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Corona rapid tests at Aldi, Lidl, dm: Customers should pay attention to this when making a self-diagnosis

2021-03-09T04:38:11.323Z


With the start of sales of the corona rapid tests, you can check yourself for Sars-CoV-2 at home. However, the procedure has one or the other pitfall ready. We clarify.


With the start of sales of the corona rapid tests, you can check yourself for Sars-CoV-2 at home.

However, the procedure has one or the other pitfall ready.

We clarify.

Munich - Citizens in Germany should be able to undergo a rapid corona test free of charge once a week - according to the plan that the federal government has not yet been able to implement.

Germany's discounters are taking advantage of this and have included rapid corona tests in their range.

Aldi made the start, the rush in the branches was so great that the goods were already sold out in many places on the first day and customers left without the product they were hoping for.

Competitor Lidl only offered a digital self-test, whereupon the website collapsed in the meantime.

These days, the range of offers with the pragmatic solution will gradually grow and millions of people will get an antigen test.

The supermarket rivals Edeka and Rewe also have the topic on their


radar, and drugstores and pharmacies will also offer corona rapid tests for personal use.

This means that even medical laypeople can test themselves for the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus and see the result shortly afterwards.

Before the self-tests are granted special approval by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), it is checked whether the procedure can be carried out without specialist knowledge.

Does this prevent errors from the outset?

Not necessarily - rather, there is room for ailments or even a wrong result.

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Corona rapid test harbors pitfalls that one should be aware of

Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn warns that the self-tests do not offer "absolute" security.

There are leaflets with instructions for the lay self-tests for at home.

Nevertheless, one or the other pitfall awaits when taking the smear and evaluating it:

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Corona rapid test for everyone: You can get antigen tests from discounters, drug stores and pharmacies.

© Oliver Mueller / imago-images

Even if you only have to insert the swab a few centimeters into the nostril, the smear feels uncomfortable.

Depending on your sensitivity, it can sting and tingle, sneezing and watery eyes are possible.

It can be more severe for people due to a curve in the nasal septum.

“If it's shifted on one side, things are usually better on the other,” explains Junge-Hülsing.

According to him, what is important for an unadulterated result - and this is a problem point - clean hands and a clean surface for the test material.

Otherwise there is a risk of contamination of the sample taken and thus contamination, for example by microorganisms.

Corona self-test: negative test result?

This is how it is with reliability

There is also a risk of error in the fight against Corona if the test cassette shows the result: Because a negative test result is not a license, rather a snapshot and there is no guarantee that the person tested really does not have any Sars-CoV-2 viruses.

The reason: the reliability is not 100 percent.

The antigen tests must have a minimum value in terms of sensitivity and specificity

which is below - and thus leave a margin for an inexact test result.

This is because the corona self-tests work best when there is a high viral load.

Infected people with a low viral load, such as at the onset or as the viral disease subsides, may go undetected.

Corona rapid test at home: It is important not to feel safe

As a result, this could mean that infected people feel a false sense of security due to a negative test result - and then infect other people after all.

This means that a negative test result can provide additional security before visiting the grandparents.

However, the continued application of the prescribed hygiene rules such as keeping your distance, ventilating, wearing a mask or washing your hands is still essential.



If the self-test is positive?

Then isolate immediately anyway and notify the health department or a doctor.

This is followed by a PCR test to confirm the self-test result in a laboratory.

(PF)

List of rubric lists: © Oliver Mueller / imago-images

Source: merkur

All life articles on 2021-03-09

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