COVID-19 testing is something everyone should be doing, especially if they live or work with others. Knowing if you have COVID-19 is crucial for protecting your health and the health of other people around you. Then you can take the necessary precautions by isolating yourself from others and seeking the appropriate treatment to reduce your symptoms. Contact us at (858) 412-6066 to learn more about our COVID testing services and schedule an appointment to get tested at our La Jolla facility.
Learn More About COVID Testing in La Jolla, CA
Should You Get COVID Tested?
Do you need a COVID-19 test in La Jolla, California? Here are the four key signs that you need to get a COVID-19 test:
- You experience the common symptoms associated with COVID-19, such as trouble breathing, fatigue, coughing, headaches, loss of smell, loss of taste, and fever.
- You found out you were recently around somebody else who tested positive for COVID-19. In this case, wait approximately five days or longer before getting tested. It is the best way to ensure accurate test results.
- If you were recently in a large crowd, event, or other high-risk environment, it is a good idea to get tested afterward. When you’re around many different strangers, any of them could have COVID-19 and infect you with it unknowingly. So, you should take every precaution necessary after exposing yourself to several strangers.
- If you plan to visit someone with a high risk of suffering severe symptoms from COVID-19, such as a senior citizen, you should get tested before visiting them.
Medical Care San Diego can help you decide whether it is appropriate to get tested at this time.
Which COVID-19 Test is Right for You?
There are two types of viral tests for detecting COVID-19: nucleic acid amplification tests and antigen tests. Each test is different and recommended under different circumstances. Either way, you should always get a COVID-19 test at an FDA-approved facility like Medical Care San Diego.
Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests
Nucleic acid amplification tests are the most accurate and reliable COVID-19 tests because they look for viral genetic material from SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that generates COVID-19 inside your body. The nurse or medical technician will swab a mucus sample inside your mouth or nose and send the sample to a laboratory to test for this viral genetic material. It is a long wait to get the results, but at least they are the most accurate results you can get.
Antigen Tests
Antigen tests are much faster than nucleic acid amplification tests because you can get the results back within 30 minutes in most cases. These tests look for COVID-19 antigens in your mucus, which are much easier to detect than genetic material. However, you could still have a COVID-19 infection if you have a negative antigen test result because it takes about five days after infection for the COVID-19 antigens to show up in your system. So it might be a good idea to get retested every couple of days to ensure the virus is not in your system.
Learn More About COVID Testing in La Jolla, CA
Medical Care San Diego can help guide you through the process and recommend the best COVID test for your particular situation. Then we can administer the test as needed at our advanced testing facility in La Jolla.
Contact us at (858) 412-6066 to learn more about our COVID testing services and schedule an appointment to get tested at our La Jolla facility.
