still infected? Dr Nathan Hudson-Peacock, from London, said each testing kit will have an. It has been referred to virology urgently. I definitely agree that false positives are possible, I just find it strange that all the lateral flow tests I have done come back positive. The test is administered by handheld devices producing results in 30 minutes and can be self-administered. That really is so upsetting and awful. Will the Lockdown Files change Westminsters WhatsApp ways? From today, those who. A lateral flow test must be taken 24 hours apart on day six and seven of the isolation period, and if both tests come back negative, isolation can end on day seven. A Sue Gray area: is Starmer appointment a step too far. I have another Flowflex test waiting at home for my Day 2 be interesting to see what happens with that. Kevin Lyttle Out of interest, have you tried doing one swab from your nose and a separate from your throat? I have no symptoms, and two subsequent tests have been negative. However, the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) said that its own analysis had not found this to be true. It seems so inconsistent as well. There was alarm about the rumoured 100bn price tag, while some of the early results of a large pilot in Liverpool raised questions about the accuracy of the tests themselves. Both v similar - LFD test faint positive in v early stages, confirmed PCR positive, LFD much stronger positive after 1-2 more days then remained positive for another week or so before then . food or drink, or some other weak contaminant), or there are just very. I had both vaccinations this summer, AstraZeneca with a booster due early next year. All you need to know about everything that matters. I have had the exact same but I am the opposite and only get false positives with the Flowflex brand just in the nose, the other non-branded (nose and throat) ones are negative for me. In this case, Dr Hudson-Peacock suggested the most sensible next step would be to not to isolate unnecessarily which he deemed bad for mental health and work and not to book a PCR which makes it harder for people who genuinely need them to get one. Some have had negative results on nasal LFT but followed up with a positive PCR test on the same day. Where that line is faint, the test is still considered to have given a positive . According to the government website, Covid-19 infection rates are very high and the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly. Anyway, thank you for your post as it has given me some clarity. The company I used didnt ask you to report a result, just to upload a photo which they would assess and issue a certificate accordingly. I am so sorry you have had issues with the vaccine, I really hope you find a solution to that as it must be scary not being fully vaccinated. I reported ut to my rhuematology department but they hadn't heard of it before. If the faint line appears after the window, the most likely cause is either that there has been some contamination (e.g. If it carries on in a week or so I'll definitely call the GP. The testing company didnt think I was positive! Usually, people who have more virus in their body have a lower Ct value. Have anyone else tested positive? Dr Nathan Hudson-Peacock, who works in an A&E department in London, has warned there is a window of interpretation for each lateral flow testing kit for coronavirus. Im back to taking pain medication most days now and wearing wrist/ knee supports. My SO is on his 5th day of testing. Around 4.9 million people in the UK are believed to have had Covid-19 in the week ending. I've left a message to speak to the rheumatology helpline and spoke with NRAS today. The test instructions state that any line, however faint, is a +ve. I have had the exact same thing twice now. Evaporation lines are colorless streaks, not faint lines. For other inquiries Contact Us. When my wife was isolating due to contact with positive cases, her daily LFT tests showed negative, even on the day she felt ill. Three days later an LFT showed positive, confirmed that day with a positive PCR. He urged people to ensure they are doing the correct swab for the test they are taking. Others think that as the Omicron wave passes, it is time to wind down the mass testing programme completely. I took two lateral flow tests 12 hours apart from different batches and both were positive. Where are you? Get a pcr done asap. Gradually those same rapid lateral flow tests have become part of everyday life. If a faint line appears after 30 minutes, he adds, it may not indicate a positive result - but people should still be cautious about socialising indoors and take precautions. My experience was a very faint line on lft after 20 minutes on the day I spiked a temp (taken after a PCR, whilst waiting for results). However, if the positive line is very faint and appears after a certain amount of time, it could actually mean you are not infected, a doctor has said. I guess I am just trying to find other people who have had this experience because I find it hard to believe I am the only person out there. I do have some developments since posting this. Recently he shared an image of a lateral flow test with an extremely faint line next to the 'T'. I'm a GP and here's the mistakes so many parents make when it comes to chickenpox, Im Carrie Underwoods PT and here's how her secrets can boost your weight loss too, Ease anxiety in minutes with the 54321 mindfulness hack. I am fully vaccinated against Covid-19 after receiving my second Astra-Zeneca vaccine in April 2021. About two or three weeks later she got a clear positive result and correspondingly positive PCR result I have no idea if the two were linked. He explained that if this positive line appears after the 30-minute window, then it does not count as a positive test. Four lateral flow tests this week have been positive showing very faint second lines. 11pm - 1am, Turn Me On Do you know where I can order the flowflex tests from? "It is helping to weed out some, but certainly not all, of the true positives.". As Ive been shielding for best part of two years Ive only had to take one test just to prove to doc that the chest infection I had was just that and not covid as Im CEV so I cant give you my personal experience. If it is the latter, and obviously assuming you are asymptomatic at this point, you are very unlikely to be a transmission risk anyway and so it is of little significance, he reassured. Hi Lizzie, thanks for your message. Think I read about cross reactivity with other coronaviruses potentially giving false positives on LFT. video. I am travelling to Greece to see my Mum and Dad on Sunday and the Greek Embassy said that it was an acceptable letter, and so I would highly recommend you try and get one if you can. I think another person on here has got in touch with the same thing too. The whole point of mass testing like this is to break chains of transmission - to keep Hailing away from her customers at a time when she might be infectious but have no obvious symptoms. As PPs have said you do sometimes get a shadow if the test is left to develop for longer than the recommended incubation time. Scientists say the lesson is - if possible - to test just before you socialise and think of a negative lateral flow as a solid guide rather than something that can ever rule out a Covid infection. Please come forward to receive your booster as soon as possible.. Mine started at a very faint line. The test is the latest one that you read between 15-30mins. !! I recently took 3 lateral flow tests. One of our daughters got a very faint line (ie, barely visible so much so I wasnt sure I could see anything at all) then it went back to nothing for subsequent tests. Even though most of us have now taken a lateral flow test at some point, it's important to always read the instructions. In general, yes, we can reason that the faint lines indicate less virus and vice versa. As you can see, negative for throat and positive for nose. no matter how long I leave a -ve one there has never been a faint line. I am glad to hear you don't have Covid this time, although is sounds like you are having similar lateral flow issues to me. I have read about this too. But they were less accurate when it came to giving a negative result. The last three packets have been FlowFlex and I have only had one false positive, which is much better than my 100% track record with the Xiamen ones! I have been doing weekly PCRs instead but I'd really like some kind of letter from a GP that I can carry on me. ! The Flow Flex tests I and family have had are nasal only. I tried that but still delivers a false positive. Click here to get The Sun newspaper delivered for FREE for the next six weeks. Comparisons to a . That's interesting. Hi yes I'm anti CCP positive and RF positive. The booster campaign is at the forefront of the Governments plan to tackle Omicron, which is threatening to plunge the UK into another lockdown. VideoRussian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. 45 mins later and the second LFT is completely clear, maybe Ive already scraped all the covid particles out of my nose on the previous tests, Hopefully will get the PCR result tomorrow. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Therefore, day-to-day I am rarely in settings that I would say put me at particularly high risk of catching it. The plan was to use millions of cheap, throwaway lateral flow tests that could give a result in 15 minutes, rather than the more sensitive PCR tests which had to be sent off and processed in a laboratory. He , like you followed up with a PCR and that was negative so yea it is possible to get false positive results from lateral flow tests. but lateral flow tests of all sorts can give odd results outside the validated read window. At least within a group of relatives and friends. The PCR result will have told you you are free to go about life, but Ive been in similar shoes to you (although my line was not so vague) and I knew I had prolonged contact with a positive case, so I isolated anyway. If so, I wonder if we could flag this together to our Rheumatology depts. My GP wrote to the immunology department at St Thomas's with my dilemma and I will report back any findings. A doctor has explained why seeing a faint second 'positive' line on a lateral flow test doesn't always mean you have the virus. I do loads of LFT for work. "The PCR programme is such a complete waste of resources. Unlike PCR tests, these detect proteins from the virus,. I reported it to test and trace but they seemed entirely disinterested, I also contacted NRAS who said that they're aware of this but don't have an answer as to why it's happening. GP advised that I probably had COVID (I wasnt convinced). Thanks for your help, I'll be sticking to the flowflex ones from now on! I spoke with NRAS, who suggested I reach out on here to see if anyone else has an experience similar. I have spoken to NRAS and they are going to refer the case onto the British Rheumatology Society - it's hard to know if it's even related but I thought it would be a sensible starting point as it's the only significant medical condition I have. If so, how did you get on? "When reading lateral flow test results, two lines through both the 'C' and 'T', even faint lines, indicate the test is positive," a Public Health England spokesperson says. Lateral flow test (LFTs) are used to identify people with COVID-19. food or drink or some other very weak contaminant that is causing a false positive, or there are just incredibly low levels of the virus. I've seen that the more faint the line, the more the virus is "on it's way out" but a line is a line, right? If the result is positive, the T line will appear, indicating that the test has detected coronavirus antigens. done subsequent lateral flow tests (all positive) and 3 PCR tests (all negative). The latest nasal only LFT test kits have been shown to be less sensitive than the older nasal and throat tests. and our LFTs are a rapid way of testing for Covid-19. I'll be interested to see if my Rheumy Nurse knows any more about the Antibody issue when she gets back to me. A doctor has warned that people are making three common mistakes when taking Covid lateral flow tests. My RA has flared up and remained bad since the vaccinations. It should be phased out sooner rather than later," says Prof Irene Petersen at UCL. A swab is taken from the back of the nose or throat, mixed with an extraction fluid, and a drop of this mixture is. Best to get a PCR. I did this because I got a negative PCR test this morning, so it was a sensible time to try this knowing I don't have Covid.