Man swallows whole Covid testing swab stick by accident
Patient visits Hull Royal Infirmary after unfortunate incident as he tested for coronavirus
A man being tested for Covid accidentally swallowed the entire swab stick.
The shocked man had to visit Hull Royal Infirmary after the incident.
Covid swab sticks are typically six inches long and are like giant cotton buds with material on the top of a thin six inch plastic or polystyrene holder.
They are used to reach into the mouth and swab fluid from the throat of people who could have
coronavirus.
You must log in or register to see images
The Covid testing takes swabs from the back of the throat and the nose (Image: Getty)
It is unclear whether the patient was trying to test himself or had swallowed the stick after visiting a testing station.
Hull Royal Infirmary said they were “unable to comment”after the incident on Tuesday.
Although there have been serious problems conducting and processing Covid tests, with
many unable to get appointments, it is extremely rare for them to go wrong.
But in Albuquerque, America, a man being tested for Covid at a drive-thru clinic had to swallow his swab when part of the stick snapped as he was being tested by a nurse.
Orlando Skidmore said: “She stuck it in my left nostril and she was counting to ten and somewhere between six and eight I heard it snap,but I thought it was something the device is supposed to be doing, and then she pulled out the stem and the rest of it didn't come out.
After visiting a local hospital, nursing staff
said they believed he had swallowed it.
“Hopefully through biological processes it will come loose,”Mr Skidmore said.
Mr Skidmore said he didn’t want his experience to discourage anyone from getting tested and described it as a freak accident.