Lateral flow test questions

[kitnkaboodle]

Sorry if these are obvious questions! First time with covid here ... three years late to the party

NOT sorry for testing - have a vulnerable DS in the house, I've felt grotty, and I think catching this would floor him. I'm isolating in my room/the garden! Coming to the end of the infection, I just wondered...

1 if you were doing daily tests (I'm not btw), would you notice the positive line get fainter and fainter each time, or does it just suddenly not show up one day?
2 if your symptoms have all gone, but tests still show you are positive, are you still contagious?

I should have paid attention when all this started, but hey, that was 2 (?) prime ministers ago!

Yes the line gets fainter each day. We tested that December 2020!

I think if you still show a line but feel ok you can still shed some covid but much smaller amounts.

I think asymptomatic people with covid were shown to spread less covid than symptomatic people - but I've got no idea where I got that from!

But I'm not a doctor or scientist.
I have it too. 3rd time.

Yeah lines get lighter
With a vulnerable DS I would do a test today / tomorrow to gauge the line before risking esp it if you are feeling 100% again

Many thanks! Day 5 and still a bright red line here 🤨

I had Covid when you could stop isolation early when/if you got a negative test. I never got an early clearance and it took just under two weeks to get a negative. That was with regular testing due to circumstances so I probably found it right at the start of the infection though (I didn’t have any symptoms, weirdly, right till the very end)

I don’t really know much about how Covid is behaving now but if you’re still clearly positive on day five I’d write off the weekend and test again early next week if you can.

I’ve only had it once, about 6 months ago, and got a thick red line immediately and it stayed like that for 10 days then went. 8 wasn’t testing every day, but did after 5 and then 10 and 11.

If you have a positive test, you are still contagious, simple as that. Make sure to swab your throat and nose.

I was involved in various covid studies.

One time I had covid I had to photograph a daily test and upload it. The line definitely faded between days.

I was clear by day 5, butI'd had 3 jabs by then and it was my second bout of covid.

I hope you feel better soon, OP.

Op - I am on Day 5 and still have a line.

Thanks for replies. Jeez I hope it's not gonna be 11 days 😵 but on the plus side I wfh anyway and at least the weather's nice enough to sit in the garden

I was still getting a faint line on day 11. I never tested again after that but just went back to normal, some people get a positive for ages!

I was positive for 13 days on LFT. You can stay positive for a long time on a PCR test (months, in rare circumstances).

But I'd be very wary of being around others without a well fitted N95 mask if still positive on an LFT.

Yes the line definitely faded over time when I had Covid. Got progressively darker and then progressively lighter over the days.

When I had Covid a year ago, I had a very strong positive which then disappeared to nothing overnight. I was really surprised. No gradual fading here…