How do I not have covid? Or do I and tests are all negative?

amother

Mon, Jan 16 2023, 12:35 pm

My toddler and DH have covid. (Toddler got first, then DH.) I'm inside mostly, wfh, and usually when I go out it's with toddler. We assume toddler got it from daycare, meaning, I seriously doubt I got it first, didn't know, and gave it to her. Alternatively, DH says everyone in his office is sneezing and coughing and not testing, but since toddler got symptoms a couple of days prior to his, (And his test was negative while her was positive, and then the next day his was positive) so basically, we assume that toddler got it first.

Anyway, so far, I've been getting negative on PCR and home tests. I've not been sleeping well, so I've been feeling terrible, plus having everyone home sick is taking its toll, so it's not like I feel great, but I don't think I have what people would call normal covid symptoms either. (If anything, my symptoms have been more like if I was pregnant and/ or had low iron, which it isn't either).

My last booster was in September (4th), where we live everyone pretty much got it, but it wasn't even the bivalent one for omicron, it was the regular Moderna. (I decided to mix it up- got Pfizer for all my prior ones.) DH got his a few months earlier and toddler is too young to qualify for the vax where we live.

Meanwhile, I've been snuggling toddler for hours while she has been sick, probably also sharing her food hours before we realised she had it, she's still all over me all the time, all day for six days now, I've shared a bed with sick DH, etc, I obviously couldn't separate from my toddler when she had it, basically didn't even bother (except to try not to eat food that she ate from).

This whole drasha is to ask is it possible that I really didn't get it? Could I have kind of been affected but not enough that it shows up on tests? (Like could my toddler have exposed me to a little bit at first, so it could have been the equivalent of another vaccine? Did I just get another "booster"?) it's been 5 days since toddler was positive, should I keep testing myself (for my own knowledge)? Should I expect that I'm not in the clear yet and I can still get it? Should I be worried that I can get long covid and never get a positive test?

TIA!

NotInNJMommy ↓

Mon, Jan 16 2023, 12:43 pm

I'd keep testing every couple days, you could have a low viral load or you could have something completely different that isn't COVID. I've had some employees take 2-4 days to test positive. And your exposure is from the last day DH or DC are contagious/in isolation +5-10 days.

I think either is just as possible. I think if you have low viral load, I would not be concerned about a false negative result and long covid.

You could also have something else now, and still get COVID from the positive folks at home (but iyh you won't.)

refuah sheleimah

theoneandonly

Mon, Jan 16 2023, 12:44 pm

My whole family had COVID in September 2020 besides for my toddler. Me, dh, and two other kids. My toddler was sleeping in my bed at that point, we constantly shared food/cups etc (before testing positive), and we all basically assumed that toddler's negative test was wrong and the tester didn't go in deep enough because he screamed and pulled away. Months later we took him for a blood test to check if he had antibodies and lo and behold, he didn't have them! He really never caught COVID from any of us! So yes, it's possible you just didn't and won't catch it.

↑ NotInNJMommy

Mon, Jan 16 2023, 2:13 pm

amother Ballota wrote:

I had a similar experience. Everyone in my house had Covid and I had symptoms but was testing negative. Someone told me to swab my throat as well as my nose. Once I did that tests were positive. This happened every time I had Covid.

For various body chemistry reasons, it's not recommended to go off label with a nasal covid test by doing a throat swab as it can result in false positives.

I'm not saying your results in that situation were false positives, but other events could result in false positives.

amother

Begonia

Mon, Jan 16 2023, 3:02 pm

amother OP wrote:

First thing everyone should know is RAPID TESTS ARE HIGHLY UNRELIABLE and give negatives when the person might likely be positive! Always insist on the overnight test too, which most places don’t want to give.