LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — As COVID, RSV, and flu cases climb in Kentucky, doctors are seeing similar symptoms between the illnesses, at times, making it hard to determine what a patient has developed.
“Very hard to determine, there's a lot of crossover,” said Dr. Caitlynn Iddings. “The flu strain we're seeing this year has more gastrointestinal symptoms, and COVID in younger kids does that as well.”
Whether the flu, RSV, or COVID, Dr. Iddings has noticed the symptoms arriving at her office at the Pediatric and Adolescent Associates.
“Patients are coming in saying ‘I've been exposed,’ I even had a girl the other day saying 'Half my school has it,' so we know it's out there.”
With the uncertainty in illness, people may turn to at-home COVID tests this winter, begging the question, can at-home tests determine what you should and should not do for the holidays?
“I think they're still just as effective, just as sensitive, it's just dependent on how good of a sample you get and timing,” explained Dr. Iddings. “If you're just testing because you're asymptomatic and you've been exposed and you want to make sure you don't have it, the false negative rate is about 50%, so flip a coin, right? You may pick it up, you may not.”
If you are showing symptoms of COVID-19, Dr. Iddings recommends waiting a day or two before taking the test.
“If you are symptomatic and have been symptomatic, waiting 24-48 hours until testing will be your best chance of picking up an actual positive instead of doing it the moment your throat is scratchy. What we found with Omicron, is that it likes to colonize the throat first before it gets to the nose, so if you wake up and say, ‘My throat hurts, I think I have COVID,’ and you’re just doing a nasal swab, you may miss it.’
Whether you have symptoms or not, the FDA recommends taking a second test if your first test comes back negative.
Better yet, request a PCR test from a healthcare provider for test number two. Health professionals consider PCR tests the gold standard for COVID testing.
Finally, if you do test positive for COVID, Dr. Iddings reminds patients that CDC guidance still stands, and at this point, mask-wearing and isolation have become common courtesy.
“It’s just like the flu. You don’t want to give the flu to your entire class or office and then everyone’s out,” said Dr. Iddings. “Those are both highly contagious, so just be mindful that you can spread your illness to others and stay home until you’re feeling better. It’s the right thing to do.”
You can find guidance from the CDC on COVID testing here.
