Anyone else get false positive LFTs? Worried about the new rules' impact on time off work

[LFTquestion]

DH repeatedly gets false positive LFTs (later negative PCRs). This is the fourth time now, and we are really fed up. Each time it requires a couple of days off work while he waits for the PCR results. It has happened pretty much every month since October.

He is triple jabbed and has never had Covid (that we know of!).

However, from next week, if he gets a positive LFT while asymptomatic, he is presumed to have Covid and will have to have a week off work.

But clearly, the odds are that these positive will be wrong!

He is a key worker and taking one week off every month isn't sustainable. He has to do LFTs twice weekly and provide proof of them to work, so simply not doing them isn't an option.

Has this been happening to anyone else? What's the plan??

Friend has had this ever since the new type of LFTs came in - always positive LFT negative PCR. He’s been WFH because of it.

Yes, I know of two people who have tested positive on a lateral flows and negative on PCRs. It's really odd as I thought lateral flows could give false negatives but not false positives.

@Watapalava That's such terribly irresponsible advice.

The above were with the original lateral flows not the new ones.

@whatapalava That's really irresponsible to recommend

False positives are usually a result of not following the instructions carefully or contaminants in the test sample. You need to wash your hands, wipe down the surface and blow your nose before taking a test, you're not supposed to eat or drink within 30 minutes either. Never had a false positive.

No not joking

Asymptomatic testing has to stop and i imagine a month or two now, it will do. Most Europe already do not test like we do without symptoms

Yes, I am concerned. This has happened to DS 4 times since August. Tests conducted properly. Asymptomatic each time. He's about to do his ALevels. I am frightened to test him in case it comes back positive again! He can't be missing school right now.

My DD tested positive on a flow flex lateral flow test in October. Negative on a subsequent PCR and negative on old style lateral flow test. She has repeated the flow flex every week and has tested positive every week since then. I would also advise her to fake the result if necessary as she obviously can’t have covid for 3 months. Very annoying.

All I can suggest is your husband goes to walk in test centre for a PCR twice weekly in place of doing LFTs.

I would have thought that someone in your dh's position should just keep getting confirmatory pcrs. If he starts doing the covid zoe app, he can just say each time that the app has asked him to get a test. He doesn't have to say he's got a symptom.

I see your point, but this issue is a lot more complex as there are many other plausible scenarios to consider:

• people repeatedly testing false positive when asymptomatic
• people testing false negative when symptomatic
• those who fake the test to achieve positive result and a week off work
• those who fake the test to achieve negative result to mask illness

.... just to mention a few of the obvious ones.

It is absolutely not sustainable to keep using an unreliable form of testing, therefore lfd testing, especially asymptomatic!!! should be scraped. IMO, only those with symptoms should be tested and only via pcr.

We have the opposite problem - DS1 tested negative on 5 LFT taken between 27th Dec to 4th Jan , but as DS2 was positive we all did PCRs on 30th. Came back yesterday that actually he WAS positive after all!

These LFT are useless.

Don't worry folks; he wouldn't dream of faking it. He works with a very vulnerable population and he's not a dickhead.

Speak to his HR department & see what they suggest

@Violetparis

Yes, I know of two people who have tested positive on a lateral flows and negative on PCRs. It's really odd as I thought lateral flows could give false negatives but not false positives.

So do I. Household members tested “properly” positive a few days later so they are fairly sure it was the pcr that was wrong not the lft. You may also have heard of the lab cock up where 50,000 positive pcr results were given out as negative.

Normally I’d trust the lft even if a pcr was negative.

But in OPs case I think there’s something fishy going on. I would advise him to explain the situation to his line manager at least so that they don’t think he is taking the piss.

The new rules about not getting a PCR only apply if you’re asymptomatic. I would suggest that he starts to get a lot of headaches/sore throats.

My daughter always tests positive on flowflex, too. I would speak to HR!

Oh, and more helpfully, there’s a whole thread of people on here (search ‘flowflex’) having the same issue, but only with the flowflex brand of tests. So, he could try to get hold of a different brand? Or, some people have less of a problem, it seems, if they test in the evening rather than first thing in the morning.

Does he have reflux by any chance? Was talking to my gastro consultant about masks making it worse and he asked if I was getting false positive LF's aswell.

I had this issue - between the end of October and mid Dec I had 9 faintly positive lft’s but 5 negative pcr tests. I found switching the brand I used solved the problem. I switched from the nose only ones back to the throat and nose ones I had been using previously and they went back to being negative. Could he try a different brand?

@LondonQueen

False positives are usually a result of not following the instructions carefully or contaminants in the test sample. You need to wash your hands, wipe down the surface and blow your nose before taking a test, you're not supposed to eat or drink within 30 minutes either. Never had a false positive.

I have never had a negative LFT and never had a positive PCR in 6 months.

And I am quite capable of following the instructions correctly, thank you very much.

I'm exactly the same, always tested positive on flow flex and always followed by a negative PCR!! I've just managed to swap a box of old style throat LFTs with a family member and will keep these for emergencies. Since I only test faint positive the majority of the time.. if I was to get a dark line il follow up with an old style LFT and go from there. Obviously if I had actual symptoms I'd PCR