ktgrok Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Is there a place we should report a positive test to? For statistical reasons? Also, fyi, Walmart.com had them the cheapest I've seen, at just under $20 for 2, with free shipping if you spend over $35. I got a couple test kits and they were delivered the next day. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Has anyone done any research into the tests? Which ones are most reliable? Are they all similar as far as turnaround time, price, etc.? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 29 minutes ago, ktgrok said: Is there a place we should report a positive test to? For statistical reasons? In my county, people should report to the local health department. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 I don't know the answer but I hope this is about the testing you did when your son came home, and not that someone else in your family has tested positive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 2 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said: I don't know the answer but I hope this is about the testing you did when your son came home, and not that someone else in your family has tested positive. Oh, no, just him. Although DD4 had a runny nose and watery eyes so I tested her - negative. We will all retest 5 days after last exposure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Just now, ktgrok said: Oh, no, just him. Although DD4 had a runny nose and watery eyes so I tested her - negative. We will all retest 5 days after last exposure. I am very glad! Yay for negative for DD4!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 Ok, checked county health department and they say to only report laboratory confirmed cases, with proof. So, I guess we don't report home tests? http://orange.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/infectious-disease-services/epidemiology/reporting-and-surveillance.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 16 minutes ago, ktgrok said: Oh, no, just him. Although DD4 had a runny nose and watery eyes so I tested her - negative. We will all retest 5 days after last exposure. Hey, I wanted to let you know that my husband went into work for the 2nd time this last monday. My dh wore a mask all day, but most of the people there didn't. I and 2 of my kids felt ill during the week. It's rare for me to be sick along with my kids. I usually get sick afterwards. Also, rare for 2 of my kids to be sick on the same day. All better now. My dh and I are vaccinated. We took the home test 4 times and they all said negative. I forgot what brand. Something from Walgreens. Just got word, that someone at the office on monday was positive. experiencing symptoms and vaccinated. So, my dh is going to an official testing site today. It is to my understanding that we won't get results in for 2 days. Point, I guess, and you may already know, that home tests may not be accurate. Of course, there is the chance we didn't have covid either, but it is looking like we did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Where I live, we don't have to report the results of home tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 12 minutes ago, desertflower said: Hey, I wanted to let you know that my husband went into work for the 2nd time this last monday. My dh wore a mask all day, but most of the people there didn't. I and 2 of my kids felt ill during the week. It's rare for me to be sick along with my kids. I usually get sick afterwards. Also, rare for 2 of my kids to be sick on the same day. All better now. My dh and I are vaccinated. We took the home test 4 times and they all said negative. I forgot what brand. Something from Walgreens. Just got word, that someone at the office on monday was positive. experiencing symptoms and vaccinated. So, my dh is going to an official testing site today. It is to my understanding that we won't get results in for 2 days. Point, I guess, and you may already know, that home tests may not be accurate. Of course, there is the chance we didn't have covid either, but it is looking like we did. Yeah, i plan to retest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 I don’t know but I just started coughing (not a typical allergy symptom for me), so I ordered some for tomorrow’s grocery pickup. I’ll see if we can get in person testing too. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 We’ve been using Binax, too. I wonder if one of us should go in for a test. We had a contractor in last week for emergency home repairs. 2 days later, DD(10, so unvaxxed) was sick. 103.5 temp, sore throat, runny nose, cough. Binax negative, strep negative. She’s on abx and seemed to respond at first but still coughing and running around 100 a week later. Vaxxed DS got sick, too. Binax and strep negative. Temp 101 at highest, big deep cough, sore throat, runny nose, ruptured ear drum, middle ear infection developed. Abx and still coughing with fever. DH and I are both run down and feeling pretty crummy. Kids have been miserable but DH and I just feel like we are on the edge of getting sick. We have felt that way all week. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 Our Binax tests were negative. It turned out that our air quality got much worse overnight, which may have contributed to the coughing. I couldn’t smell it overnight but I sure could when we went outside. I also looked into the tests. They’re made by Abbot. My guess is they are as accurate as any rapid test. Some of the reviews said they were shipped expired, but those were lot dates, not expiration dates. The tests are good for at least a year from manufacture, maybe longer but they haven’t existed long enough to be sure. I’m comfortable not going in for a lab test knowing pollen & smoke levels increased so much here overnight. Also my coughing decreased when I got up & turned on another air purifier. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 31, 2021 Author Share Posted July 31, 2021 From what I read on NPR about them, they are very accurate if you have symptoms. If you are high enough viral load to have symptoms you are high enough to test positive. They do have a 2% false positive, but negative is very accurate once you have symptoms. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 31, 2021 Author Share Posted July 31, 2021 5 minutes ago, Plum said: I saw another review that said Binex has it's problems. Really I'm just using it as a screening tool and if anyone comes up positive we'll go in for an official test. The drawback of the test is that there’s room for two different kinds of user error. It’s hard to see the drops come out of the dropper, and using too few could cause a false negative. So could swabbing your nose incorrectly. Unlike the other tests, this one can’t tell if you’ve made a mistake. And besides the prospect of user error, the test itself has issues with accuracy. BinaxNow is the cheapest test out there, but it’s also the most likely to be wrong, missing about one in seven real infections. Abbott cautions that results “should be treated as presumptive” and “do not rule out SARS-Cov-2.” But a buyer won’t find the accuracy rate without digging into the fine print. The company also buries a crucial requirement imposed by regulators: to compensate for the lower accuracy, you are supposed to use both tests in the kit, at least 36 hours apart. I doubt a casual buyer will realize that. The two-test requirement is barely mentioned in the instructions. https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/05/04/1024450/at-home-covid-test-review-accuracy-binaxnow-lucira-ellume/ I saw the two test thing right away, I think it was on the outside of the box and in the directions, which were very clear. Wth my son's positive, we would have followed up with PCR but he also has loss of smell, and had been traveling...so I mean, there is no other reason to have loss of smell randomly, you know? With a negative, you want to retest for sure. I ordered several off of Walmart.com. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 No real advice on the Binax tests other than what I have heard on other chat boards. People have said they tested negative on the Binax test and then tested positive on in person testing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 1 hour ago, Spryte said: We’ve been using Binax, too. I wonder if one of us should go in for a test. We had a contractor in last week for emergency home repairs. 2 days later, DD(10, so unvaxxed) was sick. 103.5 temp, sore throat, runny nose, cough. Binax negative, strep negative. She’s on abx and seemed to respond at first but still coughing and running around 100 a week later. Vaxxed DS got sick, too. Binax and strep negative. Temp 101 at highest, big deep cough, sore throat, runny nose, ruptured ear drum, middle ear infection developed. Abx and still coughing with fever. DH and I are both run down and feeling pretty crummy. Kids have been miserable but DH and I just feel like we are on the edge of getting sick. We have felt that way all week. These are my symptoms, too and negative tests as well. I feel so awful. Loading up on liquids, C, and zinc. Hope your family feels better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 40 minutes ago, lmrich said: These are my symptoms, too and negative tests as well. I feel so awful. Loading up on liquids, C, and zinc. Hope your family feels better! Yuck, I hope you feel better quickly! Our pedi did say that strep, flu and RSV are going around, too, now that everyone here is open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 Oh, yes, on the two tests. We used two of the Binax tests for DD. One so far for DS, the next will be tomorrow. I still don’t feel terribly confident about the accuracy, but we picked them up to have on hand, planning to see a doc in case of a positive or symptoms. Which we did, actually, both kids saw the pedi and ended up on abx. Still, though, the timing for us and the symptoms sure seem suspicious. I am pondering testing DD again. But then, she may balk at another test! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted July 31, 2021 Author Share Posted July 31, 2021 I will say one critique of the instruction is it says to make 5 circles in your nostril - each side - but that each nostril should take 15 seconds. I don't think most people take 3 full seconds to circle it in the nostril! So we made many more than 5 circles, counting out 15 seconds. And got a positive. I could absolutely see people circling 5 times, but taking only 5 seconds to do it and the swab not having enough snot on it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popmom Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 (edited) So I’m very interested in all of this. What are your thoughts about the drive through testing that Walmart does. I have done it once. Self administered. Not a “brain swab”. At the time I was pretty sure I had a stomach bug, so the negative result wasn’t a surprise. I guess the main difference in at home vs drive through at Walmart is that WM reports positive results??? I don’t understand why at home tests wouldn’t be reported though—if they have to be sent off to a lab. Eta... I see that BINAX is a rapid test that doesn’t get sent off. are there any other options for at home testing? Edited August 1, 2021 by popmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 We did DS’s second test today. So, 4th test here. Both DD and DS have each had two negatives now. DH and I did not test, but we are staying home, no contact with anyone. No symptoms and doc thinks kids had some bacterial stuff going on anyway. FWIW, we also set a timer for 15 seconds each nostril, and circled more than 5 times. But I can see people not doing that. I’d also imagine that a positive would result in reporting it to the local doc. Would that get counted? Both kids responded to abx though, so perhaps our negatives were not too shocking. I think, had kids not responded to abx, we’d have taken them for PCR tests. As it is, we will still isolate, just in case. We don’t want to spread *any* germs and make another family go through this uncertainty. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.