COVID-19 swab, life stories
It’s been a while since I wrote my last article, so I decided to take advantage of my latest experience to open an informational parenthesis on a topic that scares many people: the COVID-19 swab.
Today I experienced this so much discussed swab in first person. I went to a hospital, here in Italy, to verify the absence of contagion from coronavirus and to undergo the so much discussed swab. I can’t deny that months of chattering and words heard around it convinced me to search for any valid excuse to avoid this experience. This morning, while driving in the direction of the hospital, I was immersed in a sense of uneasiness that kept all other thoughts away from my head.
At the hospital
Once in front of the hospital I explained to the nurse the reason of my visit. I carried out the usual checks, and she asked me to throw my mask away to wear a new one before allowing me to access the structure. When we were done she directs me towards the specimen collection center waiting room.
In the waiting room I queue at the information desk for acceptance while an elderly man was starting to raise his voice with the nurse who was serving him saying “I’m fed up! This is the third swab I do, the first two I made were positive but I’m fine, you have to proceed with my surgery! “.
“Great!” I start thinking to myself. To reduce the probability of contracting the virus there I increased the social distances moving me to a corner very close to a window.
When my turn comes, I brought all the forms for the various declarations and went back again to my corner to fill them out. Between one check and another on the paper forms, my concentration was interrupted by strange human noise that was coming out of a room. Those moans and gagging made me slower in the compilation of the forms to take time. I reviewed my answers (a couple of couple of times :D) and gave back the forms to the nurse who passed me the swab tube and shows me a door to wait for my turn.
After a few seconds another nurse went out of the door next to the one indicated to me saying: “Who’s next?”. I absolutely didn’t have any urgency, so I ignored the request until another patient says to me: “Hey man, it’s your turn!”. Trying to take time, I turn my head to the nurse saying: “Your colleague told me to wait here, I’ll wait, you can call someone else.”
The nurse looked at me and laughingly said: “For me you can wait your turn there all day, but that’s a warehouse!”. The time was come, I had no more escapes, so I followed the nurse looking at the ground.
The swab
I am a stubborn by nature and, before sitting down, I asked the nurse what the exam consists of and what I can do to shorten the examination time. The nurse explained to me that feelings and reactions are subjective. The noises and retching of the patient who preceded me were a psychological reaction rather than a physical stimulus. The nurse noticed my tension related to all my questions so, he advised me not to worry because by remaining mentally relaxed our body is also less contracted and less averse to the exam.
The swab is a plastic stick about 10 / 15 cm long and less than 2 mm in diameter with a cotton swab on the tip. It is introduced into the nose to collect mucus samples from the nasopharyngeal area (throat). The area where the mucus useful for the test is taken would also be reachable from the mouth but passing through it would cause gagging and vomiting.
The nurse’s responses were patient and comprehensive. I sit down, lower my mask and rely on her experience. She started introducing the swab into my right nostril, and she suggested me to breathe in and started the insertion immediately. I felt a little tickle and annoyance for the first 3 cm then I no longer felt anything while I saw the stick disappear in my nose.
When she removed the swab I asked her if I could make take video for TikTok but in the time that I brought my phone, unlocked it and activated the camera she was already done with the left nostril too.
Impressions
My experience was completely painless, I think that I could become a routine since my breath was much better after the examination.
Don’t be afraid of this exam and do it if you have any doubts about your health. Contagions are decreasing in Italy but the virus has not been eradicated yet.
Waiting to be able to travel freely again, I wish you all good luck and remember to stay safe!
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