Covid has generated a global crisis that has affected the world in many ways. In the fight to confront this disease, health authorities have made efforts to prevent, diagnose and combat this virus within everyone’s reach.
In most countries, accessing a Covid test has no complications. In addition to this, the Covid self-tests have also come out that make the process even easier. From the comfort of your home and on your own you can take the test to find out if you are infected or not.
What are the Covid self-tests?
Covid self-tests are quick tests that you can use yourself and that allow you to diagnose if you are infected with Covid. In several countries, sales to the general public have already been enabled, so acquiring them in pharmacies is very simple.
These are rapid Covid-19 antigen tests that allow you to determine if there is the presence of virus proteins in the body, for this, they use nasal or saliva samples. They do not indicate which type of variant, their objective is only to diagnose if you have the virus.
You can get them from laboratories such as Covid-19 BOSON, Covid-19 NEWGENE, Covid-19 WESAIL, Covid-19 GOLDSIDE and Covid-19 FLOW FLEX.
How are Covid self-tests used?
The steps to perform these tests may vary depending on the manufacturer of the tests. Usually this is what you should do:
- Introduce a swab into both nostrils two centimeters deep and rotate it slowly to collect the sample. In the case of rapid oral fluid antigen tests, this is done in the throat.
- Then in the Kit with the reagent you must put the sample and let it react for a few minutes until the liquid takes the test.
- Pour a few drops that come with the kit on the card or cassette.
This test takes between 15 and 30 minutes to give you the results. If you did everything correctly it will tell you if you are positive or negative.
Points to consider about these tests
You must perform this test correctly so that everything goes well, for this, it is important that you follow each of the instructions and steps indicated by the manufacturer, because if you do not do it properly, the results can be seriously affected.
It is estimated that the sensitivity of these tests can be 96% in people with a high viral load and 90% when it is low, which indicates that if you follow every detail you will have accurate results.
What happens if I test negative? Do I rule out the disease?
These are indicative tests so if you test negative you cannot lower your guard. According to studies, up to half of asymptomatic cases can pass as negative.
The SARS-CoV2 rapid antigen tests are a good way to speed up the process of diagnosing the disease, since health centers are always full and the process to carry out the PCR is usually slow and late.
There are already several laboratories that offer self-tests for Covid-19 and in many countries they are authorized. If all the instructions are followed, they are a very precise and helpful tool.
