Invasive COVID Tests

legaljen1969

I was reading a question (from another site) earlier today that made me just think about the "testing" process. If it is possible for modern science to do a complete DNA mapping on you from a cheek swab, and one of the main methods of transmission seems to be through oral droplets and unintentional "spray," wouldn't it make sense that there would be a high concentration of the disease in one's mouth such that they could do an oral swab?
Why do they use this long "brain probe Q-tip" to test?

Maybe someone with medical background can answer this. I am not trying to spread conspiracy theories or suggesting that anything is being implanted in us. Though the person who said it does sort of have those leanings, even they didn't fully believe in the theory, but they did question why the test is so invasive if modern science can map your DNA from a cheek swab.

Bengal

I do not believe these conspiracy theories but have questioned the necessity of the"frontal lobotomy test". Like you said, if Covid19 is spread through droplets from our mouth why can't they do a check swab or spittle test? I had to have a Covid19 test before having a modest procedure. Anyone who says it's painless obviously hasn't had one. I was waiting for the hard plastic tube to come out the top of my head!

GregP_WN

My understanding is that deep in the sinus cavity is sort of the "incubator" where it gets started. That's where they want to get to in order to check if you have it or not. After you have developed full-blown covid, that's when you can "spray" it through coughing, speaking, sneezing, etc.
I don't believe one little tidbit of nonsense about all these "planting chips" and other crazy conspiracy theories.

LiveWithCancer

I don't believe that about chips being planted either. Sort of like i don't believe in aliens...

My husband had to have one in order to be placed on a non-COVID floor at hospital. He said the test wasn't that bad. Wonder if it depends on who gives it? (He almost wouldn't go to ER after stroke because he didn't want COVID test.)

Molly72

I had the "dreaded" Covid test in order to have some medical procedures done, The test was not nearly as bad as I had heard. I have a deviated septum after a broken nose as a child & I also had Moh's surgery done twice on my nose. So of course, I told the nurse that & maybe she was easy on me. It only lasted about 10 seconds in each nostril, and was not painful.
I have seen lot's of news photos of people having it done in their mouth, so that must be an alternative way to give the test in some places.
Sorry Bengal, you must have had a rough nurse, that would not have been a good experience.

po18guy

Here's how I understand it: DNA is equally present in all tissues of the body. They do an oral swab as scraping your arm would be rude. The cells lining the mouth are very short-lived and the cells die off and are shed and replaced frequently. Actually, we swallow and digest all dead or sloughed cells from the oral cavity, as creepy as that sounds. Therefore, the mouth is the ideal place for obtaining samples for DNA testing. Covid, not so much.

I have a version of those 'brain probe' tests done routinely at visits to my ENT. He uses a lighted probe in which the light ends up coming from behind my eyes - a rather unusual sensation. As to the virus, it enters via the mouth (perhaps more likely the nose), but the mouth is not the ideal petrie dish for it. The sinuses are a very good environment for culturing viruses, bacteria and fungi, and for that reason, some mild cases of Covid remain upper respiratory and may not (or only weakly) enter the lungs.

After a stem cell transplant, the patient has from zero to a very marginal immune system for several months or years. Therefore, if any symptoms appear, the 'foot long hot dog' of swabs is employed to get into the nether regions of the sinuses - the epicenter of biological activity.

Bengal

I know you all do realize that when I said "frontal lobotomy test" I was being sarcastic and facetious. It FELT like I was getting a frontal lobotomy but in no way do I entertain the thought that medical professionals are somehow tampering with our brain. Utterly ridiculous!

legaljen1969

@Bengal, I started to use similar terminology, but got worried that some people would think I was suggesting "brain tampering." Ironically, you were the very person I was worried might jump on me about it. LOL I did use the term "brain probe" only because I had heard it did almost feel like it was going to go through the top of the head.

Anyhow, thank you all for the great explanations. I just wondered if there was a reason they couldn't do it in the mouth, and it appears there are many. Always glad to have good explanations from my WN family.

Bengal

I am chuckling right now.

meyati

The national laboratories and NM tech-one of the best tech schools in the US anymore- are working on cheek swab tests for COVID. People have a variety of reasons that the nose test isn't easy to gdo.

Then another thing, you stand out in 40 MPH wind of of snowy mtns, stand in even light snow, now stand out in 100 + degrees, and swab a few hundred noses, and it seems that some physical coordination would be lacking and a nurse would push really hard without realizing that he/she was on the rough side.

ChildOfGod4570

I surely do thank you for all these answers. I may have to have the test done if I am to be allowed to participate in club meetings that would serve lunch. I belong to a club/support group for people who are blind, and we gather weekly to discuss matters such as COVID and other issues related to daily life with blindness. The president requires masks at all times and is sending us home with our food in to go boxes. He stated that meals won't be eaten together until everybody has been COVID tested. I haven't been exposed to very many people since this whole thing started, and I am pretty sure I am OK, and I don't fancy painful prodding up my nose. However, I realize I'll have to do it at some point. I know I will be due for some procedures in October, and I don't know if a session at blind camp will require a test. Another concern is I had retina surgery as a baby which restricted me from diving headfirst into a pool, doing belly flops, playing any sport where a ball could hit me in the head. Would this testing mess with my retina surgery. Yes, it was 50 years ago, but I don't want to wreck that. Any advice please? HUGS and God bless.

GregP_WN

I had to have one done a couple of months ago before they would allow me to have surgery at Vanderbilt. The nurse said to lean back and she warned that there would be sharp pain for 10 seconds. I thought, "sure sharp pain, lady you don't know the sharp pain I have been through." But, WOW, it was sharp and I did think she was tickling my brain. I didn't expect it to be anything like that. It was over quickly, but it was a bit painful. That shouldn't deter anyone from having the test done, however.

Bengal

Oh, yeah, Greg. Longest 10 seconds ever!

meyati

The thing is that the test doesn't mean that a person isn't exposed to COVID 19 later on. If a person has a test in early March, they can still catch it in late March.

I think that there should be more testing available, but being tested once and considered COVID 19 free days and months later is sort of silly. I do hope that New Mexico comes up with an accurate cheek swab for COVID 19.

I do not believe that the current COVID 19 nose swab would affect any person's eyes. unless the person started jerking around and fighting. I do think that COVID affects the eyes, especially if you get the red eyes. If you can get the eye antibiotic quickly, the less damage is done.

Bengal

So right, meyati. In fact, take it a step farther (or maybe that should read nearer). I could be covid free this morning but infected by the time I go to bed tonight. A negative test means little other than you were negative at the moment they took the sample. Wouldn't a simple cheek swab test with immediate result be great? Every time anyone entered a building they could get on the spot test. Meanwhile we must do the best we can .

meyati

On the local news, it looks like AZ is making cheek swab progress-better then NM. I don't care who gets it first, as long as we get something that has fast and accurate results. These maybe 50% correct results 2 weeks later are useless and a waste of energy and finances from individuals on up to thw highest levels of every country in the world.

LiveWithCancer

My husband's COVID results were available in 1 hour. Some test results are taking 2 weeks? That's pretty ridiculous, whether or not the person has COVID.

meyati

Here, in NM, the long wait tests are private business tests and labs. Tests done by the state--state clinic/hospital come in in about and hour- state testing labs. The VA takes about an hour--here the VA and Air Force share labs, scans, operating rooms, ER, and AF/VA tests are finished within an hour.

The last I heard is that the state took over COVID testing and they get immediate results. We can say bad what we want about Oklahoma, but OK has handled the testing better than the other states.

LiveWithCancer

My husband was in large private hospital. They knew in about an hour that their idiotic presumption that he had COVID because he had a stroke was wrong.

meyati

LIVEWIFE----I hear you with. When I had Whooping Cough, they kept trying to say that I had a stroke. I couldn't speak, but I had good physical coordination and mental acuity. Also the many scans were negative for any type of stroke or brain problem.