Mom Swallows COVID-19 Swab While Self-Testing, Undergoes Emergency Surgery

An at-home or self-testing COVID-19 swab is designed for easy use, but one mother had to go through emergency surgery after accidentally swallowing the medical instrument.

Bobby Lee, a 31-year-old care worker, was not feeling too well when she got home from a night shift. So, she decided to do a self-test to check if she had contracted COVID-19.

However, something didn't go right with her throat swab because the instrument couldn't be taken out of her mouth. As Lee attempted to pull it out a few more times, the stick slithered down her throat.

At this point, Lee began to panic because she started to struggle with breathing. The New York Post reported that the mother began to feel scared when she realized her situation could be fatal.

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No Case Like Bobby Lee's Before

Lee was with her daughter at home when the emergency happened. However, she didn't want to panic her child by having to call for help. Instead, Lee got in the car and drove herself to the nearest accident and emergency hospital.

When she got there, the medical workers said they had never had such a case as Lee's before. Thus, no one had any clue what to do to help the mom.

"Every time I was swallowing, I couldn't feel it at the back of my throat anymore," Lee said.

Eventually, the doctors decided that the best course of action was to do emergency surgery, so she was transferred to another facility for this procedure, according to Daily Mail. The surgeons used a thin and flexible camera that could locate the tip of the stick. The doctors then extracted the swab using surgical tools.

The mother said that the COVID-19 swab was almost to her stomach. If this had gone to her intestines, it would have resulted in a puncture and a more serious medical situation. Fortunately, the emergency surgery went without any hitches, and the mom has recovered from this experience.

At-Home COVID-19 Swabs Better for Nasal Tests

In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that most at-home kits or COVID-19 swabs are not recommended for use on the throat, per Time. The advice came amid suggestions that self-testing through the throat was better at detecting the COVID-19 Omicron variant. Throat swabbing is the preferred method for testing in other countries as well.

However, the FDA reiterated that throat swabbing has more safety concerns than nasal swabbing, as the method should be best left to trained professionals. Doctors said those with symptoms who may want a more accurate test must go to the nearest testing center for PCR testing, which can capture even the smallest traces of the virus. Otherwise, if they only want to use an at-home test kit, they should stick with nasal swabbing.

The experts also said that people using test kits at home must read the instructions carefully and never deviate from them to avoid accidents or reduce the chances that the test will become inaccurate. At-home COVID-19 swabs are not for experimentation, and users need to follow instructions as stated in the packaging.

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