Hey guys, looking for some answers here. So my friends kids were sick, they went to get tested and they came back negative for Covid but came back positive for the flu. The doctor was also confused by the positive result for the Flu and said that she has not seen a positive flu result in a while. I guess they had to wait to get tested in the first place because they were out of tests and had to order some more, so could these new tests be different? I am such an idiot, I didnt know there was a regular flu test for I have never had one done lol.. but I also took my kids to the doctors about 3 weeks ago because they had low grade fevers and were not feeling well. They tested my kids for RSV and Covid, both were negative and sent us home. I guess another question I have is why didnt the doctor also check my kid for the regular flu? My kid was better in a week... but these tests have me confused.
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And here I thought we had eradicated regular flu from the Earth. /s
Haha, exactly
Just got an update from my friend.. the test her kid received was through the window of her car, one of those drive thru one's that take 20 minutes and you have a result, mine was at an urgent care, and results were back in 24hrs.. so that's a difference I guess.. wondering how many different rapid tests there are? Is the 24 hour my kid received considered a rapid test? ... and I am now assuming that some rapid tests test for a range of different viruses?
Well that confuses me even more because my friend and myself have the same insurance, so in this case the only difference is the doctor.
I'm surprised they are even allowed to test for influenza anymore.
Me as well. I tried sharing a graph showing cases from last year and this year and as you know it's wildly different.. you just don't hear about the regular flu anymore... and like you said, plus having state issued insurance, I am also surprised that they even bothered to check for it.
I've never heard of a regular flu test. Generally, everybody has diagnosed themselves and taken the appropriate measures. Or possibly they've been diagnosed by a doctor, but again, without benefit of a special test. Weird.
Influenza A + B tests have been around a long time.
I guess I just always just roughed out my sickness without going to a doctor to get a test... I'm learning
docs don't typically order a flu test because if it's positive, it's viral, and they don't generally write scrips for that, so it wouldn't change their medical decision making.
they are more likely to order a flu test to rule it out when they're trying to pinpoint a diagnosis.
So could it be possible that my friend's kids got the flu test because her kids are older and in school VS my kid is only 16 months old?
I'm with you.. I guess I just never was tested for the flu my entire life and that's why this is more weird for me.. but so the flu test exists, and my friends kids tested positive for it.. I remember many people including I believe the inventor of the PCR tests in a video state that the PCR test can not differentiate between different strands... are these tests that my friend took, is that considered a form of the PCR test? Maybe I need to research this a bit so I don't bore you guys with my idiot questions..
Not idiot questions, good questions. I'm glad you're asking. A poster above says they've been around for a long time. Maybe, but I've never heard of them. Why not? Can't be all that common. And I too would like to know about the pcr test connection. So many questions!
Yes Karry Mullins stated that the PCR manufacturing technique can in know way be used for diagnostics. Even if the testers know what they're testing for, the PCR in know way reveals what's inside the cells.
A sick person would have millions of viruses inside, and would likely shed. But something on the outside could just as easily have been stopped by cilia/mucus membrane, or conquered by the immune system and ejected as exosome material.
But they don't know what they are testing for, because none of these viruses are isolated and purify. Think of the crappy record of flu shots. The tests would be every bit as crapy.
I was just talking to a retired teacher the other day and he told me that he always got the flu shot but he still would get the flu quite frequently... he then said that he knows many people that wouldn't get the flu shot and wouldn't get the flu.. kind of the same thing we are seeing with covid it seems.
Haven't had a flu shot since October of '76 in basic training. If then since I don't know what all they gave me, and flu shots were not common. Last time I had a flu like thing was fall of 2004.