[ad_1]
Rome, November 17, 2020: Tens of thousands of people every day launch a query like this in search engines Try Covid DIY. But what are these exams really and what are they for? Are they at the pharmacy?
They are kits, boxes for sale at bargain prices, sometimes only three or four euros are enough to buy a pack, if you think you have been infected by the Coronavirus, you take the doubt once and for all.
This test was highlighted by the initiative launched by Luca zaia, President of the Veneto Region, who showed how to carry out the self-diagnosis of the COVID-19 directly, with a simple device shown in Facebook direct by the governor himself.
A simple gesture, like the pregnancy test, but beware, there are other questions to ask: do these DIY tests represent reliable indicators?
How does it work
From a technical point of view, the verification procedure is completed in three steps, in less than two minutes.
1. Remove the cotton-coated swab from the kit to be inserted into the nasal cavity by rotating the cotton swab over the superficial mucosa five times to collect secretions.
2. This pad must then be inserted, practically embedded, in a plastic capsule containing a liquid called reagent.
3. After a short wait, the solution encapsulated in the test tube will be poured into a container, called a soap bar, equipped with a graduated scale. From a careful reading, you will be able to see if the reaction was positive or negative, so like a pregnancy test it will be possible to see the results of the analysis, which shows us if there is a high or low probability of being in the presence of the virus. , that is, if there are traces of the presence of the Sars-Cov-2 virus in the secretions that we have collected on our own.
Let’s say right away that DIY tampon, which they would like to do a lot or are already making, is just one step. If doubt torments us, if we harbor a discomfort and think that we have been infected by the virus Sars-The-2, or from some other infection, if we want to understand if that fever we have should worry us or not, the first thing to do is consult the doctor. In fact, we know that at the end of the fall season our body has to adapt to climate change, facing the rigors of winter.
These changes are inevitably accompanied by ailments that can cause fever, sore throat, colds, tonsillitis, ear infections, bronchitis, sinusitis, etc. This until the classic arrival of the flu. This year, the Sars-Cov-2 virus has complicated things.
Therefore, the DIY kit is a quick way to obtain more information about our state of health, with the understanding that the doctor will give us indications on the diagnosis of our possible indisposition.
Where is
Meanwhile, this DIY test is distributed in pharmacy and it could be useful as a quick first indication in people who feel unwell, but keep in mind that there are also false negative responses because we may have performed the test incompletely or because, during the first bars of the incubation period of the virus. Do-it-yourself positivity is not immediately detectable.
In other words, we may have contracted the virus without the test revealing it as there is a latency interval, a short period of time during which viral particles are inhaled, colonize the upper respiratory tract, but it is not yet documented by examination or screening.
How much
In the US, these tests have already received the green light from the drug regulatory agency, the FDA’s Food and Drug Administration, and are sold on the retail market for $ 5. In Italy they could cost five euros or even less.
These kits, which are made in China, can also be found on the Internet. However, it should be remembered that this diagnostic test is not a substitute for the classic nasopharyngeal swab. This is an exam that requires the presence of a nurse to take the biological sample to be examined, a laboratory biologist who analyzes the molecular swab, the doctor who signs the report and who, if positive, guides the patient through the investigations, therapy and measures to be taken to prevent the spread of the outbreak.
On the contrary, the DIY Test for Covid-19 It consists of a reaction that tests the traces of the virus, therefore less specific than the classical molecular time, which, however, takes much longer.
© All rights reserved
