Flu Flocked Swab Influenza
Influenza refers to the common cold, which is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by the influenza virus.
It is highly contagious and mainly spreads through droplets, such as coughing and sneezing. Influenza generally occurs in winter and spring.
The current influenza detection method is the rapid influenza antigen detection method, which detects “flux A” and “flu B” antigens.
Laboratory staff collect samples through throat swabs.
In fact, in inspection work, it is important to know the quality of the specimen in order to obtain accurate and reliable results.
Throat swab specimens: Professionals can avoid many false-negative influenza tests caused by improper specimen sampling.
The precautions for flu throat swabs are basically the same as those for nucleic acid detection throat swabs. Because the same part is sampled.
There are two types of flu throat swabs: nasopharyngeal swabs and oropharyngeal swabs.
What precautions should I take when taking a throat swab test for flu?
1. Oropharyngeal swab The collection method of the oropharyngeal swab is to let the subject open his mouth, then use a long pharyngeal swab to wipe the patient’s pharynx, bilateral frontal arches and tonsils, and take out the local secretions. Into the catheter of the throat swab and sent to the laboratory for testing.
2. Nasopharyngeal swabs The collection method of nasopharyngeal swabs is to use sterilized throat swabs to penetrate deep into the nasal cavity of the subject and reach the nasopharynx, and extract secretions and nasopharynx by rotating or wiping.
Epithelial cells put a section with secretions and epithelial cells into a sterile container and then carry out pathogenic detection.
Flu swab material
Swab options for flu testing include flocked swabs, cotton-tipped swabs, rayon tipped swabs, and foam-tipped swabs.
Cotton tip swab:
The original swab tips were all cotton, mainly based on their cleaning power and water absorption. Cotton swabs are very inexpensive and readily available, and are widely used in medical wound management after sterilization with ethylene oxide or autoclaving, as well as in forensic crime scene forensics. In the absence of alternatives, cotton swabs can be used in almost a variety of scenarios.
However, cotton-tipped swabs also have some problems. Due to the low release rate of cotton, natural material for samples, and some of the natural fatty acids in it can damage microorganisms, they are less and less used for sample collection.
Rayon head swab:
Rayon—a synthetic fiber made from wood pulp. Although classified as synthetic fiber, it is essentially a natural material. Compared to cotton, rayon is produced during the process of removing substances that may damage the sample or react with the sample during transportation and handling , so it is generally used for sampling for diagnostic testing.
Polyester Fiber Tip Swabs:
The head material of the polyester fiber swab is made of polyester long fiber winding, which was first introduced into the field of medical testing by DuPont. Polyester fibres are proven for microbial collection, rapid diagnostics, and PCR testing.
Polyester swabs have a high release rate but are more expensive than cotton and rayon swabs.
Foam tip swab:
China Medical Nasal Foam Swab Factory And Manufacturers
Swabs made from medical-grade polyurethane are an excellent material for diagnostics, especially cell sampling. The swab tip of this swab is usually manufactured as a sheet with a surface hole count of 100ppi (holes per inch).
This material has good absorption of hydrophilic substances and poor absorption of hydrophobic substances. Used in some scenarios that require resistance to chemical corrosion. Also used for DNA and microbial sampling.
Flocked Swabs:
Flocking technology was first developed for cosmetic and industrial production. (Learn more)
After the flocking process was introduced into swab production. It replaced the traditional swab head, and the swab head was brought to a new level.
Due to the flocking process and the multi-branched polyester fibre material used, the flocked swabs have a very high absorption and release rate and are proven to be equally efficient for molecular sampling and absorption. Designated by some institutions for nucleic acid sampling as well as some research areas for genomic analysis.
The evolution of swabs is not limited to changes in materials. New demands in the fields of nursing, testing, and scientific research make swabs continue to evolve in multiple dimensions. The swab also not only acts as an applicator, but also acts as some transport medium.
Precautions include the following:
① Do not drink water before the throat swab test, at least 30 minutes in advance, because drinking water before the test will dilute the virus attached to the pharynx, especially drinking hot water will inhibit the activity of the virus.
In order to improve the accuracy of throat swab nucleic acid detection, do not drink water 15 to 30 minutes before the test to ensure that the throat swab has high accuracy.
②. For patients with good throat exposure, it is not recommended to take too long “ah~” sounds to reduce the risk of occupational exposure to the sampler.
③ To prevent vomiting, do not eat within two hours before the throat swab test.
④. Do not smoke, drink, or chew gum within half an hour before the throat swab test.
During the throat flocked swab sampling, the patient may have clinical symptoms such as nausea or nasopharyngeal discomfort, but the symptoms can subside quickly, so the patient should not be nervous and cooperate actively during the examination. At the same time, the subjects should not smoke, drink, or chew gum within half an hour before the sample collection.
If it is because of the throat swab the child, the parents must soothe the child’s emotions, communicate with the child patiently, and try not to move the child’s head as much as possible.