Dear LPG,

Over the Christmas break the threat of Covid-19 visited me so I could not visit anyone else with a clear conscience.  On Christmas eve my son phoned to tell me that his partner had tested positive and after our lovely afternoon out the previous day.

I found myself working at getting a test kit, something I have avoided for so long, and there was not one in my local pharmacy to be found.  In the end a nephew dropped one off at my home and I did test negative, but I learned about just how it feels to think you might be contaminated and, as a result my Christmas dinner was delivered to me and eaten in front of a family video call.

I am sure that I am not the only reader who can tell a similar story but, for all the hype, it crossed my mind that there must be many people who have heard all about these tests but never actually taken one.

We all know that in some cases people don’t even feel ill though they may have the ability to pass something much worse onto those around them, and even though that prospect is really worrying to me, taking a test and getting it right was equally as worrying at the time. 

I have heard stories about having to push swabs so far up your nose and throat that nausea results for days afterwards, which I think worried me a lot more than if I had contracted the virus or not at the time.  The instructions on paper are one thing but, just in case any other reader finds him or herself faced with the prospect of needing to take one, I just want to say that You Tube is a good place to go before you start tearing open any sterile sachets.

Having found some demonstrations online I thought it might be a good idea to pass one or two on.  I hope that it helps.

I had a good Christmas despite my little Christmas crisis and hope that no matter when a test is needed the first time, having this to hand might make a difference …

HB, Blackheath

HB, shares what she found …

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