Many people find it convenient to test for Covid-19 at home. If you get a positive result, it will confirm the infection, and then you can take necessary precautions to protect all the other family members from the virus. If the antigen test is negative, you may confirm it with a PCR test to ensure the safety of your loved ones.
Going for a PCR test or SARS-CoV-2 kit is sensible because it is one of the most accurate forms to test the infection, but you can even go for an antigen test if it is unavailable. If you look back, you will see that presently the at-home test quality has improved.
During the pandemic, people were concerned about whether the antigen test was reliable and how you do it. People do not even know how to capture the results, but now you can say that everybody has come a long way, and at home, the COVID test has become quite popular and a convenient option for many who cannot go out to get the infection tested.
To get the most out of your antigen test, you need to focus on these few factors.
Use an antigen test that is FDA approved
The reliability of the test kit depends on whether they are FDA approved. Since the FDA is making sure that the test can test all the variants of the pathogen circulating. The present testing kit can also try the omicron variant. Therefore, it is advisable to only go for those antigen tests that have faced rigorous assessment under FDA and have the necessary authorization. If you are not using an accurate antigen test, then it isn't very sensible because the results are not reliable.
Follow the instructions
You need to understand that each antigen test is different, so in order to make the most out of the sample, you need to understand the manufacturer's directions. The sensitivity of the test is dependent on the quality of the specimen you are providing according to the test instructions. If the specimen quality is not as per the instructions in the manual, then it is pointless because you cannot depend on your test then. Following instructions on the leaflet is mandatory.
No sharing or reusing of a swab
Indeed, antigen tests are not readily available even in the post Covid world. Nevertheless, you cannot use a swab again because it will not help you get the best out of the kit. If you are using the swab again, the results will get tampered in fact. It might even lead to an infection. Before boxing, the swabs get sterilized to ensure your safety and avoid any external factors interplaying or influencing the results. For example, you are positive, and then you share a swab, and the other person using the swab is likely to get Infected even if they were not infected earlier. Therefore, reusing or sharing the swab can be a serious issue leading to the spread of infection and unreliable test results.
Test Covid at home with reliable results!
