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Rapid flu test
Last reviewed: 05.07.2025
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Children, elderly people, pregnant women make up the main contingent for whom flu is especially dangerous. In order to conduct home diagnostics in time and protect loved ones from infection, it is advisable to always have an express test for flu in your home medicine cabinet. Early diagnostics allow you to take timely measures for successful treatment of the patient and prevention of infection of his close circle.
Using a home test, you can easily diagnose whether fairly common symptoms are signs of influenza. The accuracy of the result is about 70%. This test can be performed by anyone old enough to read and understand the instructions attached to the express test. The main thing is to test the patient in the first two to three days from the appearance of the first symptoms, at this time there is the lowest probability of false positive and false negative results.
[ Indications for use
Symptoms that indicate testing include: hyperthermia (39℃ and above), chills, headache and muscle pain, weakness, nasal congestion, sore throat, cough, loss of appetite, diarrhea and vomiting (more common in children).
Release form
The completeness may differ slightly in products of different brands. Approximate list of test composition: test cassette, reagent bottle, disposable pipette, sterile cotton swab for collecting biomaterial. All this is packed in a cardboard box with instructions included.
Names of rapid tests for flu detection
Most rapid flu tests available in pharmacies are immunochromatographic tests of nasal secretions that detect antigens of types A and B, including the so-called "swine" flu, which is type A.
The most popular express test in Ukrainian pharmacies is CITO TEST INFLUENZA A+B from Pharmasco.
In online stores you can buy tests of Russian manufacture RED GRIPP A and B, manufactured by RED LLC, and the ICHECK test kit from the SALUTA company, the FLU A&B-30 test from the Chinese manufacturer Guangzhou Wondfo Biotek.
How is a rapid flu test done?
It is recommended to test the patient for the presence of viruses on the second or third day, when the activity of their excretion reaches its peak.
The biological material for testing is a smear of nasal secretions (the test is not designed for other secretions). It is collected as follows: a cotton swab with a sterile tampon on the end is removed from its packaging and, with your head tilted back, inserted into one nostril. With a rotating motion, move the swab along the walls of the nose, trying to collect as many cells as possible on the swab, and not just liquid secretions. Remove the swab from the nose and place the sample of secretions in the bottle, having first unscrewed the cap. Vigorously mix the contents of the bottle with the swab at least ten times. Then squeeze the swab out with the walls of the plastic bottle as thoroughly as possible, throw it away and screw the cap on the bottle. Remove the test cassette from the packaging and place it on a horizontal flat surface with the window facing up. Shake the bottle with the sample well, cut off the tip of the dropper cap and drop four drops of the contents onto the oval window for biological material on the side of the test cassette. Wait exactly 10 minutes and interpret the result (do not take into account the lines that appear after the ten-minute interval!). The result is assessed by the colored lines that appear in the rectangular central window.
The appearance of one green line in this window indicates that there are no antigens to influenza viruses and the test was performed correctly – a negative result.
Next to the green test line (control), a second one appeared – red (the color can be of different shades from saturated to pink). A positive result, indicating infection with virus A.
A blue (light blue) line appeared next to the control line – a positive result, indicating infection with the B virus.
There are cases of false negative results if the concentration of antigens is below the sensitivity level of the test or the amount of biomaterial is insufficient.
If the green control line does not appear, the test result is considered invalid, even if there is a red or blue stripe. In this case, it is recommended to repeat the test.
A rapid flu test is considered a preliminary diagnosis; the final diagnosis is made by a doctor based on an examination of the patient and laboratory tests.
The test remains sensitive until the expiration date indicated on the package. After this date, its results are invalid. It must be stored in the original sealed package, which is opened immediately before the test. The storage temperature must be maintained within the range of 2 to 30℃.