How to use corona self-tests correctly

Created: 06/29/2022, 12:30 p.m

And turn the swab again: In order for corona self-tests to deliver a reliable result, it is best to follow the instructions.

© Zacharie Scheurer/dpa-tmn

With the end of the free Corona citizen tests, self-tests will become more attractive again.

To ensure that the result is as meaningful as possible, you should pay attention to a few things when testing.

An expert gives tips.

Starnberg – Anyone can test themselves for the corona virus at home with freely available self-tests.

But even if the enclosed description doesn't really leave any questions unanswered, there are always uncertainties when using the antigen rapid tests.

An ENT doctor explains typical application errors - and how to avoid them:

- Warehousing:

The box should not be too cold and not too warm in the apartment.

So neither in the freezer nor in the blazing sun - studies indicate that such storage could falsify the results of the test.

"They can be stored normally at room temperature," recommends ENT doctor Bernhard Junge-Hülsing from Starnberg.

The temperatures at which the box with the test can be stored is usually stated on the packaging or at least in the package insert.

It is important that the tests should always be at room temperature at the time of use - so if you have stored them in a cooler place, you should leave them on the work surface for a certain time and not use them immediately.

- The implementation:

Hygiene is elementary in order not to falsify the test result.

Therefore, the work surface should be clean and before you get started, you wash your hands thoroughly.

Anyone who tests several people, for example themselves and their children, cannot all hold the test tubes in their hands.

Junge-Hülsing's tip: clothespins prevent it from falling over.

You clip them to the bottom of the tubes.

There they are a kind of support and ensure that the tubes stand upright.

- The smear:

As a rule, a nasal swab is required for the self-test.

And in both holes.

It's enough to put the swab in one, you might think - a fallacy.

"As a result, you may not get enough secretion on the swab," says Junge-Hülsing.

So the swab belongs in both holes.

also read

Early retirement due to illness: The most common cause is a widespread mental illness

Ten blood pressure lowering foods

Some test instructions state that you blow your nose thoroughly before the swab.

The idea behind it: By blowing your nose, secretions and thus possible viruses from the deeper nose and throat area should be blown further forward.

Junge-Hülsing is skeptical as to whether the test will become more accurate, i.e. whether more possible viruses will actually stick to the cilia in the front of the nose than with normal exhalation.

He doesn't think the previous blowout is a good idea.

According to Junge-Hülsing, the color of the control line on the test cassette provides an indication that comparatively little secretion landed on the swab.

"If its color is very pale, that means there is little secretion." Then the risk of a false-negative result increases, according to the doctor.

So that the test is negative, even though you are positive.

Otherwise, the following applies when handling the swab: caution and sensitivity.

During the self-test, the swab does not have to be pushed to the point where the nose meets the throat.

Two to four centimeters deep in the nostril, that's enough.

In fact, flat in the direction of the ear canal floor and not diagonally upwards - there is a risk of injury.

- The result:

According to the ENT doctor, this is where the biggest source of error lurks.

Many people think that a dash at C is a positive result.

C does not stand for Corona, but for Control, i.e. control.

"If there is no line at C, the test is useless."

The T stands for test - this is the relevant digit for the question of whether one is positive or negative.

In concrete terms, this means: If lines can be seen at C and T, the test was positive.

If only C shows a line, the test is negative.

If only a line is visible at T, it is invalid - this also applies if no line appears at all.

dpa