The Emotional Impact of Getting Tested for COVID
When he was asked by an NBC reporter to describe the experience of being tested for COVID-19, Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes replied flatly: “It can be moderately uncomfortable.” Having now experienced it for myself, I’d like to nominate the good doctor for whatever award is given to the person who makes the understatement of the year.
The experience is better described by a woman on TikTok who said, “[It] felt like I was being stabbed in the brain.” That’s cheeky. But also accurate.
The generically labeled “swab” is no commonplace bathroom Q-tip fitted with a pillowy apex. It’s an 8-inch nasopharyngeal wand with an instrument affixed to the end that resembles a mascara brush. In one motion, the wand enters your nostril and pushes its way to the back of your head where the frontal sinuses connect to the throat. Trust me when I tell you that you can feel every millimeter. Once the wand reaches its destination, the person administering it will rotate and scrub the sensitive mucous membrane while you involuntarily cry.
But if you, like me, become one of the poor souls who has to get tested for COVID-19, the procedure itself might be the least of your concerns. There are psychological, emotional, and existential hurdles at every turn of the process—from the first cough until the results arrive. And you’ll need more than a high pain threshold to navigate these strains without losing whatever sanity you’ve got left.