Nose or Throat? The Best Way to Swab for At-Home COVID-19 Tests

The first challenge with rapid at-home self tests for COVID-19 is getting one. But once you have a test, there are now growing questions about what body part you should swab to get the most accurate and reliable results. Your nose? Throat? Cheek? What about your saliva? All of the self tests authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are validated only with nasal samples. But recent coverage of the fact that Omicron tends to cause sore throats, and a small study finding that test samples collected in the throat might detect the presence of the virus earlier than samples collected in the nose, have led to growing online questions about whether people should swab their throat instead of their nose when using a rapid self-test. In the U.K., some testing kits include instructions for people to first swab their throat and then the nose to get the most sensitive reading. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Here’s what we know so far about the different ways to swab for COVID-19 rapid tests and how effective they are. What we know about nasal swabs In the U.S., the official word is that nasal swabbing works well for rapid tests. The FDA authorized the tests based on studies showing that nasal swab samples are effective for picking up signs of SARS-CoV-2, and manufacturers of the at-home rapid antigen tests also stress that their kits are designed and most accurate for testing with nasal samples. A spokesperson from Abbott, which makes the popular BinaxN...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news