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Isn't washing out her nose and gargling with peroxide cheating? She's positive by multiple antigen and PCR tests. She still has the COVID virus, even if she has no symptoms. Manipulating the test results to get her into the nursing home is putting not only your mother but ALL the patients there at risk because we've already seen how fast COVID can sweep through vulnerable populations like nursing home patients.
The "It's just a cold" crowd who aren't impressed by this disease seem to have forgotten a million people died from COVID in the US alone.
Is your mother able to watch a cell phone or tablet with some help from the staff? If so, see if you can get her set up so you can visit via FaceTime or Skype or some other app.
According to her PCP, my PCP, and the doctor at the urgent care clinic, my sister is no longer contagious. My mother just had Covid, and we are required to wear gowns, masks, and gloves when we visit her (she is Covid negative now but has another contagious disease). So I don't think she's at risk from my sister.
Yes, we FaceTime almost daily. The main problem is that I need to go home to California soon, at least for a week, and I can't until my sister is allowed to visit my mother. We have no other family nearby
We did two antigen tests last night. The first came out negative for the first time, but the second was positive. I should have quit after the first one...
the in home tests are not considered reliable; they are an "indicator" if positive to go in and get additional more reliable testing.
the binax tests are also not as reliable as the PCR tests.
I tested myself for 3 weeks. I had very mild and intermittent nasal symptoms so every time I stuck a swap up there I thought I'm not going to get anything, its too dry. But every time that fear was quickly dispelled. I never had any trouble finding moisture if I inserted it far enough, and gentle swabbing always seemed to produce more.
I wouldn't assume that. I tested positive for almost 3 weeks and I was vaxxed. I didn't get very sick at all, which may have been due to the vax, but it hung around forever.
I had the recommended number. So did another poster on another thread who tested positive for 18 days. I don't think it has anything to do with vaccination status, its just being covid.
i work at a medical center, and the standard used when a person tests positive is that the "positive" test result may continue to show for 3 months, well after a person is over their symptoms, and well after they are contagious. The contagious period to stay away from others is considered 10 days (that's why we quarantine for 10 days to be on the safe side) but that is 10 days from known exposure to someone who confirmed to test positive. Or 10 days from onset of symptoms.
i've tested positive three different times, and have never been vaccinated. each time i was told that my return to work was not based on subsequently testing negative. it is based on no active symptoms. i was also told that any subsequent positive test results for the three month period after are not considered a "new" case of Covid, but rather the same case, because the positive test result lingers.
i work at a medical center, and the standard used when a person tests positive is that the "positive" test result may continue to show for 3 months, well after a person is over their symptoms, and well after they are contagious. The contagious period to stay away from others is considered 10 days (that's why we quarantine for 10 days to be on the safe side) but that is 10 days from known exposure to someone who confirmed to test positive. Or 10 days from onset of symptoms.
i've tested positive three different times, and have never been vaccinated. each time i was told that my return to work was not based on subsequently testing negative. it is based on no active symptoms. i was also told that any subsequent positive test results for the three month period after are not considered a "new" case of Covid, but rather the same case, because the positive test result lingers.
this is a large national medical center.
That applies to a person with regards to a known history of testing and symptoms and we can then conclude rightlyfully or wrongly that the person is no longer contagious and thus able to go back to work. There was much disagreement from medical professionals about that. That practice ie 5 day isolation period or extended 10 period was based on culture studies. One is using generalizations based on average figures rather than relying on testing to denote infectivity. That was the main argument against such policy. There was a shortage of healthcare workers because they were testing positive and thus there was an incentive there to come up with such a policy. Originally when the pandemic started cultures were used to tell when a person was no longer infectious.
With regards to nursing home policies then one can not use such a policy on whether one can be admitted because most people do not have a well documented medical history and testing record on file. Somebody presents themselves and wants entry into the facility then they are required to show if they test positive or negative for the virus in order to gain entry. One can not use the "it is based on no active symptoms". A person might never have active symptoms.
Let's not confuse the two different scenarios and the CDC has guidelines for nursing homes and these are it.
"Even if they have met community criteria to discontinue isolation or quarantine, visitors should not visit if they have any of the following and have not met the same criteria used to discontinue isolation and quarantine for residents.
Additional information is available in Clinical Questions about COVID-19: Questions and Answers.
a positive viral test for SARS-CoV-2,
symptoms of COVID-19, or
close contact with someone with SARS-CoV-2 infection
Facilitate and encourage alternative methods for visitation(e.g., video conferencing) and communication with the resident."
If you have a positive viral test for the virus or if you have symptoms you are not admissible to the facility regardless of the isolation policy for individuals. It's an addition to and not a loophole. A person with a recent infection must isolate for the stated length of time then they can go back to work but if you want entry into nursing homes you need to test negative.
In microbiology, it is not unusual to reject samples submitted to testing because samples were collected in the wrong type of swab or no swab at all was present.
It is important to not mix up cotton swabs from synthetic dacron swabs. How the sample is submitted can be or may not be a problem. It is important to replicate the collection process that was originally submitted to the FDA for approval. We may not deviate from that process.
Just as an example when the original PCR method was put in place there was a subtle change from the original submission of testing by taking a swab and placing the swab into viral broth media to transport samples and then to test. Questions arose about sensitivity issues and false negatives with the PCR method. In order to avoid possible dilution effects of placing the swab into a large volume solution and then testing the solution, it was changed to keeping the swab in its original package and then testing the actual swab in the test.
Along came the rapid PCR tests and it is required by law that we test in parallel the original long PCR and the rapid PCR test side by side and compare results to make sure they correlate. We were getting poor correlation and much fewer positives with the rapid PCR. We were using collecting and testing viral media rather than swabs while the reference lab was using swabs. The pathologist in charge of microbiology reviewing the results changed the way we were doing the testing by going to testing original swabs rather than viral media. All of our previous testing involving all viral PCR testing, not just COVID has been using viral media for testing.
There was a shortage of proper swabs that came about and people wanted to exchange or interchange the type of swabs which also was a no-no unless validation studies showed no detriment. One can not do it without doing studies. Some of those were done and approved.
Finally based on my experience working in microbiology, when using dry swabs to swab a person whether the site was dry or wet the initial swabbing would absorb some of the swabbed material but became more difficult to express onto secondary objects like slides for gram stains. We wouldn't see anything. When we would put the swab into liquid media and then sample a body site the swab was already saturated with fluid and expressed material was more readily apparent. We saw more material on the slide. It was commonly handed down knowledge that one always wets a swab before swabbing sites or specimens for culture and gram stain. It's like taking a wet mop and mopping the floor vs taking a dry mop and seeing how much you can collect.
Some collecting swab packaging has liquid wetting agents while others do not and some of that is used for transport. I did notice the last time I had a PCR test done the nurse take a swab out of the package and then reinsert it into the package and swirl it inside in an attempt to wet it before using it on me. That's what I would have done. I would always collect a wet sample no matter the site location.
It was a dry swab. I don't recall it having anything from my nose showing on it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by la_cavalière
According to her PCP, my PCP, and the doctor at the urgent care clinic, my sister is no longer contagious. My mother just had Covid, and we are required to wear gowns, masks, and gloves when we visit her (she is Covid negative now but has another contagious disease). So I don't think she's at risk from my sister.
Yes, we FaceTime almost daily. The main problem is that I need to go home to California soon, at least for a week, and I can't until my sister is allowed to visit my mother. We have no other family nearby
We did two antigen tests last night. The first came out negative for the first time, but the second was positive. I should have quit after the first one...
Did the doctors write her a letter to say she is not contagious?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tzaphkiel
i work at a medical center, and the standard used when a person tests positive is that the "positive" test result may continue to show for 3 months, well after a person is over their symptoms, and well after they are contagious. The contagious period to stay away from others is considered 10 days (that's why we quarantine for 10 days to be on the safe side) but that is 10 days from known exposure to someone who confirmed to test positive. Or 10 days from onset of symptoms.
i've tested positive three different times, and have never been vaccinated. each time i was told that my return to work was not based on subsequently testing negative. it is based on no active symptoms. i was also told that any subsequent positive test results for the three month period after are not considered a "new" case of Covid, but rather the same case, because the positive test result lingers.
this is a large national medical center.
My daughter was contagious with omicron longer than 10 days because she infected my grandson who tested negative until after her quarantine. He was back with her about 24 hours, got it.
My daughter was contagious with omicron longer than 10 days because she infected my grandson who tested negative until after her quarantine. He was back with her about 24 hours, got it.
If you look at the original studies involving sick people with COVID you see that the average days for culturable virus was on the average of 7 days post symptom. The PCR test average was 30 days post symptom. The correlation between PCR Ct value and culture results had a strong correlation with Ct's of 28.4 or less. Some PCR thresholds were set to 30 or more and claims of nonviable false positives were being made for those having a high Ct.
The 30 day window is typical for most PCR tests in microbiology and arguments against retesting until after 30 days is the typical recommendation for most PCR tests.
The antigen testing is less sensitive and was to correlate more with infectivity in reducing the PCR 30 day window of positivity. That was the selling point for the test.
Everything pretty much comes to a halt as new variants came into play and we had to start all over again with the basic virology of transmission, infectivity and disease severity that totally screwed up everything. What we started with isn't what we are ending up with.
I took my sister to the urgent care clinic yesterday. They would only do one kind of test, so we did the PCR test. It came back positive today
Aside from cheating, is there anything that would help her test negative? Flushing her sinuses? Gargling with hydrogen peroxide?
BTW, gargling or flushing = cheating. Sister is positive and there is nothing you can do about until the virus runs its course.
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