Your COVID Testing Crash Course

Here's what you need to know before attending Thanksgiving festivities this year.

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By Paola de Varona, Associate News Editor With Thanksgiving approaching, it may be a smart idea to get tested before you meet with any extended family or friends. But what if you're exposed to COVID-19 during your festivities? Today's Top Story All You Need to Know About COVID Testing After COVID-19 exposure, your vaccination status determines whether you need to get tested right away or need to wait a few days.   If you're vaccinated, the CDC recommends getting tested between five and seven days after having close contact with someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. But if you're unvaccinated, you should get tested immediately after known exposure.   But what test should you use? You have two options: rapid (or antigen) tests or PCR tests. The rapid test is one you can typically scoop up at the pharmacy that can give you results at home in minutes. PCR is your standard COVID-19 test that needs to be sent to a lab—whether you get an at-home version or go to a clinic to get tested. It usually takes a few days to receive results back but is more accurate compared to rapid tests.   "Unless you have symptoms, an antigen test is likely adequate for this purpose," Sheldon Campbell, MD, PhD, FCAP, associate director of Yale Medicine's clinical microbiology lab and professor of laboratory medicine at Yale School of Medicine, says. "If you have symptoms, use a PCR test. It's more sensitive, and diagnosing COVID infection is critical both for prevention and treatment with medications that can prevent more severe disease." Know More If you got tested with an at-home test, should you confirm your negative results with a PCR exam? Not necessarily. Experts say under most circumstances, using one type of test is enough. But if you think there's a good chance you have COVID-19 and your rapid test is negative, you can get a PCR test since antigen tests have higher rates of false negatives. Feel Better Testing before gatherings can be just as important as testing after known exposure.   "The most important time to get a COVID test is before you do something risky, like going to a crowded event or meeting with a vulnerable loved one, not after the fact," Campbell says. "The antigen test seems to be a reasonably good test for being infectious. It's best used to manage risk, to test before being in a setting where you might spread COVID to others." READ MORE How to Cope With Post-COVID Brain Fog Some people who experience lingering COVID symptoms after infection report feeling brain fog, difficulty concentrating, remembering things, or mental exhaustion. There's no consensus on how to treat these symptoms, but there are some exercises and daily practices that might help. Experts recommend getting enough sleep and exercise, as well as trying mentally stimulating games like puzzles. READ MORE When Should You Call 911 for Chest Pain? According to new chest pain guidelines, the answer is always. These new guidelines remind us that symptoms of a heart attack can include pain that is felt elsewhere in the body, like your shoulders, arms, jaw, neck, back, and upper abdomen.   "Chest pain is always a reason to call 911," Martha Gulati, MD, division chief of cardiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and chairman of the guideline writing group, told Verywell. "If it turns out not to be a heart attack, I'd rather laugh about it afterward than miss out on someone being helped." READ MORE     In an interview with Verywell, Greg Schrank, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and hospital epidemiologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center, gives advice on which COVID-19 test to default to. Both types of tests are useful, and I would encourage individuals who are testing because of symptoms or exposure to use the test most quickly available to them. Gregory M. Schrank, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine   Keep Reading   ■ Why Healthcare Workers Are Quitting in Droves. The Atlantic     ■ All the Reasons to Be Optimistic About a Second Pandemic Winter. Slate     ■ Being Embarrassed Is Good, Actually. Refinery29 More From Verywell What to Do If You're Billed For a COVID Test READ MORE Which COVID Rapid Tests Are Most Accurate? READ MORE Video Games Could Help COVID Brain Fog READ MORE   How'd we do? If you have any feedback, send us a note at   feedback@verywell.com.       You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the Verywell Health newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here.   A DOTDASH BRAND 28 Liberty Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10005   © 2021 verywellhealth.com - All rights reserved. Privacy Policy