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Original poster

Testing tissue snot for covid???

47 replies

jms84 · 25/03/2022 07:24

My 8 year old has potential covid symptoms. The only way I can get a covid swab would be for husband to pin him down and use do it. I don't really want to have to do that, but would like to know if we are potentially spreading covid.

A friend has suggested swabbing snot from a tissue. Thoughts?

OP posts:
SheWoreYellow · 25/03/2022 07:28

Test DH and you first in case one of you has it? If yes then you can presume your child does.

Original poster
jms84 · 25/03/2022 07:44

Yep done that we don't have covid. But also we don't have symptoms.
DS has an a tickly cough for a day or so now. Woke this morning really nausea, wasn't sick though, just felt and looked awful. A persistent cough. Throat dry and sore.
It's probably nothing. But pinning him down feels like the wrong choice.

OP posts:
AnyFucker · 25/03/2022 07:45

No. The instructions clearly say to clear your nose of snot before swabbing.

AnyFucker · 25/03/2022 07:46

Just assume he has it. The odds are that he has.

NauseousNancy · 25/03/2022 07:47

Yeah it works. I know a few people who have done it that way with small children and they showed positive results where expected.

EarringsandLipstick · 25/03/2022 07:47

Why on earth would you need to pin him down? I get it's not particularly pleasant but you can surely explain what needs to be done and that it takes 10 seconds.

30not13 · 25/03/2022 07:51

Can you do it when they are sleeping?

UnmentionedElephantDildo · 25/03/2022 07:55

No, you really need to minimise (ideally completely avoid) the presence of snot on the sample.

Either don't test, or use extreme bribery

Original poster
jms84 · 25/03/2022 07:58

I don't really want to pin him down, but he will not do it willingly. At all. Point blank refuses. He's sat for hours trying to make himself do a swab and couldn't do it. Yes I am in awe of parents with kids that just get on with it. But I don't have one of them.

OP posts:
girlmom21 · 25/03/2022 07:59

If you think he has it just isolate.
Don't do the test if it's going to cause distress.

youhadmeatjello · 25/03/2022 07:59

Can you swab literally for a second just inside his nose? That’s all we had to do for DS as he would barely let us near him and he got a clear positive. We didn’t have to do it further up and swizzle it around like you’re supposed to it was barely a touch

Original poster
jms84 · 25/03/2022 08:02

OK progress. He has agreed to give it a go. Told him we have to assume he has covid so no going out unless he proves otherwise. So far that has seemed to work!
Will see what happens when the time comes.

He is ASD/ADHD so getting him to do things is an extremely challenging thing anyway. So this is far out his comfort zone.

OP posts:
UnmentionedElephantDildo · 25/03/2022 08:07

@youhadmeatjello

Can you swab literally for a second just inside his nose? That’s all we had to do for DS as he would barely let us near him and he got a clear positive. We didn’t have to do it further up and swizzle it around like you’re supposed to it was barely a touch
You may as well not bother testing - swab needs to go high up the nose (not enough to cause pain, but definitely to where you start to meet resistance)

And needs to be gently rotated there for a good few seconds.

Quick swipe in the wrong place is just a waste of a test

Mindymomo · 25/03/2022 08:12

Symptoms do sound like covid, particularly the nausea but but actually being sick, we all had that as one of the first symptoms. Good luck with getting your son to do a swab, it is very unpleasant for us all.

HopingForRainbow2021 · 25/03/2022 08:23

We had trouble getting our 5 year old to allow us to test him. We tried letting him donor himself - explained what to do and made sure he did it properly. Being in control of it made all the difference for him and now he’s not phased at all by testing. Might be worth a go :)

HopingForRainbow2021 · 25/03/2022 08:23

*do it not donor 🙈

HopingForRainbow2021 · 25/03/2022 08:24

Ah I’m sorry - I missed the bit where you said he had tried :(

SheWoreYellow · 25/03/2022 10:27

@jms84

I don't really want to pin him down, but he will not do it willingly. At all. Point blank refuses. He's sat for hours trying to make himself do a swab and couldn't do it. Yes I am in awe of parents with kids that just get on with it. But I don't have one of them.
Oh bless him. Ours struggled a bit and it’s awful. My middle one just couldn’t make himself do it to begin with. (I presume you’ve told him to do it really slowly.)
Original poster
jms84 · 25/03/2022 10:32

I've tried everything. Bribed, tough love. I could offer him the world and he just can't do it. Said he can do it, I'll do it. Explained it. Showed him how it's done on myself. You name it we have tried it!
He has major anxiety issues anyway, getting him to do anything new or unpleasant is near impossible

OP posts:
Squirrelonwheels · 25/03/2022 10:33

My 6 year old also finds it incredibly distressing & physically refuses - we have found we can do it when she’s asleep and I would recommend that approach.

SheWoreYellow · 25/03/2022 10:38

How about if you ask him to stick a finger up at the same time? I don’t know if there’s room really, but it might break some sort of mental barrier.

Wednesdayafternoon · 25/03/2022 10:39

@EarringsandLipstick

Why on earth would you need to pin him down? I get it's not particularly pleasant but you can surely explain what needs to be done and that it takes 10 seconds.
Hmm unless you have a child who won't do a Covid test (for WHATEVER reason) then this is a pretty ignorant comment to make.

@jms84 my son is the same and I made the absolute massive error of pinning him down in the early days of Covid to test after the hospital not being able to swab him. It did so much damage, he had a nose bleed, I literally felt like the worst parent in the world and I know I should've NEVER done it and will never do it again.
I try and swab him during his sleep now. I don't get 4 full rotations at all but the swab is damp so surely if he had Covid it would be present!

You can not do what you can do. It's so so hard and it's so easy for us adults who understand to forget how hard this is for children.

Hope you're son is feeling better son.

Dizzybintess · 25/03/2022 10:43

My daughter has ADHD and has found it better if she does the test herself. That way she is in control.

SheWoreYellow · 25/03/2022 11:27

@EarringsandLipstick

Why on earth would you need to pin him down? I get it's not particularly pleasant but you can surely explain what needs to be done and that it takes 10 seconds.
Oh, I guess no one thought of that. Grin

Imagine you ask the child to do it and they are trying to get the swab up their nose, but they are so scared they can’t make their hand do it. Imagine they are crying getting more and more upset.

It isn’t as simple as just asking them.

MrsArchchancellorRidcully · 25/03/2022 11:28

Stop testing children. No longer required. Simples.