People often feel scared during the sampling process using nasopharyngeal swabs. However, is it really painful to use a nasopharyngeal swab?
It is certain that nasopharyngeal swab testing does not produce painful symptoms, but some patients may feel uncomfortable.
The doctor used a medical flocked swab to enter the nasopharynx and then took a small amount of secretions. The hospital can isolate pathogenic bacteria through bacterial culture.
During the operation of the sampler, the patient will have slight nausea and discomfort, which is generally within a tolerable range. The medical staff’s techniques are gentle and skilled, so there is no pain. We can check the bacteria that cause the infection through nasopharyngeal swabs, and select targeted drugs for treatment based on the results of the tests.
Which is painful, nasal swab or throat swab？
In contrast, nasal swabs are more painful. Pharyngeal swab is the behavior that doctors use a medical flocked swab to dip secretions from the throat for monitoring. During the collection of pharyngeal swab, the tested person may have symptoms of nausea and vomiting without other obvious pain. Nasal swab is to insert a cotton swab into the deep part of the nasal cavity to dip secretions for monitoring.
Application scenario diagram
Why nasopharyngeal swabs are better than oropharyngeal swabs
- According to reports in the literature, the positive rate of nasopharyngeal swabs is higher than that of oropharyngeal swabs.
- The patient has good tolerance and can basically take samples without anesthesia after skilled operation
- The exposure risk of the sampler is lower than that of oropharyngeal swabs.