The reliability of the results of tests for coronavirus depends on compliance with the rules for preparing for taking a smear. Otherwise, you may get a false positive or false negative result. A memo on how to prepare for the COVID-19 test was distributed by the Rospotrebnadzor department in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
The department recalled that the swab is taken from the pharynx and nasopharynx. Therefore, according to the recommendations, before taking tests, you should not use drops, sprays, antiseptics and other topical medications for the nose and throat. Eating, brushing your teeth, smoking, chewing gum, and rinsing your nose is also prohibited for at least three hours. You should refrain from drinking alcohol for two days before taking a smear. The fact is that it contains ethyl alcohol, which is also part of antiseptics. This can reduce the likelihood of detecting coronavirus in a smear.
Using cosmetics - lipstick, gloss, lip balm - is also undesirable. And although the material for research is taken not from the oral cavity, but from the pharynx and nasopharynx, and if you follow all the rules and do not touch the probe to the lips, then the presence of decorative cosmetics should not interfere with obtaining adequate material for the test. But if accidentally added to the sample, it can slow down the PCR reaction. Therefore, it is better to apply decorative cosmetics after the smear has been taken.
Recall that 495 residents of the Nizhny Novgorod region became infected with coronavirus in a day.
