By Charlotte Webster-
A doctor has shared his concerns about the faint lines on lateral flow tests and what they could indicate.
Dr Nathan Hudson-Peacock, who works in an A&E department in London, has stated that there is a window of ‘interpretation’ for each lateral flow testing kit for coronavirus. Dr Hudson-Peacock noted it is important to double-check the instructions and explained that results must be checked within that specific time period otherwise they can be inaccurate.
Taking to Instagram, Dr Hudson-Peacock detailed what it means if a faint line shows up next to the ‘T’ within or outside of the ‘interpretation window’.
He said: Essentially, if *any* line appears before the end of the interpretation window (check leaflet, usually this is 30 minutes), then this is a *positive* test and you must isolate and book a PCR. The picture above is my positive LFT from this morning, and I have confirmed COVID.
However, if a line appears *after* the interpretation window then this does NOT count as a positive test. You do not need to isolate and you do not need to book a PCR.
Dr Hudson-Peacock noted that if the ‘faintly positive line appears after the time window’, the ‘most likely cause is either that there has been some contamination (e.g. food or drink or some other very weak contaminant that is causing a false positive, or there are just incredibly low levels of the virus.
‘If it is the latter, and obviously assuming you are asymptomatic at this point, you are very unlikely to be a transmission risk anyway and so it is of little significance,’ he reassured.
In this case, Dr Hudson-Peacock suggested the ‘most sensible next step’ would be to ‘not to isolate unnecessarily’ which he deemed ‘bad for mental health and work’ and ‘not to book a PCR’ which ‘makes it harder for people who genuinely need them to get one’.
Instead, he advised to take extra care with ‘social distancing, hand washing and mask wearing’ and to continue using lateral flow tests ‘as per NHS guidance’.
However, even if you have a negative lateral flow test, if you have symptoms you should isolate straight away and book a PCR.
Dr Hudson-Peacock has since been praised as ‘one of the few clear voices in all of this confusion’ for his multiple Instagram posts about lateral flow tests and coronavirus regulations.
If you’ve been affected by coronavirus and want up to date advice, visit the Gov.uk help page here. If you need medical help call NHS 111 or visit online
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