Different LFTs being sent

[whiteonesugar]

I am currently positive (day 6) so we ordered LFTs to test everyone else and for me to use from yesterday. 4 boxes have been sent, 2 flowflex and 2 are the older (nose and throat) style.

Any idea why we’re getting a mix now? And also, is there a chance they can show different results? I.e should we stick with one type during this period?

Don't know but my most recent box was old style ones. It's a pain & they take twice as long!

Throat swabbing more likely to detect omicron. You can swab throat even if using the nasal only kits, scientists recommend it.

@JanglyBeads yes I read this somewhere actually. The nose only are so much better for my children, my older one does the swab himself. Though I do know you can do nose only on children.

Just wondered why they’re now sending different ones now, maybe clearing stocks before they stop being free?!

@kittykat33 yes! So much better for those before school tests!!

They were handing out packs at a local shopping centre this week... I got one and it's a different brand to ones I have had before. It is Orient Gene 20 pack. Instructions are separate to the box and they said to read the instructions carefully as different to usual, though to me looks the same as the Flowflex pack... that is swab both nostrils and wait 15 mins for test to develop.
I guess they are just going through whatever supplies they have in warehouses.

We’ve mostly been receiving the old style ones for the last week. Much more annoying as have to get kids up earlier to test before school. It’s already a bit grim having to wake a 6 year old to test him, let alone waking him even earlier. I’m hunting the Flow Flex ones so we can use those on the kids.

I got sent boxes of the old ones recently too! It's been flowflex for weeks before!

I've been sent both types recently. We all had covid at the end of October. Only 3 of us tested positive on a old style lft. All 9 of us tested positive on a pcr.
Last Monday dd4 tested positive with the nose only lft.
Wednesday dd5 had an extremely faint positive test on a nose only lft. So I did an old style one on her and it came up with a strong positive only an hour later.
In Thursday ds2 and dd3 tested positive on a nose only lft and I tested positive on a throat and nose lft. I was negative on a nose only.
On Friday ds1 was positive on a throat only but negative on a nose only.
Dd1 and dd2 are negative on both. (Lucky dh away with work so missed out this time!) I'm now making them all test with both at the same time as I can't understand how they can give different results.
Dd4 is day 5 today and has tested negative on both luckily.

I have a mix and although not strictly required to have been testing my 1 year old twins (older sibling is covid positive at the moment) - I've run out of the nose ones and only have throat/nose now - can I just do the nose bit and not the throat? (I really don't think I'd be able to do the throat bit On them)

My worm gets nhs deliveries each week and some
Weeks the boxes are blue and some they are green

@bonetiredwithtwins

I have a mix and although not strictly required to have been testing my 1 year old twins (older sibling is covid positive at the moment) - I've run out of the nose ones and only have throat/nose now - can I just do the nose bit and not the throat? (I really don't think I'd be able to do the throat bit On them)

Under 5's are nose only regardless of the type of test.

@MadeForThis

Thanks! I was dreading having to try it - I'm only doing it as they are continuing to go to childcare

Getting the old style ones here too. A family of 4 don't half go through them when you are close contacts. I miss flow flex - so much easier not just for the swap but the whole set up. It's so easy to run out of the liquid and have nothing to put in the sample bit. Also I thought kids could always do nose only?

Under 5's are nose only regardless of the type of test.

According to the NHS website adults can also do nose only even with the old style nose and throat tests. There's no way I'll be able to swab my throat without gagging and touching my tongue or the inside of my mouth!

My dd has covid at the moment, so the rest of us are testing everyday. I've had two deliveries of tests in the past week and they've both been the old style. I don't mind swabbing my throat, but I really hate doing my nose with the long wobbly swab!

Clearing out the stocks ready for them to be no longer a requirement is my guess.

I really wouldn’t worry about which ones you use. And if it says nose only that exactly what I would do. If you have to try that hard to get a positive your viral load is likely to be so low it’s not worth worrying about.

Compare the dates on the boxes to see if they are older stock, or whether they have new dates and the direction has turned back to potentially different sensitivities of mouth & nostril test

The two nose/throat boxes I received this week were manufactured on 25 Dec 21. The box of flex flow I've got is earlier in Dec.

Hard to gauge from that, but the wobbly swab type is obviously still in production.

@JoanThursday

My dd has covid at the moment, so the rest of us are testing everyday. I've had two deliveries of tests in the past week and they've both been the old style. I don't mind swabbing my throat, but I really hate doing my nose with the long wobbly swab!

On mine the stick has a little break point in to make it smaller presumably to do the nose part?

@bonetiredwithtwins I never thought of doing that! 🤣. Yes, they're the same swabs as you get with the PCRs so they do have a snap point.

Every day is a school day!

Hate the old style ones. Too fiddly.

Ds1 has just tested positive on the blue lft test so i also did the green lft test just to check and same result.

@JoanThursday

I only noticed when one of the twins grabbed it mid swab and stuck it in his porridge in protest and it snapped 🙈

Not had the old style one for a while now. We just getting the new ones when we order.