What to do if you have COVID symptoms but test negative at home

There was a time when a positive test for COVID came with confidence that you wouldn’t get infected for a few months. unfortunately we They no longer have that feeling of short-term protection. In addition to keeping you safe with a Well stocked maskIt’s smart to recover the value Free COVID Tests by Mail and tested regularly.

The good news: Home COVID tests have never been more readily available. The Bad: As you’ve likely heard (if not direct experience), at-home antigen tests aren’t completely reliable.

The currently prevalent COVID strains, BA.4 and BA.5, are particularly good at avoiding detection by home antigen tests, According to experts. Here’s what to do if your home test results are negative but you still have symptoms of COVID.

Why your COVID test might be negative

A negative test result cannot completely rule out infection. If you have COVID symptoms (or have been exposed to COVID), but feel comfortable having a negative test, a few things may happen.

The BA.4 and BA.5 It may take longer to appear In tests at home. Even if one of these strains was not highly transmissible, you may have been tested too soon regardless (you should wait at least five days after being tested). Likewise, your viral load may not be high enough to give a positive result, even though you have the virus.

Then there is a good user error. Even before the current variants, in-house antigen testing was by no means a perfect system. This does not mean that you should avoid them completely; Experts told CNBC That people should continue to use antigen tests at home if they have symptoms or have been exposed to the virus.

CDC إرشادات Guidelines Say that no matter your condition, You should test again 1-2 days after the negative test. make sure you Store tests at home properly and look Get a PCR test I did if I could.

If you have symptoms, you should isolate

If you have COVID-like symptoms, you should assume that you are contagious, even if it ends up being something other than COVID. It is good to stay at home and keep others safe. Remember: “mild” symptoms can appear more severely in another person.

The bottom line is that if you feel sick, you are probably sick Something. A negative test result does not magically make physical symptoms fictional. Isolate and place the mask inside. Even if it’s not COVID, no one wants what you have.