, because I don't have a continuous cough, loss of taste/smell or a temp.

So what should I do - is a LFT enough in my situation or do I need a PCR? And if the latter, should I just lie and pretend I have those symptoms on the gov.uk site, even though I actually don't?

Thanks!!

Asymptomatic sorry autocorrects been changing it

[quote Darceyhemingway]@crayray yes it does. A lot of people don't know they have COVID as they don't have symptoms so the LFT was designed for that, to stop the spread of asymptotic people spreading it. If you have symptoms a LFT will be negative. [/quote]
They not “designed” for asymptomatic infection the government just decided to give them out in their millions as they do happen to pick up some asymptomatic infections.

The only way to be sure is to get a pcr but it isn’t realistic to get everyone to pcr all the time. I don’t think any other country is using LFTs for asymptomatic cases in the way we are.

We were given tbem in the NHS for this reason. We were told like everyone else if you have symptoms do a PCR not a LFT I really don't know why it's so hard to understand

@Darceyhemingway

LFT are for asymptotic people they won't show positive if you have symptoms

Completely wrong. They are far more likely to show up positive if you have symptoms as your viral load will be higher.

@Darceyhemingway

We were given tbem in the NHS for this reason. We were told like everyone else if you have symptoms do a PCR not a LFT I really don't know why it's so hard to understand

It’s not but the government’s three official symptoms are wildly inaccurate. No surprise that people are not sure what to do.

Ok cool wanna go tell my boss that? Seems the NHS has been doing it completely wrong for months!

No wonder there's so much spread about if people are only using LFT as a PCR 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️

Eh? A LFT will be negative if you have symptoms?

How does it know?

For symptomless people. As I said

@Darceyhemingway

We were given tbem in the NHS for this reason. We were told like everyone else if you have symptoms do a PCR not a LFT I really don't know why it's so hard to understand

If you have symptoms you do a PCR because its more accurate and it's not a self reported result. LFTs are for asymptomatic people because they are cheaper and it's more to get a few people out of circulation that wouldn't have known otherwise.

LFT are designed to pick up it up whether you have symptoms or not. But the government policy is to use LFTs regularly on non-symptomatic people in order to flag up anyone who has the virus even before they show symptoms or if they have it but are asymptomatic. They don't magically stop working if you have symptoms!

You need a PCR if you have symptoms because they are more accurate. The problem is that the NHS hasn't changed the three "main" symptoms to reflect the fact that symptoms have changed, so a lot of people are using LFTs because they don't have the supposed main symptoms.

That's why if you get a positive LFT you have to do a PCR to confirm to make it "offical"

You can get a positive LFT with symptoms, a work colleague did and then had a positive PCR.

However a partner of another work colleague had multiple negative LFT's whilst waiting days for a PCR (including day of PCR test) and then had a positive PCR. The LFT's seem very random at whether or not they do identify the virus but I think for symptoms (even the 'non-classic' symptoms) a PCR would be better at identifying if you are truly positive for covid.

@Darceyhemingway

We were given tbem in the NHS for this reason. We were told like everyone else if you have symptoms do a PCR not a LFT I really don't know why it's so hard to understand

I too work for the NHS and do lateral flow tests, but for all the purpose of them is to pick up asymptomatic people, they will still work on people with symptoms in fact they will work better. The reason they are not to be used instead of a PCR test is that they are not accurate enough to rule out COVID if the result is negative but the person has symptoms.

My covid symptoms were sinus headache runny nose and absurd levels of sneezing!

Our council has been advising for a long time that you get a PCR if you have a long list of other symptoms (including sore throat, headache, runny nose etc) so I've lied countless times on the government website to be able to get a test - don't feel bad about that! Getting a PCR test is definitely the responsible thing to do.

However, since you don't have any of the three key symptoms you DO NOT have to isolate. So no need to disrupt any of your plans unless your result comes back positive.

With regard to lateral flows not being suitable for symptoms (sorry if this has already been said, I filtered just to read OP's posts) it's not that they don't work for people with symptoms, it's that the false negative rate is quite high. So if you have symptoms then there's a fair chance you might have Covid so you need the more accurate PCR to be sure if it is or isn't. Whereas if you don't have symptoms then, ok, the LFT will give a false negative in a certain percentage of cases, but it will also pick up a load of positive cases in people who would never have got a test otherwise because they don't have symptoms. So LFTs are a bit rubbish but they still detect some cases that we wouldn't know about otherwise and so help us reduce transmission.

You can fill in those symptoms on the Zoe app and you will be asked to take a PCR test. When booking the test you select the option that you e been invited to test as part of a study.

It's a shame actually that the LFTs can't tell if you have symptoms, because then they could have a third result option of "get a goddamn PCR".

Just to add, I've had an awful cold recently which developed into a really nasty cough (which is still here a few weeks on). Not uncommon at all to cough with a cold is it? All that snot dripping down the back and what not. All well and good saying just treat a cold as a cold and carry on but not sure my colleagues would be too happy with me taking that approach and sitting in the office with them coughing and spluttering without having confirmed it's not Covid.

But any cough needs a PCR whether it came with a cold or not.

@Darceyhemingway

We were given tbem in the NHS for this reason. We were told like everyone else if you have symptoms do a PCR not a LFT I really don't know why it's so hard to understand

Not true at all.

LFTs will pick up (some proportion of) both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections.

They are not all that accurate and miss a lot of infections, and therefore are not particularly useful if you really need to know if someone has covid. And obviously, if someone has symptoms, there is a much higher chance that they do have it. A false negative is more concerning in this case as they will be able to spread it without realising.

They are useful for people who would otherwise not be testing at all, because they will catch some asymptomatic infections which would not otherwise be caught at all, because those people would not be testing. in other words, it's better than nothing. So it can be useful for screening asymptomatic people on a regular basis, as catching even a small number of people who would not otherwise be testing is good.

But it's not a particularly accurate test and could give a false negative to anyone. If you have symptoms, though, the chances are greater that you do actually have covid, and a false negative would have worse consequences, so not worth the risk of just using LFTs.

That's why they don't advise LFTs if you have symptoms. Not because they don't show positives if you have symptoms and have covid - they normally do - but because occasionally they don't, and that would be much more problematic.

[quote Darceyhemingway]@crayray yes it does. A lot of people don't know they have COVID as they don't have symptoms so the LFT was designed for that, to stop the spread of asymptotic people spreading it. If you have symptoms a LFT will be negative. [/quote]
This is not true. A LFT will not e negative if you have symptoms. It still picks up positives in people with symptoms. The reason they are not used for symptoms is they are not accurate enough so CAN show a false negative. It does not mean it shows negative for everyone with symptoms. It is purely based on it being less reliable that people with symptoms must take a PCR.

(sorry, I quoted the wrong bit; I meant to quote the bit about LFTs being negative in people with symptoms, which is what is wrong. Not the bit about being advised to do LFTs without symptoms and PCRs with symptoms, which is right!)

If they could make a test that could actually only work in people without symptoms, and a different test that worked in people with symptoms, it would suggest that it was actually a different virus/variant of the virus that was causing the symptoms, in order to distinguish it on a test, rather than the assumption that it's an interaction with the person's genetics/immune system etc that determines who gets symptoms. And if they knew which specific variations of the virus caused symptoms, being able to distinguish those on a cheap home test like LFTs, rather than expensive lab based tests, would be unlikely I think. By the time they knew that much about the virus and how it works regarding causing symptoms, I would expect there to be better methods of treatment and testing too.

LFTs ARE.effective on symptomatic cases as proved by this research www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2021/smd/lateral-flow-tests-are-95-effective-at-detecting-covid-19-when-used-at-the-onset-of-symptoms.html - people have become fixed on the idea you shouldn't use them if you have symptoms because the Govt rolled them out for the purpose of mass asymptotic testing and pushed PCRs as the 'gold standard' for those with symptoms at the same time. This doesn't mean LFTs can't detect Covid in those with symptoms. True, they're not completely reliable but it's wrong to say they point blank don't work if you're symptomatic. Plus - add into the mix the mix the many cases of people testing positive on LFTs once symptoms have started and testing negative on several PCRs before eventually testing positive - LFTs clearly do work.

Our council has been advising for a long time that you get a PCR if you have a long list of other symptoms (including sore throat, headache, runny nose etc) so I've lied countless times on the government website to be able to get a test

I don't think you have to lie though, if you select no there's an option for "I've been told by someone official to get a test" or similar. Or there was a few months ago.