Omicron 5, why is the do-it-yourself tampon not recommended? From the modalities to the type of test

Quick test at home o swab in the pharmacy? A dilemma that now appears to be overcome for many of the Italians struggling with Omicron 5 which, in the summer wave, is traveling at an average of 100 thousand contacts per day. So off to the do-it-yourself tampon race that saw sales soar only in the week between June 27 and July 3: 2.1 million those purchased for over € 14 million. But now the alarm is coming from the experts: if it is certainly good news that Covid is the first respiratory infection extensively examined by man, the risk of making mistakes or incorrect assessments is around the corner.

The first unknown – some scholars explain – is in the method of execution of the swab. Those who take a sample themselves, due to the hassle, sometimes do not go very deep and this affects the test results. Which can differ even after a short time.

The second, in tampon types that you use. Fluorescence immunoassays – although not molecular, they guarantee high sensitivity. But it’s hard to buy them as a do-it-yourself test to do at home, even considering the higher prices.

Another factor that can lead to untrue outcomes – especially if from home – is the moment in which the tampon is made. The circumstance that more and more people complain of having symptoms, even in the case of negativity, therefore, does not represent a “peculiarity” of Omicron 5, but rather a signal that the swab was carried out too soon. The new variant, in fact, differs from the others only for the reduced cases of loss of smell and for the greater concentration in the upper respiratory tract (nose and mouth).

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The most worrying aspect is that, if not accompanied by medical consultations, the choice of the do-it-yourself test can cause risks to oneself and to the health of others. Not only because the positive, who does not go to the ASL or the pharmacy for the confirmation swab, can escape the quarantine, leaving the same wearing the mask. But above all for the possibility that the therapeutic process may go slowly in case of lack of official positivity. A delay that can be decisive especially for the care of the most fragile.