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Covid

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Original poster

Been sent throat LFTs.

28 replies

Neolara · 15/02/2022 09:09

My dd currently has covid and there are 5 of us in the house, so in the last week I've ordered 2 packs of LFTs for us. They have sent the original ones that you have to test by scraping the back of the throat. I hate these. They make me gag every time. We haven't been sent these in months.

So, two questions. Firstly, have others also been sent the throat LFTs? Secondly, do they work if I just use them up my nose and ignore the throat bit?

OP posts:

Haggisfish3 · 15/02/2022 09:10

They work fine up the nose, yes.

Cookerhood · 15/02/2022 09:12

They seem to be sending these out at the moment. I had one done at an NHS pop up testing site & they used these ones but just did the nose so I'm sure it's fine just make sure you do it thoroughly.the only thing I would say is that swabbing the throat is thought to be more accurate for omicron (mine was done last summer).

1309username · 15/02/2022 09:15

I’ve been reading about people who test negative if they only swab the nose vs then getting positive if they swab the throat too.

This is by an epidemiologist:

He said: "Symptoms are starting very early with Omicron. This means that there is a chance the virus isn't yet growing in the nose when you first test [as the] virus may start further down. Throat swab + nasal may improve chances a swab picks up virus."

Fuzzy303 · 15/02/2022 09:19

yes, recent tests I have been send are the nose & throat ones

Bramshott · 15/02/2022 09:24

Yes this seems to be what's being sent out at the moment - I got these the last 2 times I've ordered. Personally I don't mind the throat thing (and anecdotally some people seem to say they're more accurate) but I have to remember to allow 30 minutes not 15!

toomuchlaundry · 15/02/2022 09:25

Think throat swabs are better for detecting Omicron

Lazypuppy · 15/02/2022 09:41

We were the same, got the original ones but just used them on nose not throat and still got our positives etc.

LittleRen · 15/02/2022 09:46

The last few for me were the old style throat but yesterday I got flowflex again... felt like I had won the lottery!

Halloweenrainbow · 15/02/2022 09:48

Yes, we got the old style throat ones when ordered for DD. She saw the length and refused to come near it. I just snapped the middle bit and did the nose "bogey test" as usual. I hope it's accurate.

bitchinofhitchen · 15/02/2022 09:56

Yes that's all we've had fair a while as well

Zazdar · 15/02/2022 10:00

I’ve never had anything else but throat and nose ones. I have to test for work so get through quite a few.

Original poster

Neolara · 15/02/2022 10:01

We've been doing some experimenting. Dd is currently still a pretty strong positive on new style (nose only) lft. However, she is only a very, very faint positive on old style (nose and throat) lft when she only did it up her nose. She's going to do it again properly ( nose and throat) to see what happens.

So extrapolating from a sample of one (!), new LFTs are massively more sensitive than old style lft. And possibly, you do need to do nose and throat on old style LFTs to get a meaningful result.

OP posts:

Iggly · 15/02/2022 10:09

I think the older LFTs aren’t as good as the newer ones - different brand? So less to do with the nose/throat, more to do with them being more shit.

We’ve only been getting the old ones so I’ve had to find some newer ones in the library!

Datsandcogs · 15/02/2022 10:12

I’ve been ordering online regularly since last summer. I have only ever been sent the original blue box ones. I live in Wales. I wonder whether location also determines which tests are sent?

PatientlyWaiting21 · 15/02/2022 10:17

Oh I just received Nose only ones today!

Original poster

Neolara · 15/02/2022 10:29

Further update. Dd has now done the old style LFT using both nose and throat and the line is almost invisible. It is very similar to the nose only result for old style test.

So am updating my previous conclusion to new style tests are massively more sensitive than old style test, no matter if the old style is taken as nose only or nose and throat.

OP posts:

mejon · 15/02/2022 10:30

@Datsandcogs

I’ve been ordering online regularly since last summer. I have only ever been sent the original blue box ones. I live in Wales. I wonder whether location also determines which tests are sent?

I'm in Wales to and have only ever had the blue and white ones by post. DD2 did a PCR at a local test centre last week and we were given a box of the Orient Gene (?) ones to take home which has never happened before. DD1's most recent box from school were the 'new' OG ones too.

DD1 has only ever been able/willing to do her nose and the 'old' style easily picked up her infection back in November.

Cookerhood · 15/02/2022 10:31

@Datsandcogs

I’ve been ordering online regularly since last summer. I have only ever been sent the original blue box ones. I live in Wales. I wonder whether location also determines which tests are sent?

I wonder if Wales have a massive stockpile of the original ones - when there was a shortage at Christmas I seem to remember Wales helping England out.

Jules912 · 15/02/2022 10:35

@Halloweenrainbow

Yes, we got the old style throat ones when ordered for DD. She saw the length and refused to come near it. I just snapped the middle bit and did the nose "bogey test" as usual. I hope it's accurate.

This is the issue my children have no matter how many times I tell them it doesn't go any further up their nose. At first I was delighted to get those as DS has an annoying habit of sometimes getting false positives on the flowflex ones, but he won't come near the others (he did once when I told him it was that or a PCR after his last false positive). Also the 30minutes not 15 is really annoying when we need to do it before breakfast club. I've tried 3 pharmacies in the hope of getting some of the ones in the green box but no luck.

firef1y · 15/02/2022 11:32

I'm kind of thinking that they are using up the old stocks ahead of testing being massively ramped down. Most people I know were far more likely to use the nose only ones and less likely to use the ones that go in the throat, especially if they have children. No way will I put my 2 through the trauma of the throat swabs, and no way will I do it to myself as often as I would with the nose only.

Iggly · 15/02/2022 13:30

It’s worth trying your local library if you have one @Jules912 that’s where I got our green ones from.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 15/02/2022 20:59

I received nose only ones last week. I've got a box of old style ones somewhere and when I use them I'll only be swabbing my nose. That's bad enough but I can't do throat!

Cookerhood · 15/02/2022 22:17

Our delivery was back to Flowflex today.

SheWoreYellow · 15/02/2022 22:22

@Neolara

Further update. Dd has now done the old style LFT using both nose and throat and the line is almost invisible. It is very similar to the nose only result for old style test.

So am updating my previous conclusion to new style tests are massively more sensitive than old style test, no matter if the old style is taken as nose only or nose and throat.

That’s really interesting! Thanks for your thorough testing.

TheGriffle · 15/02/2022 22:28

I’ve only had the nose and throat style until the back end of last week when I got my first Flowflex box. I’ve been ordering a box once a week since before Christmas as we get through them.

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