Basic information about COVID Self Testing:
The at-home COVID-19 test is a PCR test that is performed by yourself at home. At the start of the pandemic, we were facing a lot of issues regarding testing. As time passed, multiple testing strategies were developed. One of which is the self-testing method.
Self-testing kits are readily available on the market. It has helped patients to stay isolated and test themselves if they suspect COVID symptoms or were in close contact with a COVID-positive patient. The at-home COVID-19 test is a Rapid PCR test that is performed by yourself at home. It gives you results as early as 15 minutes.
Symptoms of COVID -19:
Mostly, when you have COVID-19, you will have symptoms and feel unwell. Changes in your health status can include:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting (more common in children)
- Diarrhea (more common in children)
What to do if you have covid symptoms?
- Self-isolate immediately
- Contact your healthcare provider or the state covid-19 hotline if you have symptoms
- Monitor your health
- Stay home
- Separate yourself and avoid close contact with other people and pets in your home
- Clean and disinfect high touch surfaces daily
- If you have to be around others, wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth
How long does isolation last?
If you tested positive for COVID-19, it’s important to self-isolate in order to keep other people from getting sick. This means staying home and away from others as much as possible and wearing a mask or cloth face covering when you’re around other people.
However, you can end your isolation period when you no more have a fever without medication for 24 hours, you see an improvement in respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath), and at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared
Reporting self-testing results:
A recent FDA report highlights the potential for false-positive results in some Ellume at-home COVID-19 tests. A positive result can have a significant impact on themselves and their loved ones as the fear of the pandemic disease has spread widely.
The FDA recommendations are that people who test positive with the Ellume home test should contact their doctor and follow up with a standard molecular diagnostic test to confirm the result. This may especially be important if the patient is asymptomatic, which means they have a higher chance of having a false positive Ellume COVID-19 test result.
Source: Potential for False-Positive Results with Certain Lots of Ellume COVID-19 Home Tests Due to a Manufacturing Issue: FDA Safety Communication, U.S. Food & Drug Administration
Accuracy of At-home testing:
Several pieces of research show that the accuracy of at-home COVID testing is 85 percent
