Remember back in the day, you would sniffle, and someone would say “allergies?” Now if you sniffle everyone stares at you like you have the plague. Thank you, COVID! But isn’t it time to step back and say, “yes I have allergies” and stop running to grab a COVID self-test kit? I don’t know about you, but I am seriously over the COVID panic. I think it is never going to be “gone” but it needs to be accepted as one of those viruses that we can and should learn to live with. If you look at the data, it tells us that COVID is on the downside, fewer cases, fewer hospitalizations, and most importantly, fewer deaths.
So, tell me why I know more people testing positive today than I did a year ago? Tell me why home test kits are still being restocked on pharmacy shelves and being purchased daily? Why? Because we have been trained to expect the worst and sadly, many of us will test positive at home. The bigger question is, how many of these “positive” cases are reported to local health departments? Likely few to none, thus begs the question of data being accurate. A recent article published in “thebmj” found that most tests are not sensitive to omicron and that if oropharyngeal swabs (the deep dive) are added to the nasal swab, the results are more accurate.
I, for one, am not a fan of oropharyngeal swabs, even if they are more accurate, they are uncomfortable! What do we do? Common sense, remember when you had a cold as a child and mom kept you home from school, tucked you in on the couch, put cartoons on TV, and made you some soup? Yep, common sense, it wasn’t magic, mom knew that rest, fluids, and sleep would help you get well, and you did get better! Maybe it is time to stop the panic, if you are symptomatic, stay home, cover your cough, wash your hands, drink lots of fluids and rest! Stay well and stay informed!
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