How does a Covid Mouth Swab Test work?
I went for a swab test for the new coronavirus the day before yesterday, and the result came out yesterday and it was negative. Some friends asked me, is the throat swab test painful? How to do it? What are the types of COVID-19 tests? What COVID-19 test is more accurate? Today, Dr Lee came to give everyone a popular science.
You can use a variety of tests to determine whether you have COVID-19. Some tests are collected by mouth swabs, and some are collected by nasal swabs or saliva. In the experiment, an oral flocked swab was used to collect samples from the oral cavity for oral inspection. This is different from a saliva test, which spits out saliva into a small container.
On this page, you will learn:
- What is a mouth swab? Painful?
- How to do a mouth swab COVID-19 test
- What are the types of COVID-19 tests?
- What COVID-19 test is more accurate?
What is a mouth swab? Painful?
The COVID-19 test is the most important way to diagnose the new coronavirus. Nucleic acid is the genetic material RNA of the new coronavirus. The nucleic acid test is to check a certain segment of RNA. If it is positive, it means that you are infected with the new coronavirus.
According to different sampling sites, nucleic acid detection can be divided into many types, such as throat swabs, anal swabs, tracheal secretions, alveolar lavage fluid, and so on.
Among them, throat swabs are the most commonly used, and oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal secretions are taken for laboratory tests.
Oropharyngeal swab, the inspection process is very fast, no more than 10 seconds, only needs to open the mouth, and the staff uses a cotton swab to take a sample in the oropharynx.
Covid Mouth Swab Test work
When sampling, there will be a slight pain, and when the throat is stimulated, there will be a feeling of vomiting.
But the feeling is not strong, and it will be fine for a while.
According to British colleagues, the nasopharyngeal swab is more uncomfortable, and the pain will be greater because the nasopharyngeal swab needs to be completely pricked into the nose. Learn more about nasal swabs Please click here
How to interpret the results of the Oral swab test?
Nucleic acid(COVID-19) testing usually produces results within 24 hours. If you check today, the results will be known the next day. The results are nothing more than two cases, negative or positive.
Does negative mean there is no infection?
It is not 100% certain, because nucleic acid testing has a certain probability of false negatives. For example, in the early stage of the disease, the virus content is very low, and it may not be detected, or the sampling is not taken properly, and the sensitivity of the detection reagents, operation Whether it is standardized or not, etc., are affected by many factors.
How to do a mouth swab COVID-19 test
How to use mouth swab
There are different ways to do a COVID-19 mouth swab:
- 1. The patient needs to sit with his head back, open the mouth, and then remove the nasal cavity and the secretions on the oral surface.
- 2. The collector uses a special tongue depressor to fix the patient’s tongue, and then cross the throat with the collecting tool, and the tonsils directly to the position where the specimen is taken.
- 3. After repeated wiping of the collection table, mucosal cells can be directly extracted.
- 4. Take out the collected throat swabs. Be careful not to touch the oral mucosa, tongue and saliva secreted by the oral cavity during this process to prevent inaccurate test results.
- 5. Put the extracted throat swab into a special device and transport it to the laboratory for examination.
You may need to take specific steps before the test so that the results are as accurate as possible. If you need to book an appointment, ask if there’s anything you should avoid on the day of your test. Some types of tests that use saliva require that you don’t eat, drink, smoke, brush your teeth, or chew gum 30 minutes before the test (FDA, 2020).
What are the types of COVID-19 tests?
In the UK, when diagnosing COVID-19, there are usually two main types of tests:
Molecular biology tests, such as PCR (polymerase chain reaction), are used to find viral genetic material.
Look for the antigen detection of the virus shell.
Either test can be done with a nasal swab or a mouth swab. Saliva can also be used for PCR detection (FDA, 2021a). Although saliva and oral swab tests may sound the same thing, they are actually slightly different. The saliva test requires you to spit into the tube, while the oral swab test is to wipe a sample in the mouth with a cotton swab.
Nasal mucosal secretions follow the same rules, but the difference is that you or a health care professional collect the sample from your nose instead of your mouth.
Another type of test is antibody testing (also called serological testing). These two data can’t tell you whether you are infected now but can tell you whether you have been infected before or if you have been vaccinated before. Antibody testing usually requires a blood sample.
What COVID-19 test is more accurate?
How to interpret the swab test results
Nucleic acid testing usually produces results within 24 hours. If you check today, the results will be known the next day. The results are nothing more than two cases, negative or positive.
Does negative mean there is no infection?
It is not 100% certain, because nucleic acid testing has a certain probability of false negatives.
For example, in the early stage of the disease, the virus content is very low, and it may not be detected, or the sampling is not taken properly, and the sensitivity of the detection reagents, operation Whether it is standardized or not, etc., are affected by many factors.
With the continuous optimization of detection methods and the continuous updating of reagents, the sensitivity of detection is now higher, and the probability of false negatives is lower than before.
If it is negative, there is a high probability that it has not been infected with the new coronavirus.
For some high-risk groups, close contacts, and suspected clinically highly suspected cases, one negative may not be enough, and two, three, or even multiple tests may be required.
Notice
Even if you have been tested before, COVID-19 testing is difficult to cope with. But the test should be able to relieve stress and not cause stress.
In any case, the knowledge of COVID detection technology is constantly changing. If you want to know if you want to be tested and how it works, we will help you at any time. Here is some information about oral swab COVID testing and other information to determine whether COVID-19 is COVID-19, you need to know.
