Last updated: May 12, 2021 at 3:13 AM
What is ICheck?
Antigen testing kit for novel coronavirus infectionsICheckTo conduct epidemiological surveys usingICheckProject" (SKE48 is ambassador) ICheck and conducted antigen tests at home.
ICheck has an antigen testing kit and an antibody test kit, which is used to collect saliva and check for current infections.
On the other, antibody testing is a collection of blood to check for the presence or absence of current antibodies, not infection. However, compared to PCR testing, the accuracy is less accurate, but I think it makes sense to implement it to check for possible infections.
As described in the blog below, I unders been tested for PCR at a medical institution three months ago and have received a negative verdict.
🔗 I had a PCR test at my own expense! [Results report and recommendations to the Japanese government]
However, since it is a significant financial burden to receive PCR tests regularly at own expense, we have conducted PCR tests at regular intervals and received antigen tests in a timely manner.
The ICheck kit I ordered this time was purchased for 5,178 yen (tax included), including shipping cost 800 yen. Compared to PCR inspection, which costs a lot of money, the cost is cheaper, and the inspection time is 15 minutes, so I think that it can be used easily.
After ordering ICheck, it arrived at my home in 4 days.
About antigen testing
Since more viruses are required for virus detection in antigen testing than PCR tests, it is said that a certain false negative may be produced and sensitivity is lower than PCR testing, but in cases on days 2 to 9 of onset, it has been clarified that the amount of virus is large and the match rate of the results of antigen testing and PCR test is high, and it is also used for determining negative as a definite diagnosis only during this period.
Therefore, when there are any subjective symptoms such as cold symptoms, I think that it is good to use it during the period one week later.
Antigen testing with ICheck
ICheck also comes with a service that allows you to freely consult with your healthcare provider by email and phone for a month.
First of all, before opening the kit, read the QR code from your smartphone, go to a dedicated website for registering the test results, and enter the medical examinee information as follows.
Conduct antigen testing
The test kit is opened and antigen tested.
How to use the inspection kit is also explained in the video on the dedicated website, but it is also described in detail in the attached instructions.
Because it is easy to handle, it is content that can be fully understood only by the instructions.
Antigen testing with ICheck is performed using the following procedure.
- Using a sample collection swap, collect saliva from the back of the tongue for 10-15 seconds, put the tip of the swappe in a special container containing the storage solution, cover the container several times, and wait 1 minute.
- Open the lid of the storage container, absorb about 4-5 drops with the spoid, and drip into the S window of the inspection kit.
- After the entire line of the test kit is gradually dyed pink, the negative/positive line comes out clearly in about 15 minutes.
(C only: 2 negative / C + T: no positive / C / T line: disabled) - When the line of the inspection kit comes out, go to a dedicated website and send a photo of the inspection kit, and the diagnostic results are automatically displayed on the website.
I was thrilled, but as mentioned above, it was a negative judgment.
In the future, when I feel the symptoms of a cold, I would like to conduct antigen tests, antibody tests and PCR tests on a regularly.
In addition, pcr inspection is now possible on the net for less than 15,000 yen, so I may choose PCR inspection next time.
2020.12.10 Added
Good news!
Pcr inspection was available at Tokyo Station for 1,980 yen (2,970 yen for mail collection). For details, please refer to the following linked articles and inspection sites.
🔗 PCR inspection at Tokyo Station Yaesu exit from 1980 yen per inspection, pcr/SmartAmp method with 40 minutes virus detection time
🔗 PCR / 1 inspection 1980 yen ~ New coronavirus inspection method SmartAmp. Same-day inspection to notify the result on the day
2021.01.27 Added
Corona infection found
In fact, I became unwell from around January 10, and on January 14, I asked the above test center "SS Dnaform" to test.
The result came a week later with a "negative" notification in an email as follows:
Then you're still not feeling well, soKanagawa Prefecture Heat Generation Medical Appointment Center I was introduced to a clinic with a fever outpatient clinic (Oiso-cho, Otani Clinic) and visited the clinic on the night of the day.
In the test, the antigen test of corona and the test of influenza were negative, and on the day, I was relieved because I was also prescribed medicine.
However, in a PCR test in which samples were taken from the mucous membranes of the nose at the clinic,The director of the clinic told me that he had tested positive.following instructions from public health centers, it was a policy for home medical treatment.
With the rapid increase in the number of infected people (in Kanagawa Prefecture, up to less than 5,000 people are waiting to be hospitalized in February), I was triaged for home treatment because there are many serious people.
For medical support, line of the smartphone, Kanagawa Corona Recuperation Support through the talk (response to the BOT) to check your physical condition.
By the way, the antigen test of ICheck was also negative. I don't think it makes sense to do antigen testing because it's completely unreliable. Antibody testing to collect samples from the blood may make some sense.
It was well understood in this case that the accuracy of the commercial inspection kit was low, and it was not reliable. According to medical personnel, the majority of PCR inspection centers in the city are not approved by the government, so there is no point in testing because inspections in such places are not certified by medical institutions.
Everyone, if you feel sick, please do not use a commercially available inspection kit, please contact a medical institution immediately!
In my case, considering the incubation period, it seems that I was infected at a shop in Shinjuku around Tuesday, January 5.
The following is a "home and accommodation treatment course" handed over by Dr. Otani, director of the Otani Clinic. It seems to have assumed corona positive already. From this QR code, you can register with Kanagawa Medical Treatment Support on the line.
Kanagawa Prefecture Medical Treatment Support
The following is the screen of the kanagawa medical treatment support line. Every day, at 8:30 and 15:30, there is a line for checking physical condition and confirming safety. It is a response to the BOT, but if it does not respond, the nurse will call you to confirm your safety.
The body temperature and oxygen saturation (SPO2) of the day are also entered on this screen. If the value of SPO2 is 93 or less, you need to contact Corona 119 immediately.
By the way, less than 90 is an ambulance immediately!
I'm wandering around 94-96, so I'm still in a dangerous state. So far, my consciousness has been stunned and I have fallen at home about three times.
The following are medicines, daily necessities, beverages and food products received from Kanagawa Prefecture Medical Treatment Support. Pulse oximeters (loans) are also sent to me.
The other day, a doctor from Kanagawa Prefecture called me and issued me a prescription. All medical and food expenses related to corona seem to be free.
Corona's Pathology
In the following corona AI diagnosis, there is a suspicion of corona, so I went to the hospital (fever outpatient) immediately, and the diagnosis result came out.
🔗 Check for corona symptoms free of charge AI consultation consultation
The symptoms in my case are as follows.
・ Chills and malaise (day 1) ... It's like I've had a cold normally.
Fever (after the second day) ... Heat continues from 37.5°C to up to 39°C.
Cough and phlegm (after day 2)... At first, an empty cough comes out, and the phlegm gradually becomes clogged, too.
Diarrhea (after day 6)... Following fever and cough, it also begins to be accompanied by diarrhea. Since fever persists and is not an dingy symptom, I suspect that it is influenza.
・ Suffering from breathing (after 7th day)... It becomes hard to breathe, and it becomes 朦 consciousness. This symptom is caused by a decrease in the concentration of oxygen in the blood. On the way to the bathroom, I felt sick and collapsed several times. When ai diagnosis of the net was carried out, it was determined that there was a suspicion of corona. At this time, I asked for PCR inspection of the net.
⇒ the result was a negative verdict of a big lie!
The sense of smell is normal. Taste falls as well as a normal cold when symptoms get worse. Olfactory abnormalities seem to be a symptom of some people.
・My weight dropped by about 5KG in a week because I had diarrhea and my appetite was lost.
・ After washing my hair, a large amount of hair fell out.
・ The skin of the lips will be peeled off in tatters every day.
・I feel pain in my chest.
・Two weeks after the disease, in addition to headaches, nosebleeds will also come out.
・Even after 3 weeks from the disease, the cough is still severe and I can not sleep easily。
・At first, I thought that the taste was normal, but no what I ate did not feel delicious, so it seems that there is still an abnormality in the taste.
That's all.
Despite such severe symptoms, it was treated mildly, and it was not possible to be hospitalized and it was home treatment. At this time, the number of home care patients waiting to be hospitalized in Kanagawa Prefecture approached 5,000, and it was a virtual medical collapse state, so it was impossible to be hospitalized even if I physically thought about it.
Regarding PCR testing, PCR testing with saliva is often judged as false negative, and it seems to be unreliable. After confirming the onset, I think that the positive test rate is higher if pcr test with the mucous membrane of the nose is performed.
By the way, many medicines are prescribed by the hospital, but honestly it is not very profitous. I can't sleep because my cough and phlegm are so bad that it's the hardest thing.
In fact, the best drug is the over-the-counter Pavlon S tablet. It has a sleeping effect, so I can manage to sleep. I take 3 tablets of Pavlon before going to bed. So I managed to hold it up.
In general, it is said that there is no medicine that is effective for colds. The quickest way to cure it is to take sleep and nutrition (+ hydration) to increase resistance.
P.S.
Cullonard tablets prescribed by the hospital contain acetaminophen,a drug that suppresses heat and pain, similar to pavlon. Pavlon cannot be used in conjunction with this drug because it overlaps with it.
In addition, ambibroxol hydrochloride capsules (drugs to reduce phlegm) were prescribed at a later date, but this cannot be used in combination because the same ingredients are also blended in Pavlon S Gold W tablets.
2021.02.02 Added
23 days have passed since the onset and 10 days have passed since the start of kanagawa medical treatment support. Basically, the medical treatment support seems to end in 10 days (until January 31) from the onset confirmation at the medical institution, but I have extended it by 3 days. If the body temperature exceeds 37 °C, it must not be terminated.
It is a current medical condition. The sense of smell is normal, but it seems to have an abnormality in the taste bud.
As usual, slight fever, cough and phlegm have not subsided. I still have a bit of stesath and headaches. Diarrhea has subsided, but I have no appetite, because of taste abnormalities.
It is likely to be a long road to complete cure. Medical treatment support allows me to go out, but I would like to refrain from going out for the time being.
Even if it is completely cured, the aftereffects (malaise, breathing difficulty, taste and olfactory disorders, alopecia, etc.) may remain for 2 to 3 months and up to 6 months, so we will continue to follow up.
In addition, I take the cold medicine "Pavlon S Gold W tablets" before going to bed. If you take this medicine, you can sleep well.
2021.02.05 Added
26 days have passed since the onset of the disease, and medical support for kanagawa medical treatment support has also ended.
Although I am in my current physical condition, my taste disorder seems to have healed a lot, and I can eat more deliciously than before.
However, the following sequelae still remain.
Cough and phlegm do not heal. Phlegm is a secretion that protects the respiratory tract and lungs, and is a human ecological defense reaction that transports foreign substances such as viruses and bacteria from the lower respiratory tract to the upper respiratory tract.
・I can't sleep easily because of coughing and breathing difficulty.
・ I'm out of breath when I walk.
・ A slight fever (36.9°C ← 36.4°C for flat fever) continues, and the headache does not subside.
・If you bite your nose, you will still have a nosebleed.
In all, it seems that the cause is that the attack of the coronavirus caused great damage to the lungs, blood vessels, and nerves.
2021.02.07 Added
28 days have passed since the onset. I thought my taste disorder had healed, but it wasn't.
When I ate sushi today, I felt that the taste was very bitter compared to usual. Also, my favorite beer was bitter and I did not feel delicious at all.
Come to think of it, when I ate sushi before the onset, I didn't feel delicious, so my taste disorder may have been a presyinger to the onset of corona.
Apparently, I no longer feel the subtle sweetness and umami. Coronavirus seems to attack not only the lungs, built-ins, and blood vessels, but also the brain nerves, so the effects may still remain.
2021.02.08 Added
Until now, I thought that there was no abnormality in the sense of smell, but when I smelled the shampoo and various perfumes (6 types) that I had used so far, I noticed that it smelled different from before. Unfortunately, I found that there was an abnormality in my sense of smell.
2021.02.22 Added
43 days (30 days of recuperation days) have passed since the onset.
Taste and olfactory disorders have returned to normal. I do not see severe cough asthma symptoms like for a while, but cough and phlegm have not healed yet. It is likely to be a relationship with the sequelae for a while.
Of course, you will be wearing a mask, but today, Hiratsuka Public Health Center granted you a work permit. It seems that all viruses have already been discharged from the body, but even if PCR is tested at this time, RNA fragments of coronavirus carcasses may be detected and false positive, so there is no point in doing it.
2021.03.01 Added
50 days (37 days of recuperation days) have passed since the onset. Since the normal value of body temperature and SpO2 is maintained, I think that it can be said that it was originally completely cured.
However, at this time of year, hay fever suffers from hay fever, and the symptoms of hay fever are worsening, especially this year.
It may be related to corona sequelae, but it seems that the body's immune response is hypersensitive. Apparently, I have to put up with it until the season when pollen does not fly.
2021.03.03 Added
Currently, we are fighting pollinosis rather than corona sequelae. I am relieving my symptoms by taking Allegra (fexofenadine hydrochloride), a rhinitis drug for allergies. Cold medicine does not work at all because it is an allergic symptom.
2021.03.07 Added
Allegra seems to have worked greatly. In addition, in order to protect against pollen and house dust, we have taken measures such as going to bed with a mask on and using the cream "Aller shut" to catch pollen by the nose. Now that the allergy symptoms have been relieved, I'm finally on my way back to work.
If you are infected with COVID-19 and become severe, cytokine storms, that is, runaway inflammatory responses of the host immune system, are said to be one of the causes.
The symptom that the allergic reaction becomes more sensitive than usual may be because the infection with COVID-19 triggers an increase in the amount of cytokines released.
2021.04.06 Added
Despite the complete cure of the corona, my cough and phlegm did not subside, and finally the lymph nodes in my neck began to hurt, so I went to the nearby otolaryngology department for a medical examination.
As a result of the fiberscope test, inflammation occurred in the pharynx. It is thought that it is acute pharyngitis. This is said to be one of the aftereffects of corona, and it seems that many people migrate to chronic peropharyngitis, so it is necessary to treat it thoroughly. The hospital prescribed the following medications:
Clarithromycin Tablets 200mg ... Drugs to control bacterial infections
Carbocysteine Tablets 250mg ... Drugs that make pus easier to come out, drugs that make it easier to get phlegm
Astomin tablets 10 mg ... Medicines to calm coughs
* The following is a reference article.
2021.04.29 Added
This article will be closed once and will be carried over to the following article!
