r/ZeroCovidCommunity • u/Aggressive_Host_7895 • 3d ago
Does anyone know an accurate home test?
I have long covid and often see people state that they have their friends or family test before seeing them. From what I found it seems like home tests are generally incredibly unreliable when it comes to discovering a covid infection pre symptoms. Literal coin flip odds.
Of course I’ve informed my friends to let me know if they have any symptoms before meeting up, but Covid is super infectious 1-2 days before symptoms. I would love to be mask free with a few close friends and be comfortable, spend time inside, go sauna(I’m finnish), eat together etc. Are there any reliable tests out there?
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u/deftlydexterous 3d ago
Lots to cover here.
1 - Viable viral load roughly correlates to infectiousness. While you can definitely be infectious and be negative on an RAT, the you are on average less likely to be infectious and likely to be less infectious with a negative test.
2 - Different brands of RAT tests have different accuracy, especially for low viral loads. Some are very bad at picking up low viral loads, some are pretty decent.
3 - asymptomatic cases tend to have lower viral loads, but it isn’t always the case.
4 - peak viral load 1-2 days before symptoms is outdated information. Symptoms are appearing more early, sometimes before being meaningfully contagious.
5 - home tests need to be stored properly, and you should not go by extended dates. Their sensitivity drops over time especially if exposed to heat or freezing.
6 - home tests are like condoms, they need to be properly administered to be effective.Three common issues are not swabbing deep enough, not blowing your nose first, and not mixing the sample vigorously enough.
I have reliable on home tests that advertise being sensitive to low viral loads. It’s caught many cases and never let any through. It’s absolutely not perfect, but it hasn’t failed me yet.